Identifying onboarding and new projects at risk of delays based on status and estimation gaps.
Identifying onboarding and new projects at risk of delays based on status and estimation gaps.
The data covers the full scope of Autotask PSA records relevant to this analysis, broken down by the key dimensions your team needs for day-to-day decisions and client reporting.
Who should use this: Account managers, MSP owners, and service delivery leads
How often: Monthly for client reviews, quarterly for QBRs, on-demand when client signals change
Identifying onboarding and new projects at risk of delays based on status and estimation gaps.
EVALUATE
SUMMARIZECOLUMNS(
'BI_Autotask_Projects'[project_type_name],
'BI_Autotask_Projects'[project_status_name],
"project_count", COUNTROWS('BI_Autotask_Projects'),
"total_est_hours", SUM('BI_Autotask_Projects'[proxuma_estimated_hours])
)
ORDER BY [project_count] DESCEvery client project still in "New" or "Waiting to start" status, with estimated hours and risk assessment
| Client | Status | Projects | Est. Hours | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colon and Sons | New | 2 | 0h | High |
| Hernandez Ltd | New | 2 | 2h | High |
| Rivers Rogers Mitchell | New | 1 | 0h | High |
| Drake and Foster | New | 1 | 0h | High |
| Drake and Foster | Waiting to start | 1 | 18h | Medium |
| Mitchell Inc | Waiting to start | 1 | 16h | Medium |
| Martin Group | Waiting to start | 1 | 12h | Medium |
| Nelson Taylor Hicks | Waiting to start | 1 | 11h | Medium |
| Richards Burke Fowler | Waiting to start | 1 | 8h | Medium |
| Foster Nelson Smith | Waiting to start | 1 | 8h | Medium |
EVALUATE
SUMMARIZECOLUMNS(
'BI_Autotask_Projects'[company_name],
'BI_Autotask_Projects'[project_status_name],
FILTER('BI_Autotask_Projects',
'BI_Autotask_Projects'[project_status_name] IN {"New", "Waiting to start"} &&
'BI_Autotask_Projects'[project_type_name] = "Client"
),
"project_count", COUNTROWS('BI_Autotask_Projects'),
"total_est_hours", SUM('BI_Autotask_Projects'[proxuma_estimated_hours])
)
ORDER BY [project_count] DESCProjects grouped by estimated hours to show which ones have no scope, which may be underscoped, and which have adequate planning
Distribution of all 258 client projects by status, showing where the 22 not-started projects fit in the overall portfolio
EVALUATE ROW("TotalProjects", COUNTROWS('BI_Autotask_Projects'), "Companies", DISTINCTCOUNT('BI_Autotask_Projects'[company_id]))Colon and Sons (2 projects), Rivers Rogers Mitchell, and Drake and Foster each have projects in "New" status with 0h estimated. These were created in Autotask but never scoped. Without an estimate, there is no deadline, no resource assignment, and no way to track whether the project is on schedule. These are the highest-risk items in the pipeline.
Two hours across two projects is a placeholder, not a plan. This suggests the projects were logged to hold a spot but no one went back to define the actual work. At 1h per project, there is no room for onboarding tasks like network discovery, documentation, or agent deployment. These need re-scoping before they can start.
One project is in "Waiting to start" with 18h estimated (properly scoped), while another is in "New" with 0h. This is likely a second phase or add-on that was created but forgotten. The scoped project is ready for a kickoff call. The unscoped one needs attention before it blocks the engagement.
4 actions to reduce onboarding risk this month
Block 30 minutes per project with the assigned project lead. The goal is simple: define the tasks, estimate the hours, and set a target start date. A project with no estimate will never be prioritized over one that does. Colon and Sons has two projects stuck at 0h, meaning an entire client engagement is unplanned.
These projects have estimates, which means someone planned them. They are stalled because no one scheduled the kickoff. Pick a date with the client, assign a project lead, and move them to "In progress." The 5 projects with 8-12h of estimated work are small enough to complete in a single sprint once started.
Two projects with 2h total is not a real plan. Before scheduling anything with this client, the project manager needs to define what the actual deliverables are. If the scope is genuinely 1h per project, document that. If it is larger (which it almost certainly is), update the estimate so the team can allocate time properly.
Ten projects are still in "New" status with no kickoff initiated. This is a process gap. Set a rule in your project workflow: if a project has been in "New" for more than 5 business days, it gets escalated to the service manager for triage. Either scope it and move it forward, or close it if it is no longer needed.
Proxuma Power BI syncs project records from Autotask PSA through a direct API connection. Every project with type "Client" is included. The AI queries the Power BI data model using DAX to filter by status and calculate estimated hours per company. No data is manually entered for this report.
A project with zero estimated hours has no defined scope. Without an estimate, there is no way to allocate resources, set deadlines, or track whether the project is behind schedule. In practice, these projects sit in the backlog indefinitely because nothing is pushing them forward. They represent the highest risk of client dissatisfaction because the client may expect work to be happening.
"New" means the project was created in Autotask but no one has taken any action on it. "Waiting to start" means someone has acknowledged the project and typically added scope or estimates, but it has not been kicked off with the client yet. Both are pre-start states, but "New" projects are further behind in the process.
Weekly or biweekly. Projects that sit in "New" or "Waiting to start" for more than two weeks are at serious risk of being forgotten. Running this report at the start of each sprint or service review meeting gives the team a clear list to act on. With Proxuma Power BI and AI via MCP, generating it takes under two minutes.
Yes. Connect Proxuma Power BI to your Autotask PSA environment, add an AI tool (Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot) via MCP, and ask the same question. The AI writes the DAX queries, runs them against your project data, and generates a report with your actual clients and numbers. Setup takes about 30 minutes.
Connect Proxuma Power BI to your PSA, RMM, and M365 environment, use an MCP-compatible AI to ask questions, and generate custom reports - in minutes, not days.
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