Project visibility controls who on your team can see a given project inside QuickEstimate. By default, every new project is team-visible, but you can change this at any time—on a project-by-project basis—to keep sensitive work private or to open it up for wider collaboration.

The three visibility levels

🔒
Private
Only you

Only the project owner (and Account Owners / Admins) can see this project. It won't appear in any team member's project list.

👥
Team-Visible
Your team

All team members on your account can see this project, but only those with edit permission can make changes. This is the default for all new projects.

🌐
Shared
With guests

The project is visible to your team and any external guests or clients you've invited via a share link or guest access.

💡
Default setting: All new projects start as Team-Visible. You don't need to change anything if you're happy for your whole team to see new projects as soon as they're created.

How to change a project's visibility

You can update visibility at any point from the project settings. Here's how:

  1. 1
    Open the project you want to update from your Projects dashboard.
  2. 2
    Click the ⚙️ Settings icon in the top-right corner of the project view.
  3. 3
    Select the Sharing & Visibility tab from the settings panel.
  4. 4
    Under Project Visibility, choose Private, Team-Visible, or Shared from the dropdown.
  5. 5
    Click Save Changes. The new visibility takes effect immediately—no page refresh needed.
⚠️
Heads up: If you switch a project from Shared back to Private or Team-Visible, any active guest share links will stop working immediately. Guests will see a "You don't have access" message if they try to visit the link.

Who can change visibility settings

Not everyone on your team can adjust project visibility. Here's a quick breakdown by role:

If you need to change a role's default permissions, see Understanding Team Roles and Permissions.

Tips & best practices

Use Private for sensitive or draft work

If you're building an estimate that isn't ready for the rest of the team to see—or working on a project for a high-value client that requires discretion—set it to Private until you're ready to share.

Use Team-Visible for day-to-day collaboration

For most projects, Team-Visible is the right choice. It keeps your team informed without requiring you to manually invite individuals to each project.

Use Shared only when a client or external party needs access

The Shared setting is designed for external stakeholders. Combine it with Guest Access to control exactly what a client can see and do.

✅
Pro tip: You can bulk-update visibility on multiple projects at once from Projects → Manage Projects → Bulk Actions. This is handy when onboarding a new team member and making several previously private projects team-visible.

Frequently asked questions

Can I set a default visibility level for all new projects?

Yes. Go to Settings → Team Preferences → Default Project Visibility and choose your preferred default. This applies to all new projects created by anyone on your account going forward. Existing projects aren't affected.

Does changing visibility affect the project's data or estimates?

No. Changing visibility only controls who can see the project. All estimates, line items, and files inside the project remain completely intact regardless of the visibility setting.

What happens to comments and activity when a project goes Private?

All comments and the activity log are preserved. Team members who previously had access won't be able to see them until visibility is restored, but nothing is deleted.

Can a Viewer see Private projects they've been directly invited to?

Yes—if an Owner or Admin explicitly shares a Private project with a specific team member (via Sharing & Visibility → Invite People), that person can view the project regardless of their role, as long as they have at least Viewer permission on their account.