The AutoComplete Tasks function allows Tasks that have been created by an Automation Process to be automatically set as "Complete" when the selected condition is met. This would generally be used for Tasks that have been created for an email or document that is created by the process, or for an Alter Document step in a process.
AutoComplete is used for a Task that has been created with an Automation Process where an action needs to be done in order for the Task to be complete. AutoComplete also ensures that a Process is not stalled by a blocking Task if the required action has already been done but the Task has not been set to "Complete". If the Task has been manually set to "Complete" the AutoComplete is no longer relevant for that Task and will not be run.
The following are some examples of when AutoComplete Task could be used:
- When creating a document in a Process, which includes a Task to check when the Workflow Status of the document is set to "Client Signed". The Task can be set to AutoComplete so that when the Workflow Status of the document is set as "Client Signed", the Task is automatically set to "Complete".
- When creating an Email in a Process, which includes a Task to check that the email has been sent. The Task is set to AutoComplete so that when the Delivery Status of the email is marked as Sent", the Task will automatically be set as "Complete".
- When creating a document for a Meeting, which includes a Task to check the meeting has been arranged and that a specific Client Date Custom Field is set with a date. The Task can be set to AutoComplete so that when that Custom Field has a date added, the Task is automatically set to "Complete".
AutoComplete of Tasks in Automation Processes is only available for practices on the Pro and Elite plan.
What and when does AutoComplete run
Every two 2 hours a service runs that checks any tasks that are marked for AutoComplete and, where relevant, this sets the Status on the Task as "Complete". This is a system-wide service and cannot be configured for a practice or run manually.
Setting AutoComplete on Tasks in Processes
AutoComplete Tasks are only relevant when the Process Filter is set as Client Filter, Document View, Job View or Client View (it is not relevant where the Filter is Task View or Practice Activity View). For practices on the Elite Plan, AutoComplete Tasks are also relevant to Invoice and Employee Process Filters.
If a condition is selected that is not relevant to the view in the Filter or for the document that is created it will be ignored.
AutoComplete Tasks will work for both Draft and Active processes. If a Process is stopped, any Tasks that have already been created will still AutoComplete when the relevant condition is met.
The following is an example of a step that creates a Word document. In this example, if the Workflow Status of the document created by the step is set to "Completed" (either manually or by another Process) this will be detected by the AutoComplete function and the Status of this Task will be automatically set to "Complete". As this Task has been set as a Blocking Task, this will also allow the steps following it in the Process to continue.
Enabling AutoComplete on a Task and Selecting the Condition
Enable AutoComplete on a Task by clicking the AutoComplete toggle to set it to "Yes".
When AutoComplete is enabled on the Task, the Condition field displays and can be set as one of the following:
- Date Custom Field
- Workflow Status
- Delivery Status
When the Condition is selected, it displays as the field name and you then select the value or values to apply for the Condition. The following example shows the Condition selected as the Date Custom Field of "Job Start Date" and set as "Yesterday".
Currently, only one condition can be selected for the AutoComplete of Tasks.
To reset the Condition, click the x to clear the selection and reselect it.
Date Custom Field
When the Condition is selected as Date Custom Field, you then select one of the Custom Fields that has been set up with the Type as "Date" (refer to Managing Custom Fields).
When the relevant Date Custom Field has been selected, you then select the Date Range that applies to the condition. This can be set as a date in the past as a specific date, or any date in the "Past", or as a future date such as "Next Week" or any "Future" date.
You can also set the Date to be Is Known or Is Unknown, or a Custom Date.
The Custom Relative Filter option allows you to return results based on a specified number of days, weeks, or months relative to the current date.
When entering a Custom filter, you will be prompted to enter a numeric value, for example, 2. Negatives can be added by using the hyphen prefix e.g. -3.
The range can be selected from a drop-down, with the values Days, Weeks, or Months.
The last field is used to determine whether it should be an Exact date, or a date range using the Between option.
In the example below, we can autocomplete a task if the selected Condition Date is in the range of 3 days ago to today's date.
Below are some examples of where the Date Custom Field can be used:
- A Task is created to follow up the engagement with the client.
- AutoComplete is set on the Task with the Condition set as the Date Custom Field of "Engagement Date" and the Date Range as "Today".
- When the "Engagement Date" Custom Field is set on the client details, this will be detected and the Task will be automatically set as "Complete".
- A Task is added to a Create Meeting step as a reminder to organise a review meeting.
- AutoComplete is set on the Task with the Condition set as the Date Custom Field of "Review Meeting" and the Date Range as "Is Known".
- When any date is set in the "Review Meeting" Custom Field in the client details, this will be detected and the Task will be automatically set as "Complete".
For a document created by a step (for example, Create Email, Create Word, Create Note) this refers to the selected Date Custom Field of the Client or Job of the email or document created by the step.
An Alter Document step refers to the selected Date Custom Field of the Client or Job for the document that triggered the Process.
For a Create Task step, this refers to the selected Date Custom Field of the Client or Job of the Task that is created by the step.
Note: If the Date Custom Field is set up with Applies to set only as "Job", the Date Custom Field Condition may not do anything if there is no Job for the relevant document.
Workflow Status
When the Condition is selected as Workflow Status, you then select one or more Workflow Status(es).
The selected Workflow Status(es) are shown in the Task.
When one of the selected Workflow Status(es) is set on the email or document, the status of the Task is set to "Complete".
For example:
- A Task is added to a Create PDF step and is set as a Blocking Task.
AutoComplete is set on the Task with the Condition of Workflow Status and the Status set as "Client Signed".
When the PDF is returned and its Workflow Status is set as "Client Signed", the Task will be automatically set as "Complete".
For a document created by a step (for example, Create Email, Create Word) this refers to the Workflow Status of the email or document created by the step.
An Alter Document step refers to the Workflow Status of the document that triggered the Process. If the Document is a Phone Call, File Note or Meeting, setting the condition as Workflow Status is not relevant and would do nothing.
Workflow Status is not relevant for steps that create a stand-alone Task, or a step that creates a Phone Call, File Note or Meeting.
Delivery Status
When the Condition is selected as Delivery Status, you then select one or more Delivery Status(es).
The selected Delivery Status(es) are shown in the Task.
For example:
- A Task is created for an Email that is created by the Process.
AutoComplete is set with the Condition of Delivery Status and the Status set as "Sent".
When the Delivery Status of the Email is marked as "Sent", the Task will automatically be set as "Complete".
For a document created by a step (for example, Create Email, Create Word) this refers to the Delivery Status of the email or document created by the step.
An Alter Document step refers to the Workflow Status of the document that triggered the Process. If the Document is a Phone Call, File Note or Meeting, setting the condition as Delivery Status is not relevant and would do nothing.
Delivery Status is not relevant for a step that creates a stand-alone Task, or a step that creates a Phone Call, File Note or Meeting.