Working with tasks

Tasks are Beacon's inbuilt to-do list with one very key feature: Tasks can be linked to any record in your Beacon database. Whether you're reaching out to key donors, assigning someone in finance to check particular payments, or reminding yourself to submit a grant application, Tasks can keep you on track and up to date.

Contents:

• Viewing tasks
• Creating tasks
• Creating tasks from forms
• Frequently Asked Questions

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link Viewing tasks

• On a record
• On the task list
• On your dashboard

link On a record

Creating a card on your records is one of the best ways to surface the relevant tasks. Some records will have a task card set up by default, but if you don't see one you can add it to any record type that you like.

help_outline You will need to be an admin to add this card.

Create a new tasks card:

1. Enter customisation mode
2. Click 'Add card' under your existing cards on the right hand side
3. Choose 'List of related records'
4. Enter a title, and choose an icon, to be displayed at the top of your card
5. Choose Tasks as the record type to list
6. Choose the record type that Tasks point at that you'd like to display (almost always the record type you're on!)

help_outline Can't see your record type as an option? Click here for more info.

7. Select 'Related to' as the field on Tasks that point at your record type
8. Choose the fields to display on your card
9. (optional) This will show all related tasks. If you'd like to only see incomplete tasks, click 'Filter tasks' and filter for 'Completed?' is not checked.
10. Click Save!

link On the task list

If you'd prefer to have access to all of the tasks in your Becaon account, you can view them directly from the Tasks record type.

help_outline Can't see tasks in your sidebar? See our guide on customising the items in your sidebar.

By default, you will see all tasks; those of your whole team, related to all record types, both completed and incomplete. To see just the tasks you want, use the filters to narrow the records on display. Save them to a view to make it easy to come back to regularly.

Some suggestions and examples for views:

• Your tasks - Filter for 'Assignee' is you.
• Tasks for a particular team - Create a dropdown field called 'Team'. Filter for the chosen 'Team'.
• Incomplete tasks - Filter for 'Completed?' is unchecked.
• Overdue tasks - Filter for 'Due date' before today, and 'Completed?' is unchecked.

link On your dashboard

Keep tabs on your most pressing tasks by adding a list to your dashboard. See the dashboard guide to learn how.

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link Creating tasks

• From a record
• From the task list
• Assign a task to a team member

link From a record

If your record has a related tasks card, simply click the '+' button on the card to add a task related to the current record.

check_circle_outline You will see that both the 'Assignee' (the current user) and the 'Related to' (the current record) fields have been automatically completed.

Add any details about the task, and click Create. You'll now see your new task in the card, and also in your main list of tasks.

link From the task list

Add a new task from the main task list like creating any other record: Click the Add task button, enter your details, and click Create.

Done!

link Assign a task to a team member

When creating a new task, it doesn't have to be your task; you can create a task for any other user of Beacon. This can be a great way to delegate jobs to your team where they can find all the related information easily.

Simply change the 'Assignee' to the user that the task is for. That's it! You can re-assign tasks assigned to someone else, or assign it when creating the task.

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link Bonus: Creating tasks from forms

It can be useful to automatically create a new task for a team member when one of your signup forms have been submitted - whether it's to follow up with them, send them documentation, or to initiate some other process.

1. Firstly, create a sign up form. In the 'Form sections', click Add section, and choose 'General fields'.

2. Choose Task from the record type dropdown.

3. You can add any fields from the task as a question on the form, or you can leave this section without questions and it will still create a new task.

4. Add fixed data for the Task. You will probably want to enter a 'Name', and possibly an 'Assignee'

check_circle_outline Now when a new signup happens, a new task related to that Person will also be created.

help_outline If you don't give the Task section on your form a title or description it will simply show a small blank box: Why not use the title or description to create a text block on your form?

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link Frequently Asked Questions

link Can tasks send me an email when it's created/due?

Not yet, but this is functionality that we are planning on adding! Let us know if this would be useful for you.

link My record type isn't listed as an option when creating a Tasks related record card. How do I fix this?

When creating a related record card, Beacon shows only record types that Tasks could point at. To allow tasks to point at your chosen record type:

1. Open a Task record
2. Enter customisation mode
3. Click on the Related to field to edit it
4. Select the record types that you'd like tasks to point at from the Add types dropdown
5. Click Save

link Can tasks be private?

All tasks are visible to all users. If you have access to roles and permissions on your account, you can restrict the visibility of all tasks to only some users.