Repeating tasks and task templates
Tasks that come back daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, every n, until a date. Templates add a project's usual tasks in one go, with dates from the start and each task given to the right role.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The monthly client report or the quarterly filing is forgotten because nobody added it again.
- Every new project of the same kind starts with someone retyping the same 30 tasks from last time.
- Tasks copied from an old project keep its people and dates, and someone has to fix each one.
- Steps that matter are missed on the projects set up by the newest manager.
How it works
- For a task that comes back, open its Repeat tab. Choose Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Yearly, Every n, and Repeat Until if it ends.
- When the task is moved to Done, the next one is made. It keeps the people, tags, description and checklist (unticked); its dates move on.
- An administrator builds a template for each kind of project under Projects > Configuration > Tasks and Plans > Task Templates. Each line is a task with its days from the start, length, hours and role.
- On a new project, open the Task Board tab and press Add Tasks from a Template. Pick the template and the date to count from, which starts as the project's start.
- Check the preview of the tasks and their dates, then press Add the Tasks. Each task goes to the project's current lead in the line's role.
Everything it does
Repeating tasks
- Repeat: Does Not Repeat (to start with), Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Yearly
- Every n days, weeks, months or years; at least 1
- Repeat Until a date; empty means for ever
- The next task is made when the current one is done, not on a fixed calendar day, so two are never open at once
- A task without a deadline gets its next deadline from its start, or from the day it was done
- The next task goes to the first open stage and keeps a link to the first of the series
- The new task notes in its history which task it was made from; the same date is never made twice
Templates
- A name, order, notes, and where it is offered: one product or every product, one Entity or every Entity
- Each line: task name, Subtask Of, Starts (days after the project start, 0 to start with) and Takes (days, 1 to start with)
- Each line also has Planned Hours, Given To (Role), Priority, Tags, Checklist (one item a line), Client Can See and a description
- The deadline is the start plus the days it takes, less one
- If nobody holds the role on the project, the task is added with nobody on it
Applying a template
- Add Tasks from a Template on the project's Task Board tab
- Count Days From: the project's start, or today if it has none; you can change it
- A preview lists every task, subtasks indented, with its start date
- The project's history records how many tasks were added and from which template
- A template can be applied more than once, for example for each phase
Who uses it
Project managerApplies a template to a new project and sets tasks to repeat.
Team memberFinishes a repeating task and finds the next one waiting.
Projects AdministratorBuilds and keeps the task templates for each kind of project.
Where you use it
- Web: the task form (Repeat tab); the project form (Task Board tab, Add Tasks from a Template); Projects > Configuration > Tasks and Plans > Task Templates
- These tasks show in the SmartMy Projects app like any other (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
What you control
Settings
- Repeat per task: Does Not Repeat to start with; Every 1
- Template line Starts: 0 days after the start; Takes: 1 day; Priority: Normal
Notifications
- Task Given to You: to the people a template gives tasks to, in the app and by email
Questions
Does a repeating task appear on a set day even if the last one is not done?
No. The next one is made when the current one is done, with its dates moved on by the repeat. This keeps one open task per series.What happens to the checklist on a repeating task?
The next task gets the same checklist items, with the same people and Required marks, all unticked.Who gets the tasks from a template?
The person who holds the line's role on the project when you apply it, such as the lead designer. Lines with no role, or a role nobody holds, are added with nobody on them.Can a template have subtasks and checklists?
Yes. A line can be a subtask of another line, and its checklist is written one item a line.Who can make templates?
Projects Administrators make and change them. Project managers and other Projects users apply them.Is this in the Starter plan?
Yes. Repeating tasks and task templates are in every plan.Related features
TASKSTasks on a board, list, calendar and pivotEvery project's work as tasks with assignees, priority, dates and tags. See them as a board by stage, a list, a calendar or a pivot. Stages are shared by every project, or a project keeps its own.TASKSSubtasks, checklists, comments and filesSplit a task into subtasks with their own people and stage, add a checklist of steps, and keep comments and files on the task. A task can be closed only when its required items are ticked and its subtasks are done.TASKSDeadline remindersPeople are told when a task is given to them. They are reminded before its deadline, on the day, and every morning while it is late. You set how many days before.TASKSTask automation rulesRules that act when a task is created, reaches a stage or goes overdue, or a timesheet week is late. They assign, set priority, tags or deadline, add a follow-up task, or tell people. Every run is logged.PROJECTSClient projects with team, value and healthEvery project holds its client (or marks it internal), Entity, currency, value, dates and the team with their roles and dates. The project manager sets its health, On Track, At Risk or Off Track, with one line on why.
See your next project on it.
Tell us how many people keep time, how you bill your clients today (hours, fixed price, retainers) and what you use now. We will set up one of your real projects with you.