Overview
Tasks are a simple, yet powerful feature within Lexicata to help you and everyone at your firm manage important to-do list items.
Creating tasks will help remind users about things that need to be done, ensuring that no important details are overlooked and that you are staying on schedule.
Components of Tasks
There are several components that make up a task:
- Task description (required)
- Assigned user(s) (required)
- Due date and email reminder (optional)
Task Description
The task description is simply an overview of what needs to be done. You can type in custom text with as many or few details as you would like.
Just be sure your description contains enough information so that you will know what the task means when you go back to review and complete it later.
Assigned User
Tasks must be assigned to one or more users within your Lexicata account. Typically, the assigned user is the person who is responsible for completing the particular task.
In some instances, you may want multiple people to be assigned to a task if more than one person is required to complete it, or if it is more of a general to-do item that just needs to be completed by somebody and it doesn't matter who does it.
In these instances, you can simply select multiple people in the Assign To field, and they will all be assigned. Any users other than yourself will also get an email notification letting them know they have been assigned to a task (you can turn this option off in your settings).
Also keep in mind that if you have only a single user on your account, tasks will always be assigned to you, so the task assignment field will not appear in your account at all.
By default, a task will be assigned to the person who creates the task, unless a predefined task assignment has been specified on a workflow template. The assigned user can always be changed after the task is created by editing the task.
Learn more about pre-assigning tasks on workflow templates in our Workflow Feature Guide.
Due Date and Email Reminder
Optionally, you can also specify a due date for a task. This is helpful if it is time sensitive, or if you want to be reminded to complete the task at some point in the future.
When you add a due date to a task, the system will automatically send you an email reminder, and you can optionally have the task added to your calendar as well.
The email reminder can be triggered right when the task is due, or a specified amount of time before the due date.
If you do not want task due dates added to your synced calendar, you can adjust this option in your calendar settings. Learn more in our Calendar Settings Feature Guide.
Matter Tasks vs. Contact Tasks
Much like notes, tasks can be related to either a contact or a matter. This is an important distinction to understand because contact-related tasks will not show up under a matter, and vice versa.
Both types of tasks function in largely the same way, but it’s important to know which type of task you are creating to avoid confusion.
If the task is created from the contact page, it will automatically relate to the contact.
If the task is created from the matter page under the “Workflow” it will automatically relate to the matter.
Task Management
Task management basically just means keeping on top of the tasks you are assigned to, and marking them as complete when you finish. You can also edit the details of a task, re-assign the task to another user, or delete it altogether if necessary.
Where Tasks Can Be Managed
You can view and manage your tasks from several different places:
- Agenda: the agenda is a good place to review all the outstanding tasks that need to be completed in your account, however, tasks cannot be marked as completed from the Agenda
- Matter Page: you can navigate to a specific matter page in order to manage the tasks related to that particular matter
- Contact Page: you can navigate to a specific contact page in order to manage the tasks related to that particular contact
- Synced Calendar: you can have Lexicata automatically add tasks with due dates to your synced calendar, if you have enabled this option in your calendar settings. However, be aware that you cannot complete, edit, or delete tasks from your calendar. It is essentially a “read only” view
From both the contact and matter page, you will be able to view or edit the task description, due date, or assigned users, mark the task as complete, or delete the task.
From the agenda view, you can view all tasks which are due today or in the future, or tasks which are past due and have not yet been completed. You can also filter tasks by the assigned users. You cannot, however, manage the tasks from the agenda page.
Learn more in our Agenda Feature Guide.
Task Notifications
Task notification emails will help ensure that you know what tasks you are responsible for and when your tasks need to be completed.
There are two types of task notification emails that you may receive:
- When you are assigned to a task by another user on your account
- When a task you are assigned to that has not been marked complete becomes due
By default, all users will receive both of these email notifications. It is possible to disable the task assignment email notifications by going to your settings and unchecking the box that says “Email me when I’m assigned to a task.”
Keep in mind that when a task is deleted or marked complete, any notification emails related to the task will automatically be canceled.
Using Tasks in Workflow Templates
One of the most effective ways to use tasks in Lexicata is within workflow templates.
A workflow template gives you the ability to create a pre-defined series of tasks or other items which can be used repeatedly and applied to any matter in your Lexicata account (workflow templates are not available for contact tasks at this time).
When you add a task or series of tasks to a workflow template, you can pre-define the description and assigned user(s), and you can set the due date in advance based on the time when the workflow is added to a matter.
Creating these templates will save time by eliminating the need to manually create and assign the same tasks for every new matter. They will also help you establish standardized and repeatable processes which will lead to greater operational efficiency for your firm.
Learn more in our Workflow Templates Feature Guide.
Related How Tos
How to add a task to a contact
How to view another user’s tasks
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