# Getting Started Welcome! SmartTask is the easiest way for you and your team to achieve great results. This quick start article would help you learn basics. ## What is SmartTask? **SmartTask** is an **all-in-one work management and collaboration tool** designed to help teams and businesses **manage tasks, projects, sales, and customer relationships** efficiently. It combines project management, team communication, time tracking, and workflow automation in a single platform.
**Organization:** is the highest level of the hierarchy. This gets further classified into groups/ departments , projects and members of the projects. **Groups:** Groups can be equated to the various departments in an organization. Example : Human Resources, Technical, Finance , IT and the like **Projects:** Projects is at the lowest level of this structure which are part of one or more groups depending on their nature. Example : Chandrayaan Mission, A new Marketing Campaign, etc. ## What can you do with SmartTask? ✅ **Task & Project Management** – Assign tasks, set deadlines, priorities, and track progress with Kanban, List, and Timeline views. ✅ **Collaboration & Communication** – Chat, comment, and share files directly within tasks to keep conversations organized. ✅ **Portfolios for High-Level Project Management** – Monitor multiple projects under a single portfolio, track progress, and get a bird’s-eye view of overall performance. ✅ **Workflow Automation** – Automate repetitive tasks, set dependencies, and create recurring tasks to streamline processes. ✅ **Time Tracking & Reporting** – Track time spent on tasks, generate reports, and analyze productivity. ✅ **CRM & Sales Tracking** – Manage leads, deals, and client interactions to boost sales efficiency. ✅ **Custom Dashboards & Analytics** – Get real-time insights into project progress and team performance. ✅ **Integrations** – Connect with tools like Slack, Zapier, and Google Drive to enhance workflow. *and much more.* ## Getting Started with SmartTask {% embed url="" %} # Who uses SmartTask ## **Project Managers** – For planning and executing projects. #### **Why they use SmartTask:** Project managers rely on SmartTask to **plan, monitor, and successfully execute projects** of all sizes. The platform helps them **break down projects into tasks, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, and track progress in real-time**. #### **How they use it:** * Create and manage multiple projects with defined timelines. * Use task lists, boards, and timelines for visual project planning. * Allocate tasks to team members and track workloads. * Set dependencies to manage task sequencing. * Monitor overall progress with reporting and dashboards. * Centralize project discussions and file sharing within task comments. ## **Sales & CRM Teams** – For tracking leads and deals. #### **Why they use SmartTask:** Sales and CRM teams use SmartTask as a lightweight **CRM to manage their sales pipeline and client interactions**. It offers an organized way to track leads, deals, follow-ups, and client information — helping improve closure rates and customer relationships. #### **How they use it:** * Manage leads, prospects, and deal stages through custom pipelines. * Set reminders and follow-ups to never miss an opportunity. * Track communication history through comments and file attachments. * Automate routine follow-ups and updates via workflow automations. * Generate reports on sales activities, deal closures, and revenue projections. * Collaborate with other departments for smooth deal handovers. #### **Operations Teams** – For workflow automation and process optimization. **Why they use SmartTask:** Operations teams depend on SmartTask for **process management, workflow optimization, and internal coordination**. It ensures operational processes run smoothly, teams stay aligned, and bottlenecks are addressed proactively. **How they use it:** * Map out internal workflows and SOPs using templates. * Automate repetitive tasks and status updates to reduce manual effort. * Track task ownership, deadlines, and progress for internal initiatives. * Use custom fields to capture process-specific information. * Monitor team and process performance through analytics and dashboards. * Standardize recurring processes like onboarding, procurement, or vendor management. ## **Agencies** – For managing client projects. #### **Why they use SmartTask:** Agencies — whether digital marketing, creative, or consulting — use SmartTask to **manage multiple client projects simultaneously**, ensuring deadlines, deliverables, and communications stay on track. #### **How they use it:** * Set up a dedicated project (or “Page”) for each client. * Break down client work into phases, tasks, and milestones. * Collaborate with clients by adding them as guests for visibility and feedback. * Track hours spent on projects for invoicing and profitability analysis. * Maintain campaign calendars, content schedules, or project plans. * Use dashboards to monitor multiple client projects in a single view. # Overview Welcome! SmartTask is the most efficient way for you and your team to achieve great results. This quick start article would help you learn basics. ## Organization Structure: Let’s go through initial steps in SmartTask:
**Organization:** is the highest level of the hierarchy. This gets further classified into groups/ departments , projects and members of the projects. **Groups:** Groups can be equated to the various departments in an organization. Example : Human Resources, Technical, Finance , IT and the like **Projects:** Projects is at the lowest level of this structure which are part of one or more groups depending on their nature. Example : Mars Mission, A new Marketing Campaign, etc. ### Getting Started With SmartTask {% embed url="" %} # Initial Setup Let go through initial steps in SmartTask ### **Activating your Account** {% embed url="" %} ### **Setting Up Your Profile:** Your profile helps your team recognize you and ensures smooth collaboration. #### **Steps to Set Up Your Profile and default organization:** **Profile Set up:** 1. Click on settings from the left bottom. 2. Select **‘Profile Settings’** from the dropdown menu. 3. Update your **name, department, job role, and email address**. 4. Upload a **profile picture** for easy identification. 5. Set default organization. 6. Set your **notification preferences** to stay updated. 7. Click **‘Update’** to apply the changes.
### **Organization Set up (Admins):** 1. Go to the **Organization Settings** page. 2. To update the **logo**: 1. Click on the **"Upload Image"** button under the "Icon" section. 2. Choose a PNG or JPEG file (under 5MB) from your device. 3. After uploading, the new logo will be displayed. 3. To update the **organization name**: * In the **"Name"** field, enter your desired organization name. 4. Click the **"Save"** button to apply the changes.
# Invite Teammates \[Admin] Invite team members and start collaborating with them. After setting up groups, projects, and initial tasks, invite teammates to join the workspace. You can then begin collaborating on tasks with team members. ## Inviting your team 1. In the vertical sidebar click on the **Users** icon
2. Once you are in the users sidebar, click on the + icon
3. This would open up the invite dialog box.
## Start with a few teammates Every process of onboarding into a new system for amplifying organizational performance is laden with teething issues. Encouraging the team to participate effectively in the orientation process needs to be effected in a seamless manner. The best way forward would be to start with a few teammates and extrapolate the use case to the entire team. A good test group could be a few of your most trusted coworkers, or teammates you work with frequently that might be a smaller subset of your whole team. The subset needs to be a sample of the entire population comprising of teammates from every department / project concerned. You can use our standardised email template to invite your teammates and set expectations. #### Proposing the value of SmartTask The value of every new application is established in clear terms only upon provision on information of the advantages / benefits of the tool. Here are some benefits you can highlight to get the teammates on board: * **Who is Doing What and When**—SmartTask summarises the task execution status by the team mates and the respective timeline. Let us avoid the time lost on repeated phone calls and unfruitful meetings. * **Client interaction history** — With SmartTask you can have history on each interaction with client and their contact details. Let's reflect and communicate in a logical manner even after timelines like 6 months or even a year. * **Plan of Action Oriented Execution** — Presently every company uses emails, messengers and other office memos for communication feedback only. Upon implementation of SmartTask you can discuss work directly using the application rendering every discussion / communication complete with determination of actionable points. * **Immediate overview** — Impactful tracking on real time basis , leading to objective measurement of project execution and goals. * **Optimized Decision Making** - SmartTask assists in making the right decisions as the top management has all the details in one designated place. Hence the decision process is enhanced and much more accurate. * **Document Sharing** - Document sharing in a common space enables team members to find more comprehensive documents, wireframes, specifications etc. which enable transparency and communication leading to better project execution. # Creating Groups Group is second layer in the organization. There can be multiple groups in an organization. It can be thought of as a department in an Organization. For eg: Accounts, Marketing, Engineering, etc. Basically it is a team within an organization. A group can be of three types * **Public Group:** Anyone in the organization can find and join the group * **Request to Join:** Everyone in the organization can see the group but cannot access it until they request to join. The admin will receive a request and can accept the request. * **Private Group:** A private group is only visible to invited members. It can be identified by the lock icon beside its name. ## Create a Group You can create different groups for various purposes which suit best for your organization. Click on ‘ADD NEW GROUP’ in the side bar. {% embed url="" %} # Creating Projects ## Create a Project There can be multiple projects in an organization. A project can either be private or public to the group. * **Public Projects:** A public project is accessible to all the members of the group. Any project is a public project by default. * **Private Projects:** A private project is only visible to select members. It can be identified by the lock icon beside its name. {% embed url="" %} ## 📘 Choosing the Right View for Your Workflow
### 🕒 Deadline-Driven Processes? **Use: Tasklist or Timeline View** Best for workflows that have clear start and end dates, dependencies, and milestones. **Common examples:** * Event planning * Product launches * Client onboarding * Custom implementation projects * Consulting deliverables *** ### 🔁 **Ongoing and Repetitive Processes** **Use: Board View** Great for iterative work and step-by-step progress tracking through stages. **Common examples:** * Editorial calendars * Agile sprint planning * Sales pipelines * RFP & proposal workflows * Content production *** ### 🤝 **Team-Based Work and Internal Operations** **Use: Tasklist View** Ideal for collaborative tasks where clarity, accountability, and references matter. **Common examples:** * Accounting tasks * HR workflows * Internal meetings & agendas * Cross-functional to-dos {% hint style="warning" %} When in doubt, start with a **Tasklist**. It’s versatile, easy to adapt, and works for most types of workflows. {% endhint %} Please refer to following for more on projects: * [Project Views](/project/project-views) * [Set Project as Template](/project/set-project-as-template) * [Importing Tasks from CSV](/fundamentals/task/creating-a-task/importing-tasks-from-csv) # Creating first Tasks Lets create first tasks in SmartTask. ## Lets create first tasks in SmartTask. What does your team need to accomplish today? This week? Next Week? Simply click on the 'Add Task' button at the top in Tasklist View. {% embed url="" %} Please refer to [Importing Tasks from CSV](/fundamentals/task/creating-a-task/importing-tasks-from-csv) to import from excel file ## Task Followers Once you have added a task the second most important thing is adding followers. Similar to CC in an email we would add relevant persons as followers to a task. Followers would get an immediate notification in case of a comment or update in the task. {% embed url="" %} {% hint style="info" %} **Task visibility**: Task is visible to all followers, project members and administrators.\ **Tip**: If a task is related to a particular project make sure that project is added to the task. {% endhint %} For more details on task creation, monitoring and relating functionalities checkout the section - [Task Fundamentals](/fundamentals/task). # Working together as a team Learn to synergise the power of teamwork and surpass milestones pertaining to project completion and organisational goals. A task based tracking in SmartTask, ensures clarity on responsibility and accountability. The team is clear on each member's roles and responsibilities leading to comprehensive reporting. Now, that we have added our first tasks let's look at some tips on collaborating with your team on various project tasks. ### Assign a task {% embed url="" %} **Assign a task instead of sending email, chat messages, phone calls or personal visit (which consumes lot of time and cannot be tracked effectively).** When you assign a task for a colleague it shows up in their "My Tasks" view and they will get an immediate notification. Since you created the task, you are automatically added to the task's follower list, you would get informed when the task is completed or a comment / update is created by the assignee. ### Tasks involving Multiple Team Members {% embed url="" %} Whenever there are multiple people collaborating together on a task / project or there are key managerial personnel who need to be notified on various task related updates then add them also as a follower to the particular task . All the Task followers are immediately notified whenever someone comments or updates the task. Followers can be added at any time during the progress of the task and such followers would be able to view, comment and update the task. ### Easy Follow Up - Reminders {% embed url="" %} When a company deals in multiple projects, followups becomes the key to successful execution. SmartTask assists the followers(team members) to set a reminder on a task and the assignee / assignor would automatically be reminded of the task for a quick status update. ### Comment on a task {% embed url="" %} [Comment](/fundamentals/task/task-comments) on a task whenever you need to discuss the work with your team. That way, the discussion stays in context with the task which can be referred by other team mates too, and also you can easily navigate back to it (even after the task is complete). ### Stay in touch and send simple messages Encouragement and expressions of motivation are immensely impactful in contributing to a project's success. Send quick messages like "Great work!", "thanks", "got it!" to acknowledge task completion, appreciate your teammate's effort. Small gestures go a long way! ### Don't forget to archive notifications ![](/files/lTuwxXzsKl46UDXMTRim) Whenever a task is updated—whether it’s a date change, a new comment, or task completion—all followers are notified. These updates are recorded and displayed in your notification feed in chronological order. To avoid confusion between new and already viewed notifications, we recommend archiving notifications after reviewing and taking the necessary actions. This also helps keep your notification feed clean and focused on what’s most relevant. # Fundamental Elements ## **1️⃣ Tasks & Subtasks** 📌 **Tasks** – The core unit of SmartTask. Assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and track progress. 📌 **Subtasks** – Break down larger tasks into smaller steps for better execution. 📌 **Custom Fields** – Add extra details like priority, budget, or status. ## **2️⃣ Groups & Projects** 📂 **Groups** – A higher-level structure where multiple projects reside. Imagine teams and departments. 📂 **Projects** – A collection of related tasks grouped together for better organization. 📂 **Portfolios** – Track multiple projects under one view to oversee progress and resource allocation. ## **3️⃣ Views** 📊 **List View** – A structured list of tasks and details. 📊 **Board View (Kanban)** – Visual workflow with drag-and-drop functionality. 📊 **Timeline View (Gantt Chart)** – Manage task dependencies and scheduling. 📊 **Calendar View** – See tasks based on due dates for better planning. 📊 **Dashboard View** – See tasks based on due dates for better planning. 📊 **Gallery View** – See tasks in gallery view with image preview in card 📊 **Discussions** – Add a discussion post where people can share their thoughts (Just like Linkedin) 📊 **Chat** – Chat with team-mates. 📊 **Form** – Create customizable forms that can be hosted on your website. ## **4️⃣ Collaboration & Communication** 💬 **Comments & Mentions** – Discuss tasks with team members within each task. 📎 **File Attachments** – Upload documents, images, or links. 🔔 **Notifications & Reminders** – Stay updated on changes and deadlines. ## **5️⃣ Automations & Workflows** ⚡ **Recurring Tasks** – Automate repetitive tasks at set intervals. ⚡ **Task Dependencies** – Ensure one task starts only after another is completed. ⚡ **Automations** – Create custom rules to automate repetitive actions (e.g., change status when completed). ## **6️⃣ Time Tracking & Reporting** ⏱ **Time Tracking** – Log time spent on tasks and projects. 📈 **Reports & Dashboards** – Get insights into task completion, productivity, and project progress. ## **7️⃣ Integrations & Customization** 🔗 **Integrations** – Connect with Slack, Zapier, Google Drive, and more. ⚙️ **Custom Workflows** – Adapt SmartTask to fit your team’s needs. # Task Tasks are the most fundamental building blocks in every organization. In this section, Let's capture the fundamental concepts related to a task in SmartTask and its related functionalities. When you track your work in SmartTask, everybody is clear on their responsibilities and accountability. Here are a few quick ways to start collaborating and tracking your work with your team: * [**Creating a task**](/fundamentals/task/creating-a-task) — The simplest way to create a task is by clicking on the "Add Task" button. One can also create a task from Email directly. * **Assign a task** — Collaborating for a task essentially means assigning tasks to yourself *and* your teammates. Give it a try and assign a task to a member in your team (even if they aren’t using SmartTask yet.) Provide details and information they need to complete the task. * **Add a follower** — Add stakeholders pertaining to a task as the followers so they can see any work on the task, communicate about it, and get notified about any related progress. You can add/remove followers at the right corner of the pane at the bottom of the task page. Try adding someone as a follower on one of the tasks you have just created. * **Comment on a task** — You can comment on a task to ask questions, respond to teammates, or offer extra information and insight. Comment on a task you created to give an update about it. # Creating a task ## Creating a few tasks What does your team need to accomplish today? This week? Next Week? {% embed url="" %} # Creating task from email How to create tasks by forwarding emails to SmartTask ### Forward Emails to turn them into tasks You can create tasks by sending emails to the SmartTask Application. Here’s how a email translates into a power packed task update. | Email field | Task field: | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | | Email to `u+id@email.smarttask.io` or `p+id@email.smarttask.io` | Task in SmartTask | | Email ids except for `u+id@email.smarttask.io` or `p+id@email.smarttask.io`in To field | Task Assignee | | CCed email recipients | Task followers | | Email subject | Task name | | Email body | Task description | | Email attachments | Task attachments | Where *id* is a unique identification number for a project or a user. ### Email Tasks to a User or Project You can send emails to assign a task to a user or add them to a project. Every project or user in SmartTask has a unique email address that is created at the time of initiation of the application and can be used to create tasks.
#### To find a the unique email address: 1. Select the desired project or user from the sidebar 2. Click the dropdown arrow besides "Add Task" button. 3. Select **Add Task from Email** To create a task via email, send an email to `p+uniqueID@smarttask.io` . For example, if your projectID is `123`, you would email `p+123@smarttask.io` # Importing Tasks from CSV Import tasks from Excel, SmartSheet or any CSV file. With SmartTask's CSV import functionality one could move workflow out of excel, csv file to SmartTask. On importing the CSV file, tasks would be created with data mapped to relevant task fields like start date, description, assignee and Custom Fields. {% embed url="" %} Before we start the processing of importing tasks here are a few things to check in your CSV file: * The column names in the first row would be utilized by CSV importer to map to relevant task fields. You could change or modify the default mapping. * **Assignee**: SmartTask would detect responsible user through the email address. String with anything else than the email address would be ignored. Assignee expects only one email address. * **Followers**: Similar to Assignee, relevant followers would be deducted through the email addresses. String with anything else than the email address would be ignored. Followers accepts more than one email addresses. * **Dates**: You could track both Start and Due dates. In your spreadsheet separate the dates in 2 columns. * **Subtasks**: To import Subtasks, add a column called Parent Task. Fill the Parent Task with the exact name of the parent task in the corresponding row. The parent task should be located above the subtask row or should already exist within the project. * **Other columns**: You could track additional columns to Taskname, Description, Priority, Custom Fields. Mapping of Custom Fields and Select field option is case sensitive. | Column | Information | | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Taskname | **\[Required]** Taskname of the task. If you have special characters in the taskname, please enclose the taskname with quotes. Eg: “Task 1,2” | | Assignee | \[Optional] Email id of the assigned person | | Description | \[Optional] Description of the task | | Priority | \[Optional] High, Medium, Low | | Task Type | (Optional) “milestone” or “task” | | Planned Start | (Optional) In `DD-MM-YY / MM-DD-YY` format. Example: `20-11-25`. | | Planned Due | (Optional) In `DD-MM-YY / MM-DD-YY` format. Example: `20-11-25`. | | Start Date | (Optional) In `DD-MM-YY / MM-DD-YY` format. Example: `20-11-25`. | | Due Date | (Optional) In `DD-MM-YY / MM-DD-YY` format. Example: `20-11-25`. | | Status | \[Optional] **complete** or **incomplete** | | Subtask Of | (Optional) Exact name of the parent task (must appear in a previous row or must be present in the project). | | Dependent On | (Optional) Comma separated tasknames. Must match exact name of the task this task is dependent on (previous row). | | Estimated Time | (Optional) Use time format - h or hh:mm | | Followers | \[Optional] Comma separated email-ids | | Projects |

\[Optional] Comma separated name of the projects.

Other than the project where the task is being imported

| | Contact Phones | (Optional) Comma separated phone numbers. Matches task to a contacts having these phone numbers. | | Contact Emails | (Optional) Comma separated email-ids. Matches task to a contacts with these email-ids | | Custom Field Name (Dynamic) | \[Optional] Value of the Custom Field | {% file src="/files/uU056Hene0AF35GMl1SQ" %} ### Using CSV Importer {% hint style="info" %} Before importing your full task list, we suggest testing with one row to make sure all fields map as expected. {% endhint %} 1. Click on the Dropdown arrow besides project name. Select 'Import' option.
2. To map the columns to right internal fields click on "Make Changes"
3. Clicking 'Import' button would start the import process. {% hint style="info" %} When importing rows with Assignees / Followers / Projects / Custom Fields make sure that the corresponding Users / Custom Fields are already present in the organization. {% endhint %} ### FAQs * **What if my CSV has tasks assigned to users not yet added in SmartTask?** Tasks will still be imported, although they would stay unassigned. Assignee emails would be ignored * **Can I test the import before uploading a full CSV?** Yes! We recommend importing just one task initially to make sure all columns are mapped correctly before importing the full list. * **What happens if some rows in my CSV have missing or incorrect data?** SmartTask will attempt to import and you’ll receive a message indicating which rows had problems showing “Error”. You can modify the file then and upload again. # Tasks from Forms Forms in SmartTask allow you to collect structured information (like inquiries, feedback, support requests, job applications, etc.) and automatically convert them into tasks or CRM records. Each submission becomes a task, helping you streamline data intake without manual entry. {% embed url="" %} #### **How to Create a Form** 1. **Click on + in the "Views Tabs" within any Project** * Click the **“Form”** option 2. **Add a Title and Description** * Click on **“Form”** title to rename it. * Add a **description**, **icon**, or **cover image** if needed. 3. **Add Questions Using Form Elements** * On the right panel under **“Form Elements”**, drag and drop the fields you need. * Available elements include: * **Single line text** (e.g., name) * **Multi line text** (e.g., feedback) * **Number**, **Date** * **Single select** and **Multi select** * **Attachment** * **Email**, **Phone number** #### **Form Settings** Click the **“Settings”** tab next to “Form Elements” to configure behavior: #### 🔹 Task Configuration * **Task Name Field**: Choose a form question (like “Issue Title”) that would be used to fillup Taskname field. * **Assign to**: Auto-assign all form submissions to a team member. * **Copy all responses to task description**: Enable to include all answers inside the task description. * **Add submitter to task followers list**: Adds the person filling the form as a task follower. #### 🔹 Form Access & Sharing * **Accessible to**: Set access level: * *Anyone can access* (public), * *Only team members*, * *Specific people only* * **Share form link**: Copy the public form link to send to respondents. * **Embedded code**: Use the HTML `