Heads up!
A new Task Recurrence Scheduler (Beta) is now available. The new version includes more advanced options and scheduling flexibility than the legacy version.
To learn how it works, view this article!
Some tasks may be ongoing like monthly bookkeeping, quarterly sales tax, or payroll. Instead of repeatedly creating one-off tasks, you can set a task to automatically recur.
Recurring tasks in Canopy operate using a 'primary recurring task' structure. Updates to the name, assignees, or automations of the most recent task occurrence propagate to future recurrences, simplifying task management. However, note that comments on individual tasks do not carry over.
To learn how to create a one-off task without a recurrence, please visit this article in the Knowledge Base!
Create a Recurring Task
1. Click the Global + button, on the global navigation bar.
2. Click Create Task on the slide-in panel.
Alternatively, navigate to the Client List to create a bulk task for several clients at once.
Canopy Tip: You can also create a task from the Tasks tab in the client record or the Tasks List.
In the Create Task window, enter the necessary information up to the Recurring section.
3. Change the Recurring toggle to green.
4. Click the Recreate on dropdown and select Completion or Due date schedule.
Under the Completion option, set a cadence for the recurring task. Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly are the provided options.
Under the Due date schedule option, set a cadence for the recurring task and set a creation date for future tasks. You must enter a fixed due date when creating the task for recurrences to populate.
For example, setting a yearly recurring task with a due date of December 31 will automatically update future occurrences to maintain the same fixed date in subsequent years.
Tip: You may notice that Quarterly is not a repeat option. Set a quarterly recurrence by selecting Monthly, and specifying that you want the task to Repeat every 3 months.
Enter any number in the repeat box, allowing you to specify a semi-yearly repeating task as well.
You can also use dynamic placeholders tied to start dates to automatically populate correct details for each recurrence, such as the quarter and year.
5. Continue entering any necessary information.
Dynamic Placeholders: Many firms, especially with a bookkeeping emphasis, like to use monthly tasks with the same name, which can get confusing. You can use Dynamic Placeholders, which add unique details to task names for easy organization.
An example of this is ##{{clientname}} ##{{currentmonthandyearnum}}. When the task is created, the task name is replaced with the client name from the client record and the current month and year, in numerical form.
For quarterly tasks, dynamic placeholders can specify the start date, ensuring that each recurrence correctly reflects the intended quarter and year.
6. Verify that all of the information is correct and accurate and click Create and Manage to proceed to the task workspace.
You can also click Create and close to return to the page you created the task from.
Canopy Tip: The recurring tasks set up with Recreate on Completion will only be initiated when the task status is set to Complete. Those created with Recreate on Due date schedule will populate on your set cadence, no matter the status of the previous task.
For recurring tasks with Completion and Due Date Schedule examples, please navigate to this article in the knowledge base!
Edits made to the most recent primary task in a series will impact all future recurrences, providing users with an efficient way to apply updates across tasks.
Finding Recurring Tasks: You can't see all scheduled recurring tasks, even the ones not created yet. But we've added a new column called "Recurring" in the task list. It helps you sort and filter the recurring tasks that are already created.
Best Practices for Managing Recurring Tasks
Always edit the most recent task to ensure changes apply to future recurrences.
Utilize placeholders to dynamically update details like dates for each recurrence.
Use templates only for initial setups, as they won't affect tasks already created or their recurrences.