What is project management?

Project management is how you plan and run a piece of work that has a start, an end and a defined result: deciding what will be delivered, breaking it into tasks, putting the tasks in order with dates, assigning who does each one, and tracking time, cost and progress until the work is done. For a small business, that might be a website launch, a store fit-out or a large client job.

Billed publishes this page. Scheduling terms are quoted from OpenStax, Introduction to Business 2e (chapter 10) and Entrepreneurship (chapters 2 and 15), opened on October 30, 2026. OpenStax doesn't define the term project management itself; the description above is ours.

What You Manage on a Project

• Scope: what will be delivered, and what won't. See how to handle scope creep.
• Schedule: the tasks, their order and their dates.
• Cost: the budget, including the hours people spend.
• People: who owns each task.

OpenStax's Introduction to Business 2e, section 10.5 describes what large projects need: "To control large projects, operations managers need to closely monitor resources, costs, quality, and budgets." The same four things matter on a small project.

The Stages of a Project

1. Define: agree on the result, the scope, the budget and the deadline with whoever the work is for.
2. Plan: list the tasks, estimate each one, put them in order and set milestones.
3. Do the work: assign tasks and start.
4. Track: compare progress, hours and cost with the plan each week, and deal with changes in writing.
5. Close: deliver, invoice, and compare what the project took with what you planned.

Planning Tools: Milestones, Gantt Charts and the Critical Path

• Milestones. OpenStax's Entrepreneurship chapter 2 key terms define a milestone as a "significant decision point or significant accomplishment".
• Gantt charts. OpenStax's Entrepreneurship section 15.1 describes a Gantt chart as "a method to track a list of tasks or activities aligned with time intervals".
• The critical path. OpenStax's Introduction to Business chapter 10 key terms define it as the "longest path through the linked activities". Section 10.5 explains why it matters: "If the tasks on the critical path are not completed on time, the entire project will fall behind schedule."

Worked Example: Finding the Critical Path (sample figures)

These are sample figures for a fictional business planning a new website, invented for this example. The tasks, in working days:

• A. Brief: 2 days, first.
• B. Design: 5 days, after A.
• C. Copywriting: 4 days, after A, alongside B.
• D. Build: 6 days, after both B and C.
• E. Testing: 2 days, after D.

The two paths through the tasks:

• A → B → D → E: 2 + 5 + 6 + 2 = 15 days
• A → C → D → E: 2 + 4 + 6 + 2 = 14 days

The longer path, A → B → D → E at 15 days, is the critical path, so the project takes 15 working days. Copywriting can run 15 − 14 = 1 day late without delaying launch. A day lost on the brief, the design, the build or the testing delays the whole project by a day.

Who Runs a Project in a Small Business

In a small business, the owner or one team member runs the project: they keep the plan, check progress each week and talk to the client. For how a freelancer runs client projects step by step, see project management for freelancers. For handing tasks to others, see how to delegate tasks effectively.

Where Billed Fits

Billed's projects page says: "Add your team, track your tasks and create Invoices in one place." It also says: "Create hourly rate projects, set hourly rates and track task charges automatically when you log tasks." and "You can create invoices for individual tasks or more than one tasks from the dashboard". For choosing a project management tool, see project management tools compared for small business and for freelancers.

When This Guide Isn't for You

If you're running a large or regulated project, such as construction with permits or a project with several contractors, ask a qualified project manager or the relevant professional about the rules and contracts that apply.

Related Guides

• Project management for freelancers
• Best project management tools for small business
• Best project management tools for freelancers
• How to estimate project hours accurately
• Time management techniques

FAQ

What is project management in simple terms?

Planning and running a piece of work with a start, an end and a defined result: deciding what will be delivered, breaking it into tasks, scheduling them, assigning them and tracking time, cost and progress until it's done.

What is a critical path?

OpenStax defines it as the "longest path through the linked activities" of a project. If tasks on the critical path aren't completed on time, the whole project falls behind schedule. In this page's sample, the critical path takes 15 working days.

What is a Gantt chart?

OpenStax's Entrepreneurship describes a Gantt chart as "a method to track a list of tasks or activities aligned with time intervals." Its Introduction to Business 2e says Gantt charts "are bar graphs plotted on a time line that show the relationship between scheduled and actual production."

Do small businesses need project management?

Whatever the size of the business, when a job has several tasks, a deadline and a budget, write down the plan, name who owns each task and compare progress with the plan once a week.