Tasks are Evolution ERP's lightweight to‑do and follow‑up system. A task has a title, a description, a person it is assigned to, a required‑by date, and an optional list of additional people. Tasks can be raised on their own or attached to another record — a project, an opportunity, a quote, a purchase or an activity — so the work stays linked to the thing it relates to.
This guide covers the four ways most people work with tasks day to day:
- The Task Dashboard — your personal list of what's due, overdue and coming up
- The Calendar — viewing, creating and managing tasks on a timeline
- Departments — allocating staff to departments so the Calendar can give a department‑wide view of everyone's tasks
- Adding additional people to a task — and the one thing to watch when you do
The Task Dashboard
When you log in, the My Tasks panel on your dashboard shows every task where you are either the assigned person or listed as one of the additional people. Only active (not‑yet‑completed) tasks appear here.
Tasks are grouped and colour‑coded by urgency:
| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Overdue — the required‑by date has passed |
| Yellow | Due Today |
| Grey | Due Soon — dated in the future |
A group group icon next to a task title means you are an additional person on that task, not the primary assignee. The task still belongs to someone else — you've been included so you can see it and contribute.
Click any task title to open it. The task opens in an edit window where you can update the details, change the description, mark it complete, or adjust who is involved.
Managing Tasks from the Calendar
Open the Calendar from the calendar_month calendar icon in the top toolbar. The Calendar plots your tasks (along with calls, meetings and follow‑ups) on a month, week or list view.
Choosing your view
Switch between Month, Week and List using the view controls. Your chosen view is remembered for next time. You can also set which day the week starts on and how many items show per day before a “+ more” link appears.
Filtering what you see
The filter panel lets you narrow the calendar down. Each filter is remembered between visits:
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| User | Choose My Calendar (just you), All Users, or a specific staff member |
| Module | Limit to General tasks, or those attached to Opportunities, Projects or Activities |
| Activity Type | Filter by the configured activity types |
| Department | Show only tasks belonging to people in a chosen department (see Departments below) |
| Status | Active, Completed, or all |
| Keyword | Match on customer name or task title |
Creating and editing tasks on the Calendar
- Use the add_circle_outline add control to raise a new task.
- Click any task on the calendar to open and edit it — change its details, reassign it, add people, or mark it complete.
- Tasks where you are an additional person (rather than the primary assignee) are shown with a distinct group style, the same idea as the group icon on the dashboard.
Linking a Calendar task to a Project or Opportunity
A task raised from the Calendar used to be a stand‑alone General task with nothing behind it. The add‑task window now has a Link To option so you can attach it to a record as you create it:
- Open the add‑task window from the Calendar.
- Set Link To to Project or Opportunity (leave it on General for a stand‑alone task).
- A search box appears underneath. Type part of the project or opportunity name, then pick it from the list of matches.
- Fill in the rest of the task as normal and save.
The saved task then behaves exactly like one raised from the record itself — it shows the record on the task window with a link straight to it, and the Calendar's Module filter will pick it up under Projects or Opportunities.
Linking a task you have already saved
Tasks that were raised on the Calendar before this option existed can be linked after the fact. Open the task and, where it would normally show the record it belongs to, you'll see the same Link To option. Choose Project or Opportunity, search for the record, and save — the task is attached from then on.
Tasks that are already attached to a record show that record as a link instead, and cannot be moved to a different one from here.
Departments & the Department‑Wide View
Allocating staff to departments lets a manager use the Calendar to see everyone's tasks in their area at once, rather than chasing individuals. It's a two‑step setup, then a single filter combination.
Step 1 — Create your departments
- Go to Staff → Departments (the Manage Departments screen).
- Use the add_circle_outline button to add a department and give it a name (and colour, if you wish).
Step 2 — Allocate each staff member to a department
- Go to Staff and open the staff member you want to allocate.
- In their record, choose the Department from the dropdown. (The Manage link beside it jumps to the Departments screen if you still need to add one.)
- Save the staff member.
Step 3 — Get a department overview on the Calendar
Once staff are allocated, open the Calendar and set:
- User = All Users
- Department = the department you want to review
The Calendar then shows the tasks for every person in that department, with each person's badge on their tasks, giving you a single department‑wide picture of what's due and what's overdue across the whole team.
Where Tasks Can Be Raised
As well as standing on their own, tasks can be attached to other records. When you add a task from one of these screens, it stays linked to that record so you can find it again in context, and the Calendar's Module filter can group by it.
- Projects
- Opportunities
- Quotes
- Purchases
- Activities — completing the task(s) on an activity also updates the activity's own status
To raise a task against one of these, open the record and use its add_circle_outline New Task option. The task form is the same everywhere — only the record it links back to changes.
You can also link to a Project or an Opportunity without leaving the Calendar — see Linking a Calendar task to a Project or Opportunity above — and link an existing unlinked task to one of those records from the task window itself.
Adding Additional People to a Task
Every task has one primary staff member (the person responsible) and an optional list of additional people. Additional people see the task on their own dashboard and calendar — marked with the group group icon — so a whole group can stay across a piece of work without changing who owns it.
To add additional people, on the task form:
- Set the Staff Member (the primary, responsible person) first.
- Open the Select additional staff multi‑select.
- Find each extra person and tick / click their name in the list so it becomes selected.
- Save the task.
You can add or remove additional people at any time by re‑opening the task and adjusting the same multi‑select.