# Creating Tasks and Cloning Tasks Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/tasks/creating-tasks > Create or clone a task from the Task Board, optionally attaching a Participant. Create a task from the Task Board. Only the task name is required, but select the Participant at this point if the task is for them. > **Log tasks straight from Outlook** > > You can also create a task against an email without leaving your inbox using the [Astalty for Outlook](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/other/astalty-outlook-add-in) add-in. ## Select Participant To assign a Participant to a Task, click on the "**+**" icon in the first column. ![The Task Board for the week starting 26/10/2026, with the + icon highlighted in the first column of the empty Add a new Task row under Monday.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/tasks-1.png) The list only offers Participants you have access to. ### You may need to search by name The Participant list initially shows up to 25 results. If the Participant is not listed, enter their name to search for them. ### Telling duplicate profiles apart If you use [Participant Duplication](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/optional-features#participant-duplication), two profiles can share the same name. When this happens, the picker shows each duplicate profile's **External ID** beneath the name so you can select the correct one. ![The Create Task participant dropdown showing two profiles named Allie Stroman, each with a different External ID displayed beneath the name.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/tasks-duplicate-participant-external-id.png) This descriptor only appears for profiles marked as duplicates that have an External ID set - all other Participant options look the same as usual. For it to be useful, give each duplicate profile a different External ID; see [Participant Duplication](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/optional-features#participant-duplication) for how to add one. ## Create the Task Click the **Add a new Task** input under the day you want and type the task name. This should be something short that reflects the name of the task and the work that is being done. ![The Task Board for the week starting 26/10/2026, with the Add a new Task input highlighted in the empty row under Monday, beside the + icon in the first column.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/tasks-2.png) Press *Enter* to create the task, or click the *+* icon at the right end of the input. The task is created on that day and assigned to you. If your organisation uses [Task Types](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/tasks-notes-settings#task-types), the Task Board also shows a **Type** column. Click **Set Type** in the new task row and choose an active Task Type before creating the task. The choice clears after the task is created, ready for the next task. > **Handy Hint - Default Charge Items** > > When you create a task with a Participant, Astalty sets its Primary Charge Item automatically: the Participant's **Default Charge Item** if they have one (set on their plan, under their services), otherwise your account's default Charge Item if one is set. Default Charge Items are often set up when you only wish to bill a Participant under one specific line item. ## Primary Charge Item To change the task's Primary Charge Item, select the current Charge Item and choose another one. ![The Task Board with a task's Charge Item popup open on SC-L2, its list showing a Search box and the Participant's one hourly option, SC-L2 Support Coordination Level 2: Coordination of Supports.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/screenshot-2023-12-18-at-7.01.09-pm-1702890118.png) - A task with no Primary Charge Item shows **Set Charge**. - You must select a Participant before you can set a Charge Item. - Changing the Charge Item keeps the quantity already recorded. - Click **Remove** in the same popup to take the Primary Charge off the task. - Once the Primary Charge has been invoiced, it can't be changed or removed. ### Can't see the Charge Item you need? If you can't see the Charge Item you need, it means that the Charge Item is not correctly configured for the Participant or the Charge Item you're looking for is not an **hourly** Charge Item. If the Charge Item you need is not billed by the hour (for example kilometres), you will need to click into the Task and add it from the **Finance** tab instead. The list only shows Charge Items on one of the Participant's services that is active on the task's date. A Charge Item whose service has ended, or not yet started, on that date isn't offered. ## Adding Billable Time You can add billable time to the task in the duration column, in minutes. - Type the number of minutes, then press *Enter* or *Tab*, or click away. Astalty saves the duration then. - Or click the duration to open the quick-select buttons. Each **+N** button adds that many minutes and saves straight away. **Reset** sets the duration back to 0. You can change the **+N** buttons under [Settings > Tasks & Notes](https://app.astalty.com.au/settings/tasks-notes). They only add minutes; they don't round time or change how it is billed. ![A task row's duration field showing 12, with the quick-select buttons +15, +30, +45 and +60 and a Reset button open below it.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/screen-shot-2023-12-12-at-9.00.47-pm.png) The duration and the Primary Charge's quantity stay in step: 90 minutes is a quantity of 1.5 hours. Once the Primary Charge has been invoiced, the duration can't be changed. ## Billable Checkbox You can mark a Task as non-billable by checking or unchecking the checkbox in the Billable column. > **Warning - Unbillable Tasks will not be invoiced** > > If a Task is marked as non-billable, it will not be included in an Invoice Batch and will not count towards KPI targets. Unticking **Billable** removes the task's charges from any draft invoice batch. Once any charge on the task has been invoiced, the checkbox is locked. ## Completed Once you have completed a task, you can mark it as being completed by checking the checkbox on the right of the screen. > **Handy Hint** > > Don't worry if you forget to check the checkbox - your tasks will still be invoiced. This feature is just another way for you to keep track of what work has been completed and gives you the ability to identify which tasks you are still working on. > > If you are not ready to invoice a task and it goes into a draft invoice batch, its charges show an orange dot labelled *Task not complete*, so you can remove them before the batch is created and bill for the task when you are ready. Once any charge on a task has been invoiced, you can't untick **Completed**. ## How Changes Save There is no Save button on the Task Board or in the Task View. Changes to a task's Participant, name, date, Charge Item, duration, **Billable** and **Completed** save as soon as you make them, or as soon as you confirm them where Astalty asks. When you make several changes to the same task in quick succession, Astalty saves them one at a time, in the order you made them. If a change can't be saved, for example because the task has since been invoiced, the field goes back to its saved value. ## Creating a Task With the Create Task Button The **Create Task** button at the top of every page opens a form that sets up a whole task at once: 1. Click **Create Task**. 2. Choose the date with the date button. It offers **Yesterday**, **Today**, **Tomorrow**, **In a week**, **In a month** and **Pick a date**. The default is today. 3. Enter the **Name** and select the **Participant**. If active [Task Types](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/tasks-notes-settings#task-types) have been set up, you can also select a **Type**. 4. To put the task on someone else's Task Board, select them in **Team Member**. See [Assigning and Reassigning Tasks](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/tasks/assigning-and-reassigning-tasks). 5. Select the Charge Item and enter the duration. 6. Optionally write a note, record a check-in, untick **Billable**, tick **Completed** or click **Add Documents** to attach up to 5 files. 7. Click **Create and open** to open the new task, or switch the button to **Create** to stay where you are. Astalty remembers your choice. You can also drag files onto the **Create Task** button to open the form with them attached. Check-ins are only offered for tasks dated today or earlier, need a note, and are included on the Professional plan and above. ### Funding Utilisation Once you've picked a Participant and a Charge Item, Astalty shows the funding for the Service that Charge Item draws on, from the plan covering the task's date: a bar coloured for what is spent and scheduled, and a line saying how much is left or how far over the Service is. Use **Show in** to switch between hours and dollars. The full card, with figures, hover detail and funding periods, appears on the task once you save it. The figures do not include the task you're creating, which counts once you save it. [Funding Utilisation](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/ndis-plan/funding-utilisation) explains how they are worked out. ![The Create Task form for Harley Altenwerth with the Charge Item SC-L2 and a Duration of 120 minutes, and Level 2 Coordination funding underneath: 44h of 48h left, a Show in switch for Hours or Dollars, and the hourly rate used.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/tasks-create-task-funding-utilisation-guide.png) If the Charge Item isn't funded by any of the Participant's plans on that date, Astalty says so instead of showing a bar. Funding Utilisation here is included on the **Professional** plan and above, the same as the Task View's. This also shows when [cloning a task](#cloning-tasks) and when creating a task linked to a calendar event - see [Task Creation](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/calendar/using-the-calendar/calendar-events-and-tasks#task-creation). ## Cloning Tasks Tasks can also be cloned to quickly create a new task using the details of an existing one. To clone a task, open it and select **Actions**, then **Clone Task**. The **Create Task** form opens with the original task's details filled in, including its [Funding Utilisation](#funding-utilisation), ready to adjust before you click **Create Task**. ![The Task View for Find an OT with capacity with Actions highlighted and its menu open, with Clone Task highlighted between Email History and Delete Task.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/cleanshot-2026-03-19-at-20.56.10@2x-guide.png) ### What is cloned? When cloning a task, the following details are copied into the new task: - Task name - Participant - Team Member the task is assigned to - Duration and the **Billable** setting - Primary Charge Item - Additional charges, with their quantities and claim types - Task Type, if it is still active. An archived Task Type is left off the clone. The date is set to today. You can change any of these, and add a note, a check-in or documents, before creating the task. This can save time when creating similar or repeat tasks. ### What is not cloned? The following items are **not** currently copied when cloning a task: - Notes - Attached documents - Goals - The **Completed** tick - Charge price overrides These will need to be added manually after creating the new task.