# How do I combine projects in a folder into one?

> Put the projects in a folder, open it, and choose Combine into a project. You get one project holding every statement, and the originals stay as they are.

Sometimes one story is spread across several projects. You opened one for the checking accounts, one for the credit cards, and one for the statements that arrived late in production. Each one answers its own slice, and none of them answers the question you actually have, which is where the money went across all of them.

Combining fixes that. Put the projects in a folder, combine the folder, and CounselPro builds one new project holding every statement from every project in it.

## How to combine projects into one

1. Put the projects you want together in the same [folder](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/organize-projects-into-folders).
2. Open the folder from the **Projects** list.
3. Click **Actions** in the top right of the folder page.
4. Choose **Combine into a project**.

> _Screen: The Actions menu on a folder page. Combine into a project builds one new project from everything in the folder._

CounselPro creates the new project the moment you click Combine into a project and takes you straight to it, then copies the statements in behind the scenes.

## What does the combined project include?

The new project is named after the folder with **(Combined)** on the end, so a folder called Bankruptcy 2026 gives you "Bankruptcy 2026 (Combined)". It lands at the top of your **Projects** list rather than inside the folder, which keeps it out of the way if you combine that folder again later.

Nothing is moved or consumed. The projects you combined stay in the folder, untouched, with their own transactions and analysis intact.

Inside the combined project everything works the way it does anywhere else: the [transaction ledger](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/what-the-transaction-ledger-shows), [checks](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/how-does-counselpro-handle-checks), [insights](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/what-insights-show), the [AI Forensic Analysis report](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/ai-analysis-report), and [Daystrom](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/what-is-the-analysis-agent) all read the full set. That is the point of combining: you can finally ask one question and have it answered across every account at once.

Merging the accounts is where it pays off. An account that showed up in two of the source projects resolves to a single entry in the combined project, so you get one directory of accounts instead of the same checking account listed twice.

## Does combining cost credits?

No. [Credits](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/what-are-credits) are spent when CounselPro reads a page for the first time. Combining copies work you already paid for, so it draws nothing from your balance and adds nothing to your bill, no matter how many statements come across.

## Why is Combine into a project missing or greyed out?

The action only shows when it can actually do something:

- **The folder needs at least two projects.** One project has nothing to combine with, so the Actions menu does not appear.
- **Every project has to be finished.** If any of them is still processing, the option is greyed out and the menu says "Wait for every project to finish processing." Check the [project statuses](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/what-do-the-project-statuses-mean) and try again when they read Succeeded.
- **Single project plans do not have it.** Combining builds a new project, which a single project plan is not set up for. See [what's included in each plan](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/whats-included-in-each-plan).

## How long does combining take, and what if it fails?

Copying runs in the background, so you can leave the page. While it runs, the project shows a **Combining** status and a panel telling you it can take a few minutes.

> _Screen: A project while its statements are being copied in. The page refreshes itself when the copy is done._

The page updates on its own when it is ready. Large folders take longer, since every statement, page, transaction, and check is copied.

If something goes wrong, the project shows "We couldn't combine these projects" along with the reassurance that matters most: nothing was lost, and the original projects are untouched. Use **Get help** on that screen to open a ticket. The half-built project has no Actions menu of its own, so [delete it](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/delete-a-project) by right-clicking it in the Projects list.

Source: https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/combine-projects-in-a-folder