Task Boards

Updated Sep 5, 2023

What is a task board?

Instead of creating all of your tasks in a single list, a task board allows you to group tasks together. Tasks within a task board can be further organized into columns so you can create a more visual layout. You can even create task board templates that can be copied into your projects to save time and stay consistent!

You can create task boards under Tasks > Tasks Boards > Add Board.

Keep in mind that tasks in a task board won’t appear in your Dubsado task list on the main Dashboard unless you assign the task!

When to use task boards

A task board will come in handy when you need to manage a series of tasks all related to a common goal. You can use each column to represent a phase of work (and move tasks from one column to the next) or a category of tasks.

This could be for your business in general:

Company roadmap
Social media planning
New product/website launch

Or for a specific service you offer that requires you to follow the same steps with every client:

Photography/videography post-production checklist
Website launch procedure
Event preparation

Although individual tasks cannot be assigned to your clients, you can share a task board with your client using their client portal! This is a great way to collaborate with your client on their project and invite them to participate.

With a shared task board, both you and your client can see progress and check off tasks, upload a file to a specific task, or add comments to tasks.

Task boards vs workflows

Task boards are not automated and do not interact with workflows or Zapier.

Task boards are best suited to situations where you don't need automation and just want to check things off a list manually. Workflows can automatically generate individual tasks as part of a larger process. To help you decide which feature is best for your needs, here's a comparison:

Task boards

"I just want to check off tasks at my own pace."
Allow you to visually organize tasks into columns
Can be used outside of a specific project or inside a project
Require you to create each task manually
Allow you to set a due date on each task manually as you create it
Cannot automatically set task due dates or create tasks based on other events in the project (project start, contract signed, invoice paid, etc.)
Cannot send emails, forms, etc. to your client
Will not send any reminder emails or notifications to you
Can be shared with your client via the client portal, allowing clients to add comments, check off tasks, and upload files

Workflows

"Once x happens I want y to happen."
Allow you to define a series of steps to be automated in a project
Cannot be used outside of a specific project
Can automatically generate individual tasks (not task boards or tasks on a task board)
Do not allow you to set a due date on automatically generated tasks (but you can add one manually to each task later)
Can automatically generate individual tasks based on other events in the project (project start, contract signed, invoice paid, etc.)
Designed to send emails, forms, etc. to your client automatically
Can send an email notification to you or an assigned multi-user when a task is generated
Cannot be shared with or made visible to your client

Creating and managing task boards

Create a new task board

To create a new task board:

Go to Tasks in the main menu.
Click on the Task Boards tab.
Click Add Board. A popup will appear.
Give your new board a name.
Select a project if this board is for a specific project. If not, leave the dropdown blank. You'll be able to copy this board into a specific project later.
Click Add to create the board. You’ll be automatically redirected to inside the task board.
Click New Column to add your first column to the board.
Type in a name then click the checkmark. The column will appear on your task board.
Click the + button underneath your column to add a task.
Type in a task and hit ENTER on your keyboard to save.
Continue adding tasks and columns.
Click on a task to edit it and add a due date, assignee, files, and comments.

You can also create a new task board directly within a project by going to the Tasks tab.

Manage task boards

Here are some tips for managing your task boards:

Open a task board any time by clicking on it under Tasks > Task Boards. From here, you can move, edit, and complete tasks and make any other changes you'd like to the board.
Tasks can be dragged and dropped between columns!
Tasks created on project boards will not be visible on the main Tasks page list or the task list within an individual project unless they have an assignee. If a task on a task board does not have an assignee, it will only be visible on the board itself.
From the Task Boards page, you can click View: General Boards to toggle your view between All Boards, General Boards (not tied to a project), and Project Boards. This allows you to access all of your boards in one place.

Delete a task board

To delete a task board:

Go to Tasks.
Click the Task Boards tab.
Click on the dropdown arrow for the specific task board.
Click Delete.

How to edit settings

Only boards that are assigned to a project can be shared. First, add the task board to a project by going to Projects and selecting your client. Then go to the Tasks tab and click Add Board. After the task board is added to the project, click the down arrow and then Edit Privacy Settings.

Privacy settings options

When you edit the privacy settings, two options come up:

Admin & assigned users: The default. This is a private board that only you and your assigned teammates can view.
Client portal: This is a shared board with your clients. They will be able to see it in the portal. This will allow them to follow along with you and what you complete. Switching the task board to this setting will also allow them to edit and create tasks as well so you can collaborate with your clients! Clients will not get an email when you assign them to a board.

Client portal view

Client portals MUST be used to share boards with clients. If you choose Client Portal as the privacy setting, the client does not get an alert. If they would like to view the task board, they can log into the client portal and click the Projects tab. At the bottom under Boards, the board will appear!