diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/projects/ProjectWizard.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/projects/ProjectWizard.tsx
index c2bbe1e..81fcd70 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/projects/ProjectWizard.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/projects/ProjectWizard.tsx
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@ function Step2({ state, onChange }: Step2Props) {
 
       <div className="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-2 gap-4">
         <div>
-          <label className={LABEL_CLS}>Budget (EUR) *<InfoTooltip content="Total project budget in EUR. Stored internally as cents. Used to track spending against assignments." /></label>
+          <label className={LABEL_CLS}>Budget (EUR)<InfoTooltip content="Total project budget in EUR. Stored internally as cents. Used to track spending against assignments." /></label>
           <input
             type="number"
             min={0}
@@ -1160,7 +1160,23 @@ export function ProjectWizard({ open, onClose }: ProjectWizardProps) {
         handleClose();
       }, 1200);
     } catch (err) {
-      setSubmitError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to create project");
+      let errorMessage = "Failed to create project";
+      if (err instanceof Error) {
+        try {
+          const parsed: unknown = JSON.parse(err.message);
+          if (Array.isArray(parsed) && parsed.length > 0) {
+            errorMessage = (parsed as { message?: string }[])
+              .map((e) => e.message)
+              .filter(Boolean)
+              .join("; ");
+          } else {
+            errorMessage = err.message;
+          }
+        } catch {
+          errorMessage = err.message;
+        }
+      }
+      setSubmitError(errorMessage);
     } finally {
       setIsSubmitting(false);
     }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/timeline/TimelineContext.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/timeline/TimelineContext.tsx
index f5563da..70bc80d 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/timeline/TimelineContext.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/timeline/TimelineContext.tsx
@@ -203,6 +203,7 @@ export interface TimelineContextValue {
   // ─ Loading
   isLoading: boolean;
   isInitialLoading: boolean;
+  isEntriesError: boolean;
   totalAllocCount: number;
   activeFilterCount: number;
 
@@ -328,6 +329,7 @@ export function TimelineProvider({
   ) as {
     data: TimelineEntriesView | undefined;
     isLoading: boolean;
+    isError: boolean;
     refetch: () => Promise<unknown>;
   };
 
@@ -344,11 +346,12 @@ export function TimelineProvider({
   ) as {
     data: TimelineEntriesView | undefined;
     isLoading: boolean;
+    isError: boolean;
     refetch: () => Promise<unknown>;
   };
 
   const entriesViewQuery = isSelfServiceTimeline ? selfEntriesViewQuery : staffEntriesViewQuery;
-  const { data: entriesView, isLoading, refetch: refetchEntriesView } = entriesViewQuery;
+  const { data: entriesView, isLoading, isError: isEntriesError, refetch: refetchEntriesView } = entriesViewQuery;
 
   const assignments = entriesView?.assignments ?? [];
   const demands = entriesView?.demands ?? [];
@@ -774,6 +777,7 @@ export function TimelineProvider({
       blinkOverbookedDays,
       isLoading,
       isInitialLoading,
+      isEntriesError,
       totalAllocCount,
       activeFilterCount,
     }),
@@ -800,6 +804,7 @@ export function TimelineProvider({
       blinkOverbookedDays,
       isLoading,
       isInitialLoading,
+      isEntriesError,
       totalAllocCount,
       activeFilterCount,
     ],
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/timeline/TimelineView.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/timeline/TimelineView.tsx
index fea127b..7c496e3 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/timeline/TimelineView.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/timeline/TimelineView.tsx
@@ -332,6 +332,7 @@ function TimelineViewContent({
     today,
     isLoading,
     isInitialLoading,
+    isEntriesError,
     totalAllocCount,
   } = ctx;
 
@@ -708,7 +709,11 @@ function TimelineViewContent({
         onScroll={handleContainerScroll}
         className="app-surface relative z-0 flex-1 overflow-auto"
       >
-        {isInitialLoading ? (
+        {isEntriesError ? (
+          <div className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-3 py-24 text-sm text-red-600 dark:text-red-400">
+            <span>Failed to load timeline data. Please try refreshing the page.</span>
+          </div>
+        ) : isInitialLoading ? (
           <div className="flex items-center justify-center py-24 text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">
             Loading timeline...
           </div>