Tasks are an essential component of tracking matter-related activity and events. With basic task management in Clio, you can create and edit tasks, track time, mark tasks as complete, and get an overview of when upcoming tasks are due.
Tip: Manage similar tasks on multiple matters using task types and task lists.
Task access and permissions
All firm users have access to the Tasks tab in Clio Manage and can view or edit their own tasks or tasks created by other users. There are no specific permissions available for tasks; however, when creating or editing a task, you can set the task as private. Setting a task to private will make it visible to only the task creator, the task assignee, and any firm users with administrator permissions.
Create tasks
When you create a task, the new task will appear in the matter timeline if a matter is selected, in the Calendar on its due date, and in the Dashboard Firm Feed. Tasks can be created from the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter. All fields are optional except for the task name and the task assignee.
Note: Private tasks will not appear in the matter timeline or Firm Feed.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Click New Task.
- Complete the basic task details. Learn more about task types, assigning tasks, reminders and notifications, and task status.
- Click Save task to save this task and close the modal. Click Save and create another to save the task and open a new blank modal to create a new task.
Edit tasks
You can edit an existing task in the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter. When you edit a task’s due date, you will no longer see the original due date. If you need to keep track of the original due date, make a note in the description box.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Find the task.
- Click the dropdown arrow next to Mark complete and select Edit task.
- Make your changes. Learn more about Relative due date in the section below.
- Click Save task.
Note: You can also edit a task in the Calendar.
Assign tasks
When creating or editing a task, you can select whether to assign the task to a firm user or a contact. You can only assign the task to one individual.
Note: Tasks must be assigned to either a contact or user. Tasks cannot be assigned to groups, and the Assign to field cannot be blank.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Create a new task or edit an existing task.
- Under Assign to, select a firm user or contact.
- Save the task.
Reassign tasks
You can reassign individual tasks from one user to another, or you can bulk reassign all tasks from a firm user. The latter process is useful for when an administrator deactivates a user's account.
Note: Only an administrator can reassign work. Additionally, you can only bulk reassign tasks associated with open or pending matters and tasks that are not past due.
- Go to Tasks.
- Click Filters, select the user under the Assign to field, and click Apply filters.
- Click the down arrow next to Mark complete and select Edit task.
- Under Assign to, select a new user.
- Click Save task.
- Go to Settings > Manage Users.
- Optional: Click Filter and select Show All Users.
- Click Reassign Work, under the user's name.
- Under Tasks, select the new firm user for the tasks.
- Click Reassign work.
Select task relative due date
When editing a task’s due date, you can select a specific date from the Calendar or select a relative due date that is based on an existing task for a matter. This means that the task will be due a specific amount of time before or after an existing task that is linked to the matter. When you update the due date for the first task, the task with the relative due date will automatically update to the same amount of time before or after the first task is due.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Find the task.
- Click the dropdown arrow next to Mark complete and select Edit task.
- Under Due date select Relative due date. Specify how long before or after another task this task should be due.
- Click Save task.
Update task due dates in bulk
Task due dates can be updated for individual tasks and for multiple tasks in bulk. When you bulk update task due dates for outstanding tasks, you can select an unlimited number of tasks. The tasks will all update to the same new due date.
Important: Tasks with relevant due dates will adjust according to the parameters specified in the relevant due date only if one of the tasks in the relevant connection is updated. If you bulk update two or more tasks that are connected via relevant due dates, they will have the same new due date, which means that the relevant due date connection will be broken.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Check the box next to multiple tasks.
- Click Edit date.
- Specify a new due date for all the tasks you selected.
- Click Save.
Add time to tasks
When tracking tasks for a matter, you can also add billable or non-billable time to the task. This ensures that your time is captured for any work in progress that may appear on a generated invoice.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Under the Recorded time column, click Add time.
- Complete the time entry and click Save entry.
Mark tasks complete or incomplete
When you mark a task as complete, the task moves to the Completed section of the Tasks table. Similarly, when you mark a completed task as incomplete, it moves to the Outstanding section of the table. You can perform these actions on individual tasks or in bulk. You can also view completed tasks in the matter Timeline and Firm Feed.
Mark complete or incomplete:
You can mark tasks complete or incomplete either individually or in bulk.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Click Mark complete. You can move the task back to incomplete by selecting the Completed tab and then clicking Mark incomplete.
Note: You can also mark a single task as complete in the Calendar.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Select the boxes next to the tasks or select the box in the table header to automatically check all tasks.
- Click Mark complete. Move the task back by clicking the Completed tab, checking boxes, and then clicking Mark incomplete.
View completed tasks:
When a task is completed, you can view the completed task in either the matter Timeline or in the Dashboard Firm Feed.
- Go to the matter's Dashboard.
- Scroll down to Timeline.
- Click Filters and select Task under Type.
- Click Apply filters.
- Go to Dashboard > Firm Feed.
- Click Filter and select Task under Type.
Delete tasks
Important: Deleting tasks is a permanent action.
Any user can delete individual tasks or delete multiple tasks in bulk.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Click the down arrow next to Mark complete and select Delete task.
- When the warning prompt appears, select Delete.
Note: You can also delete a task in the Calendar.
- Go to the main Tasks tab or the Tasks subtab within a matter.
- Select the boxes next to the tasks or select the box in the table header to automatically check all tasks, and then select Delete.
- When the warning prompt appears, select Delete.