Task Detail
What is Task Detail?
Overview of Uses
Task Items Have Many Purposes
The Task Detail file is where the main system detail resides. Think of it as the "line item detail" of its main parent: a Task record. You access it from the Task Control Center or Task Form screens.
A detail item can represent many types of items:
 | scheduled appointments/meetings |
| Call records |
| Project or Client Task time log |
| Service records |
| Products billed |
| Project cost items |
| Project Log |
| Project reference notes |
| Any other type of record you might want associated with a task |
All Detail has one or more "parent" association:
| A Task |
| A Person |
| A Customer |
| An Invoice |
You can create the items "on-the-fly" as they occur since it takes only a few key strokes between finding the task and adding a new item. You only need to fill out the information you might want to use later. Then fill in and update any time as needed.
Time Tracking
You can track the total time spent on the tasks, as well as ongoing notes revolving around the tasks. Time tracking is also used if you interested in the built-in productivity reports.
When creating the detail, the date and time is automatically put in place, but is editable. The duration is entered in fractions of hours, or calculated on the difference between the two times.
Calendar
Future events and calendars are easy because you first have all the information already attached when you enter them.
The task detail can denote a past, future or present event, using whatever task types fit your needs. Use notes with future dates for events you want recorded for later retrieval when reviewing scheduled appointments. Checking the calendar will include it when printing out a calendar report. You can then leave them there as a permanent record under the task, or later delete them by deleting the associated task.
Project Financial Tracking
Cost tracking and pricing for the task/project is maintained and totaled for each task. Attaching product or services as well as time billing is easy because the information is only entered once and then reports or invoices generated automatically from a single system
Employee Time Tracking
Multiple employees can be attached to a single item. Their cost will be calculated for each item because a separate file maintains the employee hourly cost. This provided a quick and simple way to track employee time by job: with date and time and duration calculated along with payroll costs.
User Task Productivity
Acting as time slips the records provide a means of not only computing total time for the task over a period of time, but are also used in the productivity and summary reports based on the user and task type.
General Scheduling Note
In regard to use in scheduling, the differences between the main tasks and their detail may at first appear confusing. But, keep in mind, you use tasks more for general future follow-ups. Tasks are used like a file folder or a tickler system card. They are not appointments with times like the detail. The detail items are like the notes and pages within the task folder.
Any number of tasks may show up on a certain day, but it doesn't always mean they necessarily all have to get done on that day.
On the other hand, when you schedule something with the detail it is going to be done at that time or you change it when it will be done. Use detail for the calendar entries. Then later, when the time passes, the detail becomes history.
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Task Detail Form
To access a Task Detail form, you always start at it's parent: either the task or the person it's associated with. From the Task Views the detail is listed in a separate list box below the tasks as each task is selected. From the Person View the detail may be view using the associated detail button. You can either select an existing task detail or "insert" a new one when the parent is selected. Not only does this allow rapid location of the detail, but it prevents errors in linking any detail to it's parent.
At the top of the form are the tabs to change to the different categories of information which can be entered.
Note Tab
Task Type
The task type field is carried over from the task automatically and has the same purpose. It is used to help summarize detail reports and used in the description if the item is transferred to an invoice.
Show on Calendar
Checking this box signals the system when printing a calendar with checked items to include this record in the calendar print-out.
Date and Time
The first fields on the top of the screen are the dates and times: both start and ending time. You can enter in the number of hours or the end time and the other will be updated.
Press the clock button to update the end time with the current computer clock time.
Memo
The text area is where detail or notes can be written in. This area is also important because it becomes the detail area in an invoice line item if the record is used for invoicing.
Replicate Button
This button takes you to a screen which allows you to re-enter the detail every day, week, month or even year any number of times. This becomes useful when you want to schedule an event repeatedly.
Task: Next Date Button
You can update the follow-up date for the parent task from this form. This makes it easy to keep the task at the correct follow-up date.
Financial Tab
After pressing the Financial tab, a new sheet of information is displayed which contains the financial and billing fields.
Receivable/Payable
Check the receivable check box if the detail record is to be used in an invoice as an invoice line item. You can have both cost and price fields filled in regardless if the detail is a receivable or payable. Leave the Invoice Number blank, though, if you want the system to later automatically create the invoice for you.
Check payable if this is an expense item only. Then it will be included in an expense report.
Quantity
Enter a number for the quantity for product or service. Selecting it when it is zero will change it to 1, or the amount of employee hours if entered.
Product
Enter a product or service number. If it doesn't match a product in the inventory file, it will pop up a lookup browse and allow you to select another or add a new one.
Cost Each
Enter the cost per unit and the total will be calculated when pressing the calculate button.
Total Cost
Although you can manually enter the total cost here, it will be calculated if quantity and cost each both have values.
Price Each
Enter the price per unit and the total will be calculated when pressing the calculate button. This field will automatically be filled in if you choose a product.
Total Price
Although you can manually enter the total price here, it will be calculated if quantity and price each both have values.
The Calculate Button
Use this button to calculate total cost and price. If you want to enter in manual cost totals, don't use the button. Otherwise the figures will be overwritten.
Invoice Number
Leaving this field blank allows you to automatically invoice open receivable detail at which time the system will fill in the field with the next invoice number when the invoice is created.
Get This Invoice Button
When there is already an invoice number in the invoice number field, pressing this button will display that invoice with all detail line items.
Employee Time Tab
This portion of the Task Detail Form provides a Employee Time Browse which is related to the opened detail item and task.
Entering Employee Time
Once the time fields are entered, the employee time function will use that same amount of time and create employee time records with just a press of a couple of buttons.
Add Employee Button
Pressing this button will pop up the Employee Browse window and allow you to select the employee to attach to this detail record. Just double-click the employee or press the Select button. If you want to add more employees to the same item, just repeat the process.
All time and cost detail will be calculated automatically. In fact, if the cost field on the previous financial category screen is equal to zero, the total employee cost will be added to the total cost field based on the number of hours.
Tip: From the main menu you can directly add and edit current employee information using Data Access -> Employees.
Links Tab
This portion of the Task Detail Form provides all linking information. Usually, these fields will be added by default, but may be changed manually here as needed.
