Tasks

Create, assign, track, and manage tasks across your projects.

Overview

Tasks are the core unit of work in Beeswax. Every task belongs to a Project and represents a piece of work that needs to be done, tracked, and (optionally) invoiced.

Tasks give you visibility into:

  • Who is working on what, and who is responsible for reviewing it
  • How long work is taking compared to what was estimated
  • What state each piece of work is in — open, in progress, under review, or done
  • Whether deadlines are at risk when tasks are linked to Milestones

You can access tasks from two places:

  • Dashboard — Shows all your tasks across every project, ordered by your overview priority
  • Within a Project — Shows only that project's tasks, ordered by project priority

Creating a Task

Click the New Task button at the top of the task list. A new task drawer will open on the right side of the screen.

Required Fields

Field Description
Summary A short title for the task. Maximum 120 characters.
Estimate How long the task should take, entered as Hours and Minutes. Defaults to 30 minutes.
Assigned to The person who will do the work. Defaults to you.
Project The project this task belongs to.

Optional Fields

Field Description
Managed by The person who oversees and reviews the task. When the assignee submits work for review, it goes to this person. If not set, defaults to the task creator.
Details A rich text description with formatting support. Use this for instructions, context, or specifications.
Milestone Group this task under a milestone to track it against a deadline. Only incomplete milestones are shown.
Product/Service The billing rate template used when this task is imported to an invoice. If you have a default Product/Service set in your user settings, it will be applied automatically.
Tags Colour-coded labels for categorising tasks (e.g. "urgent", "design", "backend").
Start date When the task should begin. Defaults to today.

All new tasks are created in the Open state.

Note: Tasks can only be created within active (unlocked) projects. You cannot create or modify tasks on locked projects.

The Task List

Each row in the task list shows:

  • State badge — The current status displayed as a coloured badge (see States & Workflow below)
  • Avatars — Coloured initials for the assigned user and the manager
  • Summary — The task title (click to open the task drawer)
  • Project name — Shown on the right side of the row

Metadata Icons

Small icons appear alongside each task to give you information at a glance:

Icon Meaning
Coloured badges Tags applied to the task
Bullseye Task is linked to a Milestone (red and pulsing if overdue)
Paperclip Number of file attachments
Clock Time logged against the task
Chat bubble Comments/messages on the task

Priority & Ordering

Tasks can be reordered by dragging and dropping using the handle on the left side of each row. Beeswax maintains two separate priority orderings:

  • Overview priority — Your personal ordering across all projects (Dashboard view)
  • Project priority — The ordering within a specific project (Project view)

Reordering in one view does not affect the other.

The Task Drawer

Clicking a task summary opens the task drawer — a panel that slides in from the right side of the screen. This is where you view and edit all task details.

Tabs

The drawer has five tabs:

Tab What it shows
Details All task fields (summary, estimate, assignee, project, milestone, product/service, tags), the progress bar, and action buttons
Messages A comment thread for discussions about the task. You can mention and notify other users here.
Files Upload and view file attachments
Time Logged All time entries grouped by date, with a progress bar showing time spent vs estimate
Notes Project-level notes associated with this task

Progress Bar

The progress bar at the top of the drawer shows time spent relative to the estimate:

  • Green — Time spent is within the estimate
  • Red — Time spent has exceeded the estimate

The bar displays the percentage complete and the hours:minutes breakdown.

Auto-Save

Changes to most fields in the task drawer are saved automatically. You do not need to click a save button — updates are applied as soon as you change a field.

Read-Only Mode

The task drawer enters read-only mode when:

  • The task is In Progress (the assignee is actively working — fields are locked to prevent disruption)
  • The task is Closed

Action Buttons

At the bottom of the Details tab, you will find:

Button What it does When it appears
Duplicate Task Creates a copy of the task in the Open state Always (on existing tasks)
Notify Assignee Sends an email notification to the assigned user Only visible to the task manager, creator, or account owner
Reopen Task Moves a closed task back to the Returned state Only on closed tasks that have not been invoiced
Delete Task Permanently removes the task Only available if the task has no time entries logged against it

Task States & Workflow

Every task moves through a series of states that represent where it is in the work process. You change a task's state by hovering over (or clicking) the state badge on the task row, which reveals the available transitions.

The Five States

State Badge Style Description
Open Grey Task has been created but work has not started
In Progress Green (animated) Someone is actively working on this task. The timer is running.
Review Yellow Work is done and has been submitted for the manager to review
Returned Grey (with indicator) The manager reviewed the work and sent it back for changes
Closed Grey Task is complete and done

Typical Workflow

Open ──▶ In Progress ──▶ Review ──▶ Closed
                            │
                            ▼
                         Returned ──▶ In Progress ──▶ Review ──▶ Closed

Here is what happens at each step:

  1. Open → In Progress — The assignee clicks Start. The timer begins. A confirmation prompt appears.
  2. In Progress → Review — The assignee clicks Review. The time logger popup appears so they can log their time and add a message. The task moves to the manager's queue.
  3. Review → Closed — The manager clicks Done/Close. The task is complete.
  4. Review → Returned — The manager clicks Return. A message is added explaining what needs to change. The task goes back to the assignee.
  5. Returned → In Progress — The assignee clicks Start to resume work.

Alternative Flows

  • Pause: An in-progress task can be paused (sent back to Open) by clicking Pause. The time logger appears to log the work done so far.
  • Close directly: A task can be closed from Open, In Progress, or Review — but only by users with permission (see Permissions below).
  • Reopen: A closed task can be reopened, which sends it to the Returned state. This is not available for tasks that have already been invoiced.

State Transition Controls

When you hover over or click the state badge on a task, you'll see the available next states:

Current State Available Actions
Open Start, Close
In Progress Pause, Review
Review Return, Close
Returned Start, Close

Auto-Stop: One Task at a Time

Only one task can be In Progress per user at any time. If you start a new task while another is still running, Beeswax will automatically:

  1. Stop the previously running task
  2. Log the accumulated time on that task
  3. Return it to the Open state

This ensures time tracking remains accurate and reflects what you are actually working on.

Time Tracking

Beeswax tracks time automatically through task state transitions — you don't need to use a separate time tracker.

How It Works

  1. Start a task — The timer begins (the last started at timestamp is recorded)
  2. Transition away from In Progress — The time logger popup appears automatically
  3. Log your time — Adjust the start/end times if needed, add a message, and save

The Time Logger Popup

When you move a task out of In Progress (whether to Review, Pause, or another state), a popup appears with:

  • Visual slider — A 24-hour timeline where you can drag the start and end points
  • Time inputs — Hours and minutes fields for precise entry (24-hour format)
  • Calculated duration — The total time is displayed and updates as you adjust
  • Message field — Add a note about what you worked on
  • Notify others — Optionally notify other users about the state change

Viewing Time Entries

All logged time appears in the Time Logged tab of the task drawer, grouped by date. Each entry shows:

  • Who logged the time
  • The duration
  • Any message attached to the entry
  • The state transition it was associated with

The Progress Bar

Both the task drawer and the task list show a progress bar:

  • Green when total time spent is within the estimated time
  • Red when time spent exceeds the estimate
  • Shows the percentage and hours:minutes at a glance

Milestones

Milestones are deadline-based groupings of tasks within a project. They help you track whether work will be completed on time.

Assigning Tasks to Milestones

In the task drawer, use the Milestone dropdown to assign a task to a milestone. Only incomplete milestones from the task's project are shown.

Overdue Detection

When a task is linked to a milestone, Beeswax calculates whether there are enough working hours remaining before the due date to complete the task (and all higher-priority tasks in the same milestone). If not:

  • The bullseye icon on the task row turns red and pulses
  • A tooltip shows the milestone name and how far past the due date it is

Key Rules

  • A milestone cannot be marked as complete while it still has incomplete tasks
  • When a milestone's due date changes, overdue statuses are recalculated automatically
  • When a milestone is completed, all overdue flags on its tasks are cleared

Filtering Tasks

The filter bar at the top of the task list lets you narrow down what you see.

Available Filters

Filter Description Who can see it
Status Filter by state: Open, In Progress, Review, Returned Everyone
Project Filter to a specific project (Dashboard view only) Admin roles and above
Assigned to Filter by who the task is assigned to Admin roles and above
Managed by Filter by who manages/created the task Admin roles and above
Tags Filter by one or more tags Everyone

Note: General Users only see the Status and Tags filters. They cannot filter by Assigned to or Managed by, since they only see tasks assigned to them.

Filter Persistence

Your filter selections are remembered between page loads using browser cookies, so you don't need to re-apply them each time you visit the task list.

Comments & Messages

The Messages tab in the task drawer provides a conversation thread for each task.

Key Features

  • Rich text comments — Use the editor to format messages
  • Notify others — When posting a comment, you can select additional users to notify via the "Include Others" dropdown
  • Bounce messages — When a task is returned (bounced), the reviewer's message is automatically added to the conversation
  • Time entry notes — Messages attached to time entries also appear in the thread
  • Edit/Delete — You can edit or delete your own comments

Files & Attachments

The Files tab in the task drawer lets you manage file attachments.

  • Upload files directly to a task
  • View and download attached files
  • The paperclip icon in the task list shows how many files are attached
  • Files follow the task's privacy settings

Closed Tasks & Invoicing

Viewing Closed Tasks

Within a project, you can access the Closed Tasks page to see all completed tasks. Each entry shows:

  • Completion date
  • Assignee and manager
  • Task summary
  • Whether it has been invoiced (shown with a document icon linking to the invoice)
  • Total time logged

Importing Tasks to an Invoice

To convert completed tasks into invoice line items:

  1. Go to the Closed Tasks page within a project
  2. Select tasks using the checkboxes
  3. Click Invoice Selected
  4. Choose to create a new invoice or add to an existing draft invoice

Each task becomes a line item using:

  • The task's Product/Service rate
  • The total billable time logged
  • A detailed breakdown of time entries in the line item description

Important Rules

  • Tasks that have already been invoiced show a strikethrough and cannot be re-invoiced
  • Already-invoiced tasks cannot be reopened — the Reopen button is hidden
  • Tasks are grouped by milestone when imported

How-to Guides

Create a Task

  1. Navigate to the desired Project
  2. Within the project, access the Tasks section
  3. Click the New Task button
  4. Add task details: summary, estimate, assigned user
  5. Click Save — the task is created in the Open state

Edit a Task

  1. Locate the task in the task list
  2. Click the task summary or pencil icon
  3. Modify task details in the task drawer
  4. Changes save automatically

Delete a Task

  1. Identify the task you wish to remove
  2. Select the Delete icon in the page actions
  3. Confirm deletion — this cannot be reversed

Note: Tasks with time entries cannot be deleted. Close the task instead.

Bulk Create Tasks & Milestones from a Quote

  1. Navigate to your Quote and select the Create Tasks icon
  2. On the configuration screen: choose which Line Items become Tasks, assign users, generate Milestones from Group titles, and set time allocations
  3. Click Create Tasks at the bottom

Note: Groups convert to Milestones and Line Items convert to Tasks.

Manage Task Tags

  1. Go to the Task page and click the Manage Tags button (top right)
  2. The Tag Management popup opens — add or delete tags
  3. Enter a tag name and select a colour
  4. Click Save

Note: Deleting a tag removes it from all assigned tasks.

Understanding Task Assignment

Each task has two user roles: the Assigned to user (who does the work) and the Managed by user (who reviews the work). When the assignee submits work for review, it goes to the manager.

Understanding Task States

  • Open — Task has been created but work has not started
  • In Progress — Someone is actively working on the task (animated green indicator). The timer is running.
  • Review — Work is done and submitted for the manager to review
  • Returned — The manager reviewed and sent it back for changes (indicated with a red dot). The task can return to In Progress.
  • Closed — Task is complete and done (final state)

All tasks require allocated time (an estimate). Priority is managed via drag-and-drop reordering in the task list.

Permissions by Role

Different roles have different levels of access to tasks. Here's what each role can do:

Action Owner Super Admin Admin Accountant General User Client
View tasks All All All All Own tasks only No access
Create tasks Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Edit tasks All All All All Own tasks only No
Start a task Yes Yes Yes Yes If assignee No
Close a task Yes Yes Yes Yes If assignee or creator No
Delete a task Yes Yes Yes Yes Own tasks (no time entries) No
Use Assigned to / Managed by filters Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Notify assignee If manager, owner, or creator If manager, owner, or creator If manager, owner, or creator If manager, owner, or creator If manager or creator No
View closed tasks / Invoice tasks Yes Yes No Yes No No
Reopen closed tasks Yes Yes Yes Yes If assignee or creator No

Key Permission Notes

  • General Users can only see and manage tasks that are assigned to them. They do not see other people's tasks. They cannot access the Closed Tasks page or invoice tasks.
  • Clients have no access to tasks at all.
  • Contractors can manage milestones (task lists) but do not have explicit task permissions. Their task access depends on any additional roles assigned to them.
  • Starting a task is restricted to the person assigned to it or the project manager.
  • Closing a task from Open, In Progress, or Review requires being an admin, accountant, account owner, the task creator, or the task assignee.
  • Tasks on locked projects cannot be created, edited, or have their state changed.

Tips & Best Practices

  • Set realistic estimates. The progress bar helps you track whether work is on target — but only if the estimate is meaningful.
  • One task at a time. Only one task can be In Progress per user. Starting a new one auto-stops the previous. Use this to your advantage for accurate time tracking.
  • Use Managed by intentionally. The person in the Managed by field is who reviews the task. Make sure this is the right person for the workflow.
  • Assign tasks to milestones to get deadline visibility and overdue warnings.
  • Use tags for cross-project categorisation (e.g. "urgent", "design", "backend") and filter by them.
  • Set a default Product/Service in your user settings to save time when creating tasks.
  • Tasks with time entries cannot be deleted. This protects logged work. If you no longer need a task, close it instead.
  • Invoiced tasks cannot be reopened. If you need to do further work, create a new task rather than trying to reopen an invoiced one.
  • Check the Gantt chart within a project for a visual timeline of milestones and their associated tasks.