Any of your planned activities can become a task in SAU - from 'Buying bread' to 'Going on holiday to Spain'. Anything you want to do, even the most unexpected thoughts, should be written down in SAU right away. You can then turn any such idea into a specific task or even an exciting project.
Ideally, the task should be:
  • small, so that it can be completed in a few hours;
  • specific, so it's clear what needs to be done;
  • realistic, so that it can be accomplished.
Well formulated tasks:
👍 Buy a baguette for dinner
👍 Book tickets to Spain for early June
👍 Read 30 pages of the contract
👍 Run 5km in the park
Poorly formulated tasks:
👎 Lose 5kg
It's a great goal, but it will take about a month to complete. That's too long. Better to make it into a project and break it down into 30 small tasks for each day and also add a couple of recurring tasks, like healthy habits.
👎 Meeting
Chances are, within 10 minutes of adding this task you will struggle to remember what the meeting is, when, with whom and about what. Add a little specificity - for example, 'Meeting with Jessie about a book deal' - and it will be much better!
👎 Write 100 pages of a book before midnight
It's either an unrealistic deadline, or unrealistic scope. Such a task would be very difficult to take on.
As you can see, it's nothing difficult. If you keep logging all your to-do's in SAU for 2-3 days, you will see exactly how best to formulate your tasks.
You can quickly add a task to any project using Personal Dashboard on the main screen.
To add a new task, simply write its name on the blue bar and tap Add. The task will be created inside the first project (but you can choose any other). If you don't have any projects yet, one will be created automatically.
If it's a personal project, it will be automatically assigned to you. By default, the due date will be set to today.
To create a task in a project:
  1. Open the project: select it on the project panel
  2. Type the task name at the top of the page on the blue panel
  3. Click Add
Done!
If it's your personal project, you'll be automatically set as the task assignee. By default, the task's deadline is set to today's date.
If the task is created in the "Tracker" view, it becomes daily recurrent by default.
If the task is created in the "Board" view, you'll need to choose a column where the task will be placed when creating it.
You can quickly create multiple tasks at once.
Place several task names into the task creation field. Separate them by new lines (paragraph; press "Enter"). By pressing the "Add" button, a message will appear clarifying how many tasks to create — one or a task for each line. So you can add several tasks at the same time! It's helpful if the task list was copied, for example, from an email or another document.
SAU has some keyboard shortcuts or hotkeys for quick actions with task creation:
CTRL + B: Puts the cursor in the task input field (blue panel).
CTRL + Enter: Creates a task with the specified title.
ALT + 1: Sets today's date as the task's due date. You can use other numbers with ALT to set different due dates (e.g., ALT + 2 for tomorrow, ALT + 7 for a week from now). Dates will be displayed above the task input field on the left.
ALT + U: Displays team members from the project who can be assigned to the task. The assigned team member will be shown to the right of the task input field. Continue to press ALT + U for choosing the right person. Please note that this keyboard shortcut won't work when creating tasks from "My Dashboard."
If a task has been created in the project, it will be displayed at the top of the task list.
If the task has been created in the personal dashboard, it will be displayed in the task list for the day and in the project that was selected when the task was created.
When creating a task, all you need to do is enter a name. You can fill in other task information later on.
  • Task name. This is how the task will be displayed in lists, notifications, emails, etc.
  • Check box. Check it if you want to mark the task as completed.
  • Due date. Date on which the task must be completed.
  • Project. The project the task belongs to. The task can always be moved to another project, but only by the initiator of the task or the project owner.
  • Initiator. By default, this is the person who created the task, but the initiator can be changed later. The initiator can delete the task.
  • Assignee. The one who must perform the task. They will receive notifications and reminders about the task.
  • Repeat task. If the task is recurring, you can select 'Every day' or 'Weekly' in this box and then configure the recurrence frequency.
  • Repeat frequency. If the task is repeated weekly, you must select the days of the week when the task is repeated and when SAU will send a notification to the performer.
  • Remind about task. Here you can set the date and time when you want to be reminded about the task. The notification will be sent to your email address, as a push message to your phone or tablet and in the SAU notification section.
  • Status. Which column on the board this task belongs to.
  • Attachments. You can attach a file or a link to any SAU task. SAU supports storage of any files up to 100MB each (depends on your subscription type). You can also attach a web link, or upload a file from the cloud storage.
  • Checklist. Here you can divide the task into subtasks, specify the stages of implementation and write out the intermediate results expected from the task execution.
  • Description. Any additional information about the task.
  • Task life history. A list of all changes that have been made to the task card (currently only available through the SAU.app web portal).
You can change the name of the task in the task card. To do this:
  1. Open the project panel and select the project
  2. Find the task you want to change and click on it. The task card will open
  3. Make changes in the Task name. This field cannot be empty, but you can use emoji or line breaks, as long as it does not exceed 1000 characters.
  4. Press Save (otherwise your changes will be lost!)
The due date of a task is the day on which the task must be completed. It can be specified in almost all task views and in the task card. The task can also have no deadline, but we recommend specifying a date so that you do not forget about the task.
In the list, table and any other task view, just click on the button next to the task to select a date from the drop-down calendar. If the date is already selected, you can click on the date itself to change it.
To set or change the due date of the task:
  1. Open the projects panel and select a project
  2. Find the task you want to change and click on it. The task card will open
  3. Click on the Due date field and pick a date. You can also pick a date quickly by selecting on of the pre-determined options: 'Today', 'Tomorrow', 'In a week', etc.
You can mark a task as completed from anywhere!
In every SAU view there is a circle to the left of the task name, by clicking on which the task will be marked as completed.
You can even complete the task from its card. To do that:
  1. Open the projects panel and select a project
  2. Find the task you want to change and click on it. The task card will open
  3. Click on the circle to the left of the task's name. A green check mark will appear
Recurring tasks are tasks that are repeated every day, week or month. They could be habits, such as 'Go for a morning run' or 'Read 10 pages a day'. They could also be work tasks, like 'Prepare a report every Monday' or 'Fill in the workload data in the evenings'. Sports tasks could also be recurring, like 'Strength training every Monday and Wednesday'.
In SAU, such tasks can easily be created and tracked in the Tracker view.
The Tracker view is available in a Pro Premium subscription.
To make a task recurrent:
  1. Open the Projects panel and select a project
  2. Find the task and click on it – the task card will open
  3. Select from the "Repeat task" type of repeatability - Daily or Weekly
  4. "Daily" means that the task will appear every day
  5. "Weekly" means that the task will appear on chosen weekdays
  6. In the case of "Weekly" click weekdays in "Days for repeat" for the task execution. Chosen day or days will become blue
  7. Click Save
Good! You have a period task. Now you can manage such a task in the Tracker view and monitor its progress. In other views like "To-do List" or "Table", such a task will be marked with the icon.
It is not always the best option to be reminded about a task only on the day when it is due. SAU has the option of reminding you in advance. You can pick the date and time and SAU will send you an email or a notification reminding you of the task.
To set a reminder for a task:
  1. Open the Projects panel and select a project
  2. Find the task click on it. The task card will open
  3. Click the 'Remind about task' field and pick the date and time for a reminder
At the specified time you will receive a notification and an email reminding you about the task.
Important: Make sure that task reminder notifications are enabled. You can do this in the notification settings.
Only the task owner can change the task's project, so that team tasks could not be accidentally 'hidden' in personal projects. To change a task's project:
  1. Open the Projects panel and select a project
  2. Find the task and click on it. The task card will open
  3. In the 'Project' field, select the desired project
There are two possible roles in the task:
  • Initiator. By default, this is the person who created the task. The initiator can delete the task and change the assignee. The project owner has these rights as well.
  • Assignee. The person who has to perform the task. It will be in his task list for the day, and he will receive reminders and emails about it.
In the list, table or any other view simply click on the circle to the right of the task to pick the assignee from the drop-down list. If an assignee is already selected, you can click on them in the task bar and pick a different one. The assignee is not required for the task. However, the task will always have an initiator. You can change both via the task card. To do this:
  1. Open the Projects panel and select a project
  2. Find the task and click on it. The task card will open
  3. Change the initiator in the 'Initiator' field
  4. Change the assignee in the 'Assignee' field
You cannot pick more than one assignee for a task.
When working on a task, the person assigned to it must understand what they are required to do and what they are responsible for. If several people are assigned to a task at once, they may do the same thing or, conversely, fail to complete an important part of the task.
If you want to assign more than one person for a task at a time, try to divide the task into several smaller parts that each person can understand. This will only increase the likelihood of the overall task being completed successfully!
You can add some information to a task as a description. This can be specific execution instructions, extra comments, or a detailed outcome of the task execution. To add a description to a task:
  1. Open the Projects panel and select a project
  2. Find the task and click on it – the task card will open
  3. Click the tab
  4. Type in the necessary information in the "Description" field
  5. Click Save
You can attach any files related to your project to a task — documents, images, videos, links, materials etc.
If you are used to storing files in cloud storage such as Google Drive or Dropbox, you can attach links to them to a task. This way you will have all your documents in one place, and you can quickly find all the task details.
There are no limits on the number of attachments, only on individual file size. It varies from 5Mb to 100Mb depending on your subscription type.
When you're working with a task card on SAU.app, there are three ways to view any attachments you've added:
  • List Mode. This shows all your files in the order you added them. For each file, you'll see its size and a link to access it. It's a straightforward, sequential display
  • Table Mode. If you need more details, switch to the table view. Here, you get a comprehensive look at each file, including its name, size, the date it was uploaded, and who uploaded it. It's great for getting a full overview
  • Preview Mode. For a quick glance, use the preview mode. It displays thumbnails for media files like images or videos. For other types of files, you'll see relevant icons. This view is handy for visually identifying your files quickly
No matter how you choose to view your attachments, you can order them by name, date, or size, making it easier to find what you're looking for.
For more information on what other files can be attached, how they will be displayed, the specifics of attaching links etc., see the article 'Files, links and cloud storage'.
A checklist consists of items that are basically smaller tasks without specific assignees or dates, but which can still be marked as completed. Checklists are useful when you need to:
  • divide a task into subtasks;
  • record the specific steps of the task;
  • track intermediate results;
  • specify the task execution algorithm;
  • indicate the important features of the task.
Checklists are available to users with a Pro Premium subscription.
You can create or modify a checklist through the task card. To do this:
  1. Open the Projects panel and select a project
  2. Find the task and click on it – the task card will open
  3. Go to the tab with the checklist
  4. Near the label "New" type the name of the checklist item, then click "Add" or press Enter
  5. Click on the name of an already added checklist item to edit it
  6. Click the to the right of the checklist item's name to delete it
  7. Click Save
Read more about checklists and how exactly they can be used in the 'Checklists' article.
All user actions that were made with data in SAU are logged. All changes are recorded with a timestamp and the author. This includes saving, modifying, and deleting any card, file, or other data.
The change log is available to users with the Premium Biz subscription and only on the SAU.app web portal. For example, to view the history of a task:
  1. Open the project on SAU.app by selecting it from the projects panel
  2. Find the task you need and click on it — the task card will open
  3. Go to the tab with the history of this task
You can see the table with information about changes with dates and authors. The project owner has access to comprehensive reports with all changes in the project and its tasks. At the same time, the report contains information about users' work on the project. To do this, contact our support.
You need to open the task card to share the direct link to the task details.
  1. Open the projects panel on SAU.app and pick a project
  2. Choose the task and click on it's name
  3. Find the button in the right corner of the card's header
  4. You can copy the link to this task card or use button to place the link into the buffer
  5. The link can be sent directly through any messenger, via email or through another application
Important: The person receiving this link must be a project team member.
You can delete a task via its card. Important! Only the project owner, the author, or the task assignee can delete a task.
To delete a task:
  1. Open the projects panel on SAU.app and pick a project
  2. Choose the task and click on it's name
  3. Press the red button Delete at the bottom of the task card.
Once deleted, a task CANNOT be restored. However, if it was a vital task, you can reach out to us at support, and we'll do our best to help you out.