After completing a recurring task, the next task created appears to skip an instance/period

TaxCalc allows for the creation of tasks that can be set to recur with repeatable attributes such as frequency and number of instances.

The most common recurring tasks are automatic tasks generated via Task Scheduler from a client record.  The due date of these tasks is automatically created based on the deadline for the work.  An automatic task can be managed from within Task Management.

Once a recurring task is completed, the next task in the instance is automatically created with the appropriate due date (based on the original date set on the recurring instance template).

Should a recurring task be edited at any point after activation, it is possible that where the change made puts the recurrence out of sequence, in some situations the newly created task may appear to skip an instance (e.g. the next instance created will always be after the latest instance expected from the instance template, irrelevant of the task being completed as it is expected that you would always be completing the latest task).

The following scenarios should be considered with care to prevent any unwanted results:

Scenario 1:

1. A recurring task is created
2. The task is edited by selecting Edit Task from Task Management
3. The option “This Task only” is selected
4. The Due Date is amended to an earlier date than was originally displayed (For example, a quarterly VAT task with a due date of 07/06/2018 is edited to use a new due date of 04/04/2018);
5. The amended task is Completed
6. A new task will be created with a due date of 07/09/2018

Scenario 2:

1. A recurring task is created
2. The current instance of the recurring task is deleted by selecting Delete Task from Task Management;
3. The “Delete This” option is selected.
4. A previously completed task is edited to replace the recently deleted task (For example, editing a completed task for the same client and re-purposing it by updating the name, due date and status to match the deleted task).

Due to the confusion that the above situations may generate we are currently investigating how the process can be improved and hope to include improvements within the coming releases.

Please contact TaxCalc Support if you are unsure of the status of your tasks.