More about tasks

What are tasks in Tallyfy?

Tasks are the actual work items people complete in Tallyfy - they’re what your team interacts with every day. Simple as that.

You’ve got two types to work with:

Why is understanding tasks important for workflow management?

Here’s the thing - tasks drive everything in Tallyfy. They’re how work actually gets done.

When you understand tasks, magic happens:

• Your team knows exactly what to do (no more confusion or “what’s next?” questions)
• Work gets done right the first time - by the right people at the right time
• Processes flow smoothly because everyone’s on the same page

The result? No bottlenecks. No dropped balls. Just smooth workflows.

What timing concepts apply to tasks?

Timing matters. Tallyfy gives you two ways to control when things happen:

• Start time: When someone should start working on the task (it’s guidance, not enforced - think of it as a friendly nudge)
• Deadline: The hard stop. When the task must be done. Miss this and it shows as overdue

You can set both timings whether you’re creating templates or quick one-off tasks. Get this right and your team hits deadlines like clockwork.

Pro tip: Use expiring tasks for FYI items that auto-complete at deadline. This prevents task debt - that overwhelming buildup of overdue work that never seems to go away.

Now, about those task types I mentioned:

1. Process Tasks: These live inside your process templates - they’re connected to other tasks and follow a specific workflow. This is where 90% of your work happens in Tallyfy. Perfect for anything you do repeatedly
2. One-off Tasks: Quick, standalone to-dos. No template needed. Just create it, assign it, done. Great for those “can you handle this?” moments that pop up

What is the difference between tasks and steps?

This trips people up, so let’s clear it up right now:

Steps live in templates. Tasks live in running processes.

Think of it this way:

• When you’re building a template, you add Steps - these are the blueprint. Each step has its own type (regular task, approval, email, you name it)
• When you launch that template? Those steps transform into Tasks that people actually complete. Same types, different context. A Task step becomes a Task task, an Approval step becomes an Approval task

Simple, right? For all the different types you can use, check out the Step/Task Types article.

• Advanced tab
• Complete or reopen tasks
• Create a one-off task
• Create and use subtasks
• Edit tasks
• Escalating overdue tasks
• How to duplicate or clone tasks
• Manage comments
• Manually show or hide tasks
• Paste cells into a Tallyfy table
• Report blockers and improvement feedback
• Send email reminders
• Set default content for form fields
• Step types
• Task assignment options
• Types of form fields

What should I learn next?

Got the basics down? Great. Here’s where to go from here.

First up - dive into the different types of tasks Tallyfy offers. There’s more than you might think, and each type solves specific workflow challenges.

Need something done fast? Learn how to create a one-off task. Takes 30 seconds, max.

And when things go sideways (they always do sometimes), you’ll want to know how to report and resolve issues. Tallyfy’s blocker system is a lifesaver for handling roadblocks.

Related articles

Tasks > Step types

Tallyfy offers five task types including standard tasks requiring completion, approve/reject tasks for decisions, expiring tasks that auto-complete at deadlines, email drafts for manual review and sending, and email auto-send tasks that automatically dispatch messages at scheduled times.

Tasks > Create a one-off task

One-off tasks in Tallyfy are standalone action items that can be quickly created outside of templates by clicking the Create button, filling in task details like name, assignee, and deadline, then clicking Create Task to generate flexible workflow items for urgent or non-standardized work.

Tracking And Tasks > An overview of processes

A process in Tallyfy is a running instance of a template that transforms your workflow blueprint into actual trackable work with unique naming audit trails and the ability to add one-off tasks while maintaining independence from template updates.

How To > How to avoid task debt

Task debt accumulates when incomplete tasks pile up faster than teams can complete them and can be prevented through strategic workflow design using expiring tasks for optional information sharing realistic deadline setting workload balancing and regular process reviews to maintain sustainable productivity.