Working with the task board

Every project has a board. Each card is a task, and each column is a stage of the work. You move a card by dragging it to another column. The board checks the rules as you go. If a move is not allowed, the card snaps back and a message tells you why.

The Projects module only appears when your subscription plan includes Projects.

Before you start

• The project must be open (not Completed or Cancelled).
• To assign tasks, the people must exist under Projects → Personnel.
• To use My tasks, your login must be linked to your record in Personnel.

The columns

Each column header shows how many cards it holds. Click a column name to fold it away, and click the folded strip to open it again.

What a card shows

The task number, its priority flag, the title, the milestone, a progress bar, the due date, sub-tasks done out of total, the number of notes, a shield if it needs supervisor sign-off, and the assignee's initials. Once money is involved it also shows Cost so far and the planned Bill.

The colours mean something:

• The left edge of the card is the priority: grey Low, blue Medium, amber High, red Urgent.
• The due date turns amber three days before it is due and red once it is overdue.
• Each person's initials keep the same colour on every card, so you can spot one person's work across the board.
• Column headers carry the column's colour (blue To do, indigo In progress, red Blocked, amber In review, green Done).

Steps: add tasks

1. On the project's Board tab, type a title in + Quick add task, press Enter at the foot of the Backlog column and press Enter. The task is created in Backlog straight away.
2. Or click New task for the full form: Title, Start in column (Backlog, To do or In progress), Priority, Milestone, Assignee, Supervisor, Start and Due dates, Sub-task of, Depends on, Department, Summary and Details. Click Save.
3. Tick Needs supervisor sign-off before it can be marked done if a supervisor must check the work. You must then choose a Supervisor.

Steps: move work along

1. Drag a card to another column to change its status.
2. Drag a card up or down within a column to change its order. This does not change its status.
3. Or click the card to open the task page and use the buttons at the top. They offer the sensible next steps, for example In progress, Blocked, In review, Done, Sign off or Reopen to To do.
4. On a phone, cards are listed by column and each card has a drop-down underneath it to choose its new status.

The rules

• Free movement while working. A task can move freely between Backlog, To do, In progress, Blocked and In review.
• Start before you finish. A task can only go to Done from In progress or In review.
• Supervisor sign-off. If the task needs sign-off, the assignee moves it to In review. Only the task's supervisor (or an administrator) can then click Sign off to move it to Done. The supervisor must have their login linked in Personnel.
• Sub-tasks first. A task cannot be marked Done while any of its sub-tasks are still open.
• Depends on. If a task depends on another one that is not done yet, you can still start it, but you get a warning.
• Cancelling needs a reason. You are asked why. The reason is saved in the task's activity history. Any stock allocated to the task is released.
• Reopening. A Done or Cancelled task can be reopened to To do or In progress.

Marking a task Done sets it to 100% complete and releases any stock still held for it. Reopening a task holds that stock again (but not stock you released yourself), and a task that was at 100% drops back to 90%.

Sub-tasks

A sub-task is a smaller piece of a task. On the task page, click Add in the Sub-tasks panel, or choose a parent in Sub-task of on the task form. Sub-tasks are only one level deep: a sub-task cannot have sub-tasks of its own.

Priorities

Each task has a priority: Low, Medium (the default), High or Urgent. The flag on the card is coloured to match.

Filters

Above the board you can Search tasks by text, pick a milestone (All milestones), a person (Anyone) or a priority (Any priority), or tick Only mine.

My tasks

Projects → My Tasks shows every task assigned to you, or waiting for your sign-off, across all projects, on one board. Each card shows which project it belongs to. Finished tasks stay on it for 14 days. You can drag cards here just as on a project board.

The task page

Click a card to open the task. At the top you see the number, status, priority, milestone, "Needs sign-off" and "Overdue" labels, what it is a sub-task of or depends on, the assignee, supervisor, dates, customer and progress. Four tiles show Cost, Planned bill, Billed (with what has been received) and Margin.

The sections below are:

• Materials — stock allocated to and used on the task.
• Costs & documents — expenditures, vendor work and other linked documents.
• Services & billing — the work you will bill, and Generate invoice.
• Supervision visits — the supervisor's site visits.
• Sub-tasks, Team (extra people working on it) and Notes & activity.

Click Edit to change the task's details, including % complete.

Tips

• Keep Blocked honest. It tells everyone at a glance which jobs are stuck.
• Use Depends on for tasks that should follow another, for example "Tile floor" after "Lay screed".
• Add people to Team when more than one person works on a task. The assignee is the person responsible.

Common problems

• The card jumped back to where it was → the move broke a rule. Read the message that appeared. It says what to do.
• "Start the task (In progress) before marking it done." → move it to In progress first.
• "This task needs supervisor sign-off. Move it to In review first." → move it to In review and ask the supervisor to sign it off.
• "Only the task's supervisor or an administrator can sign this task off." or the Sign off button is greyed out → you are not the task's supervisor. If you are, ask a manager to link your login to your record in Personnel.
• "… sub-task(s) are still open. Finish or cancel them first." → finish or cancel the sub-tasks listed in the Sub-tasks panel.
• "The task this one depends on is not done yet." → this is only a warning. The move went through.
• "Cancelling needs a reason." or "Give a reason for cancelling this task." → type a reason when asked.
• "A done task can only be reopened to To do or In progress." → drag it to one of those two columns.
• "This task's project is closed. Reopen the project first." → the project is Completed or Cancelled.
• "Sub-tasks can only be one level deep." or "This task has sub-tasks of its own, so it cannot become a sub-task." → pick a top-level task as the parent.
• "Choose a supervisor when the task needs sign-off." → pick a Supervisor, or untick the sign-off box.
• The supervisor I want is not in the list → only people marked Can supervise tasks in Personnel appear there.
• My tasks says my login is not linked → ask a manager to open Projects → Personnel, edit your record and choose your login.
• "… Cancel the task instead." when deleting → a task can only be deleted when nothing has been spent, consumed or billed on it. Cancel it instead.