Tasks and subtasks

Employees use tasks to track assigned work in Assisterp. Start here when you need to understand why a task has smaller pieces under it, or why a task cannot be marked complete yet.

How tasks work

A task is the main work item. It can be tied to a client, assigned to team members, given a priority and status, and linked to comments or time entries.

A subtask is a smaller work item inside a task. Subtasks can have their own assignees, priority, and status, so one person can own a specific part of the work without changing the whole task.

A task that is part of a job cannot be deleted. See Jobs and pipelines.

Add a task

1. Open Task from the left sidebar.
2. Select Add (the plus icon) on the action bar.
3. Under Task Create for, choose Customer, Internal, or Lead, then pick the client or lead.
4. Enter a Title. Use the shortcode dropdown beside the title field to insert a placeholder.
5. Attach files, and open Attach Forms if a required custom form should be linked. Open Attach Reminder Templates to tick pre-configured reminder templates to send for this task; search the list or page through it if your firm has many templates.
6. Set Interaction Type, Priority, Assignees, and Task Status.
7. Enter the Start Date and End Date with their time fields. Add Estimation Time in the 1w 1d 1h 1m format to budget effort.
8. Fill any firm-defined custom fields.
9. To log time on the task at the same time, turn on Create matching time entry for this task. Create billing entry for this task appears beside it to mark the entry billable. See Time Sheet for time-entry detail.
10. Select Save.

Firms manage Priority, Task Status, and Interaction Type values under Lists and tags. Assignees are notified through your firm’s Reminders and notifications rules.

Open subtasks on a task

1. Open Task from the left sidebar.
2. Select the task you want to review.
3. Open the SubTasks tab on the task details page.

Use the subtasks list to check each subtask’s number, title, assignee, priority, and status. Select a subtask row to open it when you need more detail.

Add a subtask

1. Open the parent task and open its SubTasks tab.
2. Select Add (the plus icon).
3. Enter a title and set the assignee, priority, status, and dates.
4. Select Save.

Subtasks inherit the parent’s client.

Task detail page tabs

The task detail page has three tabs: Comments for the discussion thread, SubTasks for the smaller pieces, and Time Sheet for time logged against the task. The activity history is reached from an icon on the task header, not a tab. See Time Sheet for what the time-entry view shows.

Add a comment

1. Open the task and open the Comments tab.
2. Write your comment in the comment box.
3. To attach a document, select the paperclip button (Attach PDF appears when you hover over it) and choose a PDF, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, text, or CSV file of up to 10 MB. The image button above the box adds pictures.
4. Select Add Comment.

The attached document is saved with the comment. If a file is another type or larger than 10 MB, Assisterp shows an error and does not attach it. Meeting comments use the same box; see Meetings and invites.

When to use a subtask

Use subtasks when the parent task needs smaller steps that can be assigned, tracked, or completed separately. Keep the parent task for the overall outcome, and use subtasks for the parts that must be finished before that outcome is done.

Filter and sort the task list

The action bar on Task has a filter, a sort, and a column-toggle control. The filter modal accepts Priority, Interaction, Task Status, Tags, Assignees, Client, and a date range. The sort modal sorts by any column.

Each row also has an inline Task Status dropdown. If the task is currently visible to clients, switching it to Completed prompts a confirmation before the change is applied.

From a client record

On a client’s detail page, open the Tasks tab. The Add action works like the global Task list, except Assisterp carries the client into the new task for you. Use this when you are already in a client’s record and want to keep that context.

Tasks for clients that are not active

Recurring tasks are created only while the client is Active, so they are paused for a client who is On Hold, Inactive, or Dissolved. See Clients for the client’s status.

Why a task cannot be completed

If a task has incomplete subtasks, Assisterp stops the parent task from being marked complete. Open the SubTasks tab, update the unfinished subtasks, and then try completing the parent task again. Completing a parent does not close its subtasks automatically.

If the status control or SubTasks tab is missing, ask an administrator to review your permissions.