1. Projects
  2. Project Management
  3. Project Tasks
  4. Creating a Project Task Record

Creating a Project Task Record

Create a project task record for each task required to complete a project. Project tasks are associated with projects and are created only on the project record. For information about project tasks, see Project Tasks.

Note:

For details about creating CRM tasks, read Creating CRM Task Records.

To create a new project task:

  1. Go to Lists > Relationships > Projects and click View next to the project you want to create a project task for.

  2. On the project record, click New Project Task on the Schedule subtab.

    A new project task window opens.

  3. Under Primary Information:

    1. In the Custom Form field, select the form you want to use to enter this record. This field only appears when you have at least one custom form. You can customize this form by clicking Customize Form at the top of the page.

    2. Enter a name for this task.

    3. Select a parent task if the task you are creating is part of a group of tasks. The parent task summarizes data for all of its subordinate tasks.

      You cannot assign resources to a parent task.

    4. In the Insert Before field, place the new task in the proper order in the schedule, by selecting the task that follows it.

    5. Select a status for this project task.

    6. Check the Non-billable box to designate this task as non-billable.

      When time is entered against this task, it is automatically marked as non-billable and cannot be changed to billable.

  4. Under Project Task Overview, in the Estimated Work field, enter the amount of time you expect this task to require to complete.

    The remaining fields are populated after the task record is saved and work has started.

    Note:

    The Estimated Work field is updated automatically when resources are assigned or allocated to the project task. If multiple resources are added the field displays the sum of all estimated work. If this is a parent task, this field automatically updates to include the sum of estimated work for all child project tasks.

    If you also use Resource Allocations, when the Allow Allocated Resources to Enter Time to All Tasks project preference is enabled, estimated work includes the total of all planned time from assigned resources and any tracked time from resources not assigned to this specific task.

    Important:

    Saving a project task with no estimated work, assigned resources, and Finish No Later Than date creates a project milestone. Milestones can be converted to project tasks by adding estimated work or resources. For more information, see Creating Milestone Tasks.

  5. Under Project Task Dates:

    1. In the Constraint Type field, specify how to determine the start and end dates for the task.

      • As Soon As Possible – For forward scheduled projects, NetSuite calculates the earliest possible start date for a task based on existing predecessors and sets the end date based on the available work time in the assigned resource's work calendar.

      • As Late As Possible – For backward scheduled projects, NetSuite calculates the latest possible end date for a task based on existing predecessors and sets the start date based on the available work time in the assigned resource's work calendar.

      • Fixed Start – The task starts on the date you specify. Predecessor relationships are ignored. The task end date is based on the estimated work for the task and the assigned resource's available work time.

    2. The Start Date field indicates the estimated date to begin work on the task.

      • If the task constraint is Fixed Start, enter the date to begin work on the task.

      • If the constraint is As Soon As Possible or As Late As Possible, NetSuite determines the Start Date based on the schedule.

    3. If the task constraint type is Fixed Start, enter the time to begin work on the task in the Start Time field. This field is optional. If left blank, the start time is 12:00 am. You cannot enter a start time if the task constraint type is As Soon As Possible.

      For information on project tasks in multiple time zones, see Working with Projects in Multiple Time Zones.

    4. In the Finish No Later Than field, you can select the date this task must be finished by.

      Note:

      This constraint takes precedence over task relationships and start dates are adjusted according to the fixed end date of a task with a Finish No Later Than constraint.

  6. Under Notes, you can enter additional information for this task in the Notes filed.

  7. Under Assignees you can add resources to this project task. For more information, see Assigning Project Resources.

    If you use Resource Allocations, you can choose to allocate resources to the project and then assign tasks using the steps below. You can also allocation resources directly to tasks eliminating the need to assign tasks. For more information, see Assigning Resources with Allocations.

  8. On the Predecessors subtab, set dependency types for the task:

    1. Select an existing project task in the Task field.

    2. Select a dependency type for the existing task as it relates to the current task.

      • Finish-to-Start (FS) – Task starts when preceding task finishes. Start date is adjusted based on the preceding task’s finish date.

      • Start-to-Start (SS) – Task starts after preceding task starts. Start date is adjusted based on the preceding task’s start date.

      • Start-to-Finish (SF) – Task finishes after the preceding task starts. Start date is adjusted based on the preceding task’s start date.

      • Finish-to-Finish (FF) – Task finishes after the preceding task finishes. Start date is adjusted based on the preceding task’s finish date.

    3. If you want to add lag time to your tasks, enter the number of days in the Lag Days field.

    4. Click Add.

    5. Repeat these steps for each task dependency you need to set up.

  9. If you use Project Budgeting, on the Budget subtab, enter cost and billing budgets for this task.

    For more information, see Creating Project Budgets.

  10. On the Communication subtab, you can enter notes about this task and attach files from the File Cabinet or upload new files that are associated with this project.

  11. On the Time subtab, you can choose to enter time against the project. For details on time tracking features, read Entering a Time Transaction, Weekly Time Tracking, or Timesheets.

  12. When you have finished, click Save.

Important:

When you edit project tasks to make changes on the record, you must refresh your view of the project record to see updated data on the Financial subtab that reflect your changes.

Tip:

For optimal performance, keep mainly projects shorter than one year, with less than 1000 tasks. Use sub-projects when possible.

Working with Task Records

After you have saved a task record and started work on your project, NetSuite updates fields on the project task record to reflect changes in your task details.

To view a project task record, go to Lists > Relationships > Projects. Click View next to the Project your task belongs to. On the Schedule subtab, click the name of the task you want to view. The project task record opens.

When viewing the project task record, the following fields are updated as your project progresses:

Related Topics

General Notices