I am experienced in my field but very new to the business of consulting--recent layoff forced me to go it alone.  I have been using Zoho Invoice for the past year and as my projects and client list grows I am questioning whether my project/invoicing "structure" is appropriate.

I am looking for advice with respect to setting up Zoho Invoice projects for the long-term.

Here is my situation:

• Scientific Consultant;
• currently one-man-show but looking to grow;
• multiple clients;
• a mix of defined project work for which I submit formal proposals and random hourly work at clients request; 
• would like to bill at different rates depending on the type of work and the client (i.e. field work vs desk work, discounted rate for preferred clients);
• I have billable expenses such as travel, materials, etc. that I currently handle separately through Expensify.

• Create Customer in standard fashion;
• Create "General Consulting" Project that is evergreen for on-demand hourly work for each Customer;
• Create additional "defined" Projects for new, "defined" work;
• Bill monthly, submitting a separate invoice for each Project (i.e. one for General Consulting, one for Project X, one for Project Y, etc.).
• Mark "defined" Projects as inactive upon completion.

Thanks in advance,

Scott