Once a task exists, you can make it live, complete it, reopen it, cancel it, move it to another project or duplicate it. This article covers each of those steps and what they mean for your freelancer's invoices, so work keeps moving and nobody gets paid late.

Who can do this: Teammates whose role lets them manage the task. Making a task live needs the permission Can change Tasks status to “Pending”. Reopening a completed task needs an admin.

Availability: Available in every account. Two invoice settings described below are available on request.

Your workspace may use different names for tasks, projects and freelancers, such as Assignments or Contractors. The steps are the same.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

How a task moves through its statuses

StatusWhat it meansWho moves it on
DraftSaved but not sent. The freelancer can't see it, and nobody can add an invoice to it.You, with Make Live
PendingSent to the freelancer, who gets an email asking them to accept or reject it.The freelancer
AcceptedThe freelancer agreed to do the work.The freelancer, with Mark task as completed, or you
Under reviewThe freelancer clicked Mark task as completed. A task manager needs to review the work.You
CompletedA task manager marked the work as done.An admin can reopen it
RejectedThe freelancer declined the task.You, with Reset to pending
CanceledYou canceled the task.You, with Reset to pending
ArchivedHidden from your lists. Nothing is deleted.You, with Reset to previous status

A project shows as Draft while it has no tasks or only draft tasks, Ongoing while any task is in progress, and Completed when every task is completed, canceled or archived.

Make a draft task live

New tasks save as Draft. The freelancer isn't notified, and no invoices can be added, until the task is live.

To make a task live:

  1. Go to Tasks & Projects → All Tasks.
  2. Open the task.
  3. Check that the right freelancer and task managers are on it.
  4. Click Make Live.

The task moves to Pending, and the freelancer gets an email asking them to accept it. To send every draft task in a project at once, open the project's actions menu and click Make all tasks live. Draft tasks with no freelancer stay in Draft.

Why don't I see Make Live? The usual reasons:

  • Your role doesn't include Can change Tasks status to “Pending”, or doesn't give you access to this task. Ask an admin to check your role under Settings → Team → Roles and Permissions.
  • No freelancer is assigned yet. Click Edit task and add one.
  • The freelancer's profile is archived. Restore the profile or assign someone else.
  • The task was created from a Contract. Its status follows the Contract, so it can't be made live by hand.
  • Your account requires freelancers to finish onboarding before a task goes live, and this freelancer hasn't.

If none of these apply, contact Worksuite Support with a link to the task.

Complete a task

You can complete a task that is Pending, Accepted or Under review.

  1. Open the task, or find it in All Tasks.
  2. Click Mark task complete.
  3. (Optional) Tick Generate Invoice to create the freelancer's invoice in the same step.
  4. Click Confirm.

The task shows Completed. Completing a task doesn't change invoices already on it. Invoices that are new, approved, scheduled or paid keep moving as normal. You can still add an invoice to a completed task with Add Invoice, so a late invoice isn't blocked. Many teams complete a task after the freelancer has been paid, so the status matches the money.

Important: If the task belongs to a Contract and it's the last open task on that Contract, completing it ends the Contract. You'll see "I am aware that completing this task will end the associated contract and that action can't be undone." Tick it only if you mean to end the Contract.

Reopen a task marked complete by mistake

Admins can reopen a completed task. It goes back to the status it had before, usually Accepted or Under review. The freelancer isn't emailed about it.

To reopen a task:

  1. Open the completed task.
  2. Click Reopen task.

If you don't see Reopen task, you aren't an admin, or the task was created from a Contract. If you aren't an admin, ask one of your admins to reopen it. If the task was created from a Contract, contact Worksuite Support and we can move it back for you.

A completed project has no reopen option. To keep working in it, add a new task to the project. If you don't see an option to add one, duplicate the project instead.

Cancel or archive a task

  • Cancel task stops a task that is Pending, Accepted or Under review. It's marked Canceled, which doesn't record the work as done. Tasks created from a Contract can't be canceled this way.
  • Archive task hides a task that is Completed, Rejected or Canceled. Use Reset to previous status to bring it back.

Move a task to a different project

  1. In All Tasks, open the task's actions menu.
  2. Click Move to Project.
  3. Search for the project you want and select it.
  4. Click Move Task.

You'll see "Task has been moved." The move works for any task that isn't archived, as long as:

  • the target project allows the task's currency, and
  • the task's start and end dates fit inside the target project's dates.

If the currency doesn't fit, you'll see "Task currency must match project currency". You can't move a task that was created from a Contract, and its project can't be changed with a change request. If a task created from a Contract is under the wrong project, contact Worksuite Support with a link to the task.

Change the currency

A task and its invoices use the project's currency. Set the currency when you create the project. You can change it later only while the project is still Draft, meaning none of its tasks are live yet.

If any task in the project is already live, duplicate the project, set the new currency on the copy, then make its tasks live.

Duplicate a task for another freelancer

Duplicate copies the task as a new draft named "Copy of" the original, including the freelancer, task managers, timesheet approvers and milestones. The freelancer isn't notified until you make the copy live. The task managers on the copy, other than you, get an email saying they were added to it.

To duplicate a task for someone else:

  1. Open the task's actions menu and click Duplicate.
  2. Open the copy and click Edit task.
  3. Replace the freelancer and task managers.
  4. Click Save changes.
  5. Click Make Live.

Change who manages a task

To add or replace a task manager on one task, see How to Change or Add Task Managers (Invoice Approvers).

When a teammate leaves, you reassign their work as you remove them. When you remove a teammate under Settings → Team → Teammates, Worksuite asks who should take over their requests, tasks, projects and Contracts. See How to Invite and Remove Team Members. To move many tasks from one active teammate to another, contact Worksuite Support.

Invoices on tasks the freelancer hasn't accepted

By default, a freelancer can add an invoice while a task is still Pending. Two settings change this. Both are off by default and available on request from Worksuite Support:

  • Block invoices on pending tasks. Nobody can save an invoice on a pending task. That includes admins, bulk imports, the API and timesheet invoices. People see "This Task needs to be accepted before invoicing it."
  • Block approval on pending or rejected tasks. Invoices on those tasks can't be approved until the freelancer accepts the task. Approvers see "Action not available because the related task is pending or rejected."

If an approver can't approve an invoice, check whether the freelancer has accepted the task.

What "Under review" means

A task shows Under review after the freelancer clicks Mark task as completed. It isn't a document to sign. The freelancer can still add invoices, but has nothing else to do. A task manager reviews the work and clicks Mark task complete.

Support/Resources

Still have questions about managing tasks? Click Support in the bottom-left corner of Worksuite to contact our Support team, or email support@worksuite.com. Including a link to the page you're on and a screenshot helps us answer faster.