TaskRing Administrator Guide

Login

To access the administration features:

  1. If logged in as a non-admin user, click the toolbar log-out button.
  2. Login as admin per the email received after sign up.

Quick Start

To setup a new company quickly:

  1. Login as admin per the email received after sign up.
  2. Add at least one non-admin user – typically the CEO (see Users section below) and set at least the fields shown in blue.
  3. There is no need, initially, to change settings on the other admin tabs.
  4. To add or view tasks, logout of the admin account and login under a user account.
Users

The User tab allows you to add users to the system and set their options as follows (essential fields shown in blue):

Username

Login ID (e.g. John or JohnSmith) – must be a readable (not cryptic) name

Password

Login password – click the button to view a recommended password.

UTC time

Universal Time Clock of person (e.g. USA east coast is -5, west coast is -8)
Active
Check if person is currently employeed by the company / organization.
Hrs Per Week
Number of hours person works per week
Hrs per day
Number of hours person works per day
Default P
Default priority for new tasks or leave blank. Entering a default is more convenient but leaving blank insures thought is given to the priority. The highest common priority is 1, lowest is 9.

Manager

The person to which the user reports. For CEO leave blank. For middle managers usually set this field to the CEO, however if the CEO does not want to set priorities for this user, leave the Manager field blank. When this field is left blank the user will be responsible for setting P1. When this field is filled with a P1 person the user will set P2. When this field is filled with a P2 person the user will set P3.

Can View

Multiple select (shows color highlight) the co-workers that the new person can view. Generaly managers should be able to view the lists of their reports. Also you might want to give access to highly collaborative co-workers. For example, two sales persons that work closely might want to view each other’s lists.
Show report of self
User can see their own reports – generally enabled in companies where accountability metrics are used.
Show report of subordinates
Manager can see reports of subordinates. Uncheck for more relaxed company cultures.

Allow backup

Enable only for the person who will backup the data. This person will have access to all TaskRing data via the backup file. As with all computer data, backup frequently.
Prompt for Act
Check to prompt users to enter approximate times spent on tasks – generally enabled in companies where accountability metrics are used. Uncheck for more relaxed environments.
Assigns tasks
Enable for managers who delegate tasks.
Show tasks where only P3 is set
Enable for middle managers (not CEO) that will delegate tasks when P3 is set and no Owner is specified. At least one manager should have this enabled.
Has discussions
Allows a user to be involved in discussions and hence to show in the drop list for the Next field. Consider unchecking for users that rarely login.
Advanced Features
Additional capabilities are available in the following tabs:

Priorities

Shows the full list of priorities and allows to add or remove priorities. The Order field controls the order that the priorities appear in lists. Check “Show in Tasks” if you want tasks of the priority to appear in the main Task view. (It is not recommended to remove priorities that have an Alias.)

Settings

Various system settings.

Overview

An overview report of all activity.

Crons

Functions that the system performs automatically. Click a button to invoke a function without delay.

Deleted tasks

Shows a log of deleted tasks.

Backup

Access to daily backups in case of a need to restore. It is highly recommended to also create local backups (see above).

Logs

A log of user activity. You can filter by a specific person.

Task Count

How many tasks are allocated to each person.

Special

Allows to renumber tasks of a specified person if too many tasks are set to high priority.

Test

A tool for TaskRing developers.

Administrators are recommended to assign someone (or self) to review and assist new users in proper TaskRing use. For example, first-time users often:

  • finish tasks and don’t mark them done
  • mark tasks done that are not done
  • delete tasks that are done
  • don’t use the location field
  • don’t set the Owner field to the person who will do the task
  • don’t set the Next field after asking a question
  • etc.