Tasks
Create, assign, and track every piece of work across your entire practice.
Overview
The Tasks module is FRITH's action-item and workflow management system. A Task represents a discrete piece of work that needs to be completed — drafting a letter, obtaining a court order, reviewing a contract, filing an affidavit, or following up with a client. Tasks can be linked to a matter, assigned to an attorney or paralegal, given a due date and priority, and organised into checklists or workflow templates.
Unlike calendar events (which represent something happening at a specific time) or deadlines (which represent a mandatory legal date), tasks represent work items that need to get done within a timeframe. A task to "draft response to discovery request" has a due date and an assignee, but is not itself a court date. This distinction keeps your calendar clean and your obligations organised in the right place.
Task Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | A clear, actionable description of the work (e.g., "Prepare witness list for trial"). |
| Matter | The matter this task is linked to. Tasks without a matter link are personal/admin tasks. |
| Assigned To | The attorney or staff member responsible for completing the task. |
| Created By | The person who created the task (automatically recorded). |
| Due Date | When the task must be completed. Appears on the Dashboard and sends reminders as the date approaches. |
| Priority | Low, Normal, High, or Urgent. Affects sort order in task lists and dashboard alerts. |
| Status | Not Started, In Progress, Awaiting Review, Completed, or Cancelled. |
| Description / Notes | Detailed instructions, context, or checklists associated with the task. |
| Subtasks | Break a large task into smaller steps. Each subtask has its own completion checkbox. |
| Attachments | Files attached to the task for context (e.g., the document to be reviewed). |
| Tags | Custom labels for filtering and reporting. |
Creating a Task
Open the task creation panel
Click + New Task in the Quick Actions bar, or go to the Tasks module and click + Task. From inside a matter, use the Tasks tab → + Add Task to automatically link it to that matter.
Write a clear title
Use action-oriented language: "Draft", "Review", "File", "Obtain", "Send". A good task title tells the assignee exactly what done looks like.
Assign and set due date
Select the person responsible (defaults to yourself). Set the due date. If the task is urgent, set the priority to High or Urgent — this affects how it appears on the assignee's Dashboard.
Add subtasks if needed
For multi-step tasks, add subtasks using the + Subtask button. Each subtask can have its own assignee and due date. The parent task is only marked complete when all subtasks are complete (configurable).
Attach context
Add a description with any instructions or background. Attach relevant files. Link to a specific document in the matter's document library if the task is about reviewing or amending that document.
Save
Click Create Task. The assignee receives a notification in FRITH and optionally by email. The task appears on their Dashboard task list.
Task Workflows and Templates
For practice areas with predictable, repeating work patterns, FRITH supports Task Templates and Workflow Templates. A workflow template is a reusable set of tasks (with relative due dates and default assignees) that can be applied to any new matter with one click.
For example, a "Residential Conveyancing Workflow" template might contain 18 standard tasks from engagement through to title transfer, each with a relative due date ("Task 3 is due 5 days after Task 2 is completed"). When you open a new conveyancing matter and apply the template, FRITH creates all 18 tasks automatically with calculated due dates based on the matter open date.
To create a workflow template: go to Organisation → Workflow Templates → + New Template. Add tasks, set relative dates, assign default roles (e.g., "Responsible Attorney", "Paralegal") rather than specific people, and save. When applying a template to a matter, you map those roles to actual people.
Kanban Board View
In addition to the list view, tasks can be visualised on a Kanban board with columns for each status: Not Started, In Progress, Awaiting Review, and Completed. Drag tasks between columns to update their status. The Kanban view is particularly useful for team leads who want a visual overview of work in progress across a matter or practice area.
Switch between list and Kanban views using the view toggle in the top right of the Tasks module.
Recurring Tasks
Some tasks repeat on a schedule — monthly file reviews, quarterly compliance checks, annual insurance renewals. Enable the Recurring option when creating a task and set the frequency. FRITH will automatically create the next instance of the task when the current one is marked complete, carrying forward the assignee, priority, and description.
Effective task management
- • Every matter should have its next action represented as a task. A matter with no open tasks is either complete or being neglected — the distinction matters.
- • Keep tasks actionable and specific. "Work on Smith file" is not a task. "Draft settlement proposal for Smith v Jones and send to client for review by Thursday" is.
- • Use subtasks for court preparation checklists — they give you a checklist to work through without creating a dozen separate top-level tasks that clutter the list.
- • Triage daily: at the start of each day, sort your Tasks list by due date and priority. Anything overdue should either be completed immediately or have its due date revised with a note explaining why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I reassign a task to someone else after creation?
Yes. Open the task, click the Assigned To field, and select a different person. The new assignee receives a notification. The reassignment is logged in the task's activity history with a timestamp.
Why can I not see tasks assigned to other attorneys?
By default, the Tasks module shows only tasks assigned to you or created by you. Use the "All Tasks" filter or the Team view to see tasks across your team. Your permission level determines whether you can see and edit others' tasks.
Can tasks generate billable time entries automatically?
Not automatically — you still need to log a time entry for the work done. However, when marking a task as complete, FRITH prompts you to log the time spent. Clicking "Log Time" from this prompt pre-fills a new time entry with the task title as the description, linked to the same matter.
How do I use workflow templates for a new matter?
When creating a matter (or from the matter's Tasks tab), click Apply Workflow Template, select your template from the list, map the template roles to actual people, set the matter start date, and click Apply. All tasks are created immediately.