Tasks are the milestones and action items that help you move a project from kickoff to delivery. Each task represents a concrete step in your workflow — like "Concept sketches," "Client review," or "Final file delivery."

Tasks are not something you create manually. They load automatically from your Service Type when you activate a project.

Tasks only appear in Active projects. When you first create a project (by generating your first Proposal or Contract), the project starts in Pipeline — which means you are still in the negotiation phase. At that stage, there are no tasks.

Once you activate the project, TCB clones the task list from your Service Type and calculates start and due dates based on the activation date. The tasks are ready to use immediately.

Every Service Type in your Base includes a default task list — a set of steps built from industry benchmarks for that type of work. For example, a Brand Identity Service Type might include tasks like "Discovery and brief," "Concept development," "Client review and revision," and "Final file delivery."

When you customize your Service Types in Settings, you can also customize the task list. Add, remove, rename, or reorder tasks to match how you actually work. The next time you activate a project with that Service Type, your customized tasks will load automatically.

Each task in your Service Type has a duration in days. When a project is activated, TCB calculates the start and due date for each task based on the activation date, the order of tasks in the list, and the duration defined for each task.

This means your project timeline is generated automatically — no manual date entry required. You can always adjust individual dates after activation if needed.

Mark tasks as complete by checking them off in the project view. When all tasks in a project are completed, TCB will ask if you want to mark the project as Completed — which frees up the project slot on the Free plan.

You can also mark a project as Completed manually at any time, regardless of task status.

If you put a project On Hold, tasks remain visible but are frozen — checkboxes are disabled and no progress can be recorded until the project is resumed.

When a project is marked as Completed, all tasks become read-only. You can still view them for reference, but they cannot be edited or unchecked.

Tasks with upcoming or overdue due dates appear in the Tasks due soon card on your dashboard. This gives you a quick view of what needs attention across all your active projects — without opening each one individually.

The default task lists from The Base are a strong starting point, but they work best when you make them yours. Go to Settings, select a Service Type, and adjust the task list to match your real workflow. The more accurate your tasks, the more useful your project timelines will be.