How does task scheduling work?

When your Forecast account is connected to Harvest and has linked projects, you will now see a Task dropdown on the assignment form. This dropdown allows you to choose a task to attach to the assignment. These tasks are pulled directly from the project’s assigned tasks in Harvest, and can only be managed by editing the project in Harvest. Learn more in our article on adding and editing task assignments.

How can I edit the tasks that show up?

To edit the tasks you see when scheduling an assignment in Forecast, you’ll need to edit the project in Harvest and update the task list there. It’s not possible to edit tasks from Forecast.

Can I schedule by task without connecting to Harvest?

No–you’ll only see the Task dropdown when your Forecast account is connected to Harvest and the project in question is linked to its counterpart in Harvest.

Do I need to select a task to schedule an assignment?

No, you don’t have to select a task–if you choose not to use a task, you’ll see a No task label tied to that assignment if other assignments for that project have tasks; if none of the project’s assignments have tasks, there won’t be any task labels.

How does task scheduling impact project budget forecasting on the project analysis page in Harvest?

If a project is budgeted by Hours per task, assignments scheduled to non-budgeted tasks, or assignments without any task (No task) will be excluded from the forecasted budget calculation.

What happens to my existing assignments in Forecast?

Any existing assignments won’t have tasks assigned, but you can go back and edit these assignments to assign a task if you’d like, as long as the project is linked between Harvest and Forecast.

Can I filter my schedule by task name?

At this time, it’s not possible to filter the schedule by task.

Do Forecast schedule exports include tasks?

Not yet! Schedule exports don’t currently include tasks. We plan to support this functionality in a later iteration of this feature.

Can I see the remaining budgeted hours for projects that budget by task?

Not yet! When you toggle the project hours drawer to see the future scheduled hours/remaining budgeted hours, you’ll see remaining budgeted hours at the project-level only. We plan to support this functionality in a later iteration of this feature.

Can I report on task estimates vs. actuals in Harvest?

We plan to support estimates vs. actuals reporting at the task level in a future iteration of this feature, but it’s not possible to compare estimates vs. actuals for tasks yet.

What happens if I archive a task in Harvest?

Any assignments linked to this archived task in Forecast will be locked. When an assignment is locked, the assignment remains, but the date period, the task selection, and the assignee can’t be edited. The assignment hours and notes field can be edited. Also, a locked assignment can’t be repeated or copied.

It’s not possible to create a new assignment for this archived task in Forecast, and the task won’t show up in the Task dropdown for any project.

I archived a task in Harvest, but still have assignments scheduled to that task in Forecast. How do I remove it from my schedule?

Since the assignment will be locked in Forecast once you archive the task in Harvest, you have two options if you no longer want to see it on your schedule:

1. Restore the task in Harvest so the assignment(s) can be edited. Then, edit the tasks on those assignments in Forecast before archiving the task in Harvest again.
2. Delete the assignment(s) for that task in Forecast. Locked task assignments can be deleted.

What happens if I delete a project in Harvest and had task assignments for that project in Forecast?

If there are existing task assignments in Forecast for the project you’re deleting in Harvest, all task assignments scheduled to this project will also be deleted in Forecast.

What happens if you disconnect Harvest from Forecast?

Any task assignments in Forecast will be deleted from your schedule. Note that even though task assignments will be deleted, assignments without tasks will remain after disconnecting, so if you plan to disconnect Harvest and Forecast and don’t want to lose any of your scheduled assignments, you’ll need to remove the tasks from all Forecast assignments first.