> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.agencydesk.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.agencydesk.io/jobs/timeline.md).

# Timeline

Plan a Job on its Timeline: read Task bars, expand Milestone and Financial rows, shift dated work together, manage Milestone links and dates, and print a client schedule.

The **Timeline** tab plots a Job’s active Tasks as bars inside their Groups, including completed work with dates. Managers and above can also choose to show Draft Tasks. A costing built as a list reads as a schedule. Beneath the date header, the Milestones row carries delivery dates; a Financial row appears when the Job has dated financial documents.

Because Agencydesk was built exclusively for agencies, the Timeline uses the same Task dates as the rest of the Job. Moving a bar changes that Task’s start and due dates. It does not move Resource Planner bookings automatically, so review the bookings separately when replanning.

Open it from inside any Job, then the **Timeline** tab.

{% hint style="info" %}
The Timeline is where Milestones are managed. The Milestones report is where they are monitored across every Job, and every row there links back to this page.
{% endhint %}

## Reading the Timeline

Across the top sits the date header, with the month above and each day beneath it showing its weekday letter and date. Weekends are shaded so the working week is easy to pick out, and a vertical line marks today, so you can read at a glance what is behind, in flight, or still ahead.

Beneath the two rails, each **Group** from the Job Costing forms a labelled band, with its Tasks laid out as bars across the days they are scheduled for.

Each Task bar carries:

* Assigned users appear as profile pictures, with several shown together when more than one person is assigned.
* The Task name appears inside longer bars. On short bars of up to four visible days, the name and avatars sit beside the bar so they remain readable.
* A completed Task carries a check icon and recedes in grey.

### Task bar colours

* **Blue** — an active Task, still in production.
* **Grey with a check icon** — a completed Task. Completed Tasks recede visually so attention stays on live work.

### Showing Draft Tasks

Drafts are hidden by default. With Manager access or higher, use **Drafts** in the top-right controls to include them. The choice is remembered in this browser. On a Job whose Tasks are all drafts, the Timeline is available to Managers and above and opens with drafts showing.

{% hint style="info" %}
This is the same reason a Job requires both dates at creation. Activating twenty Tasks off an approved Estimate gives every one of them a workable date range immediately, so the Timeline is populated the moment the client says yes rather than after someone sets dates line by line.
{% endhint %}

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Open the Job’s **Timeline** and switch **Drafts** on to review work that is still being scoped.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Read a dated draft as a lighter blue bar with a **Draft** tag. A draft without dates appears as a dotted outline across the Job’s date range, labelled **No dates yet**. That outline is a placeholder, not a saved schedule.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Drag or resize an undated draft only when you want to give it real dates. Releasing saves those dates but leaves it a draft. To activate it on an open Job, click its **Draft** tag and choose **Activate task**. Check the Task dates afterwards.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Before sharing a printout or shifting dates, check **Drafts** again. Print and Job Summary follow the switch. Shift Dates includes dated drafts when they are showing; undated drafts stay as they are.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Changing dates by dragging

On an open Job, Task bars can be adjusted directly on the Timeline:

* **Drag the whole bar** left or right to shift the Task, keeping its duration the same.
* **Drag either end** of the bar to change just the start date or just the due date, making the Task longer or shorter.

Releasing the bar or handle saves the dates back to the Task. If the save fails, an error appears and the bar returns to its saved dates. A Task whose dates change also moves to its date position within its Group; other Tasks, Costs and undated items keep their positions. This shared order is reflected on Job Costing and the Tasks tab. If only the order save fails, the dates stay saved and a warning asks you to check the order. Existing Resource Planner bookings stay on their booked dates; check them separately after a date change.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Great for** moving one delayed deliverable. Drag its Task to the revised dates, then check the people’s bookings before agreeing the new deadline. Use Shift Dates below when the whole Job’s dated work needs the same move.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Task dependencies are not currently part of the Timeline. Moving one Task does not move the Tasks that follow it, so each is adjusted on its own.
{% endhint %}

## Shift dates for the whole Job

Shift Dates moves the included Task date ranges and dated Milestones by the same number of calendar days. With Drafts off it includes active Tasks; with Drafts on it includes dated drafts too. Completed Tasks and Milestones are included. Task durations and gaps between items stay the same; Tasks missing a start or due date stay as they are.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Open Shift Dates

On an open Job’s Timeline, choose the left/right arrows icon at the top right, beside **Job summary (PDF)**. Hover to read **Shift Dates**. It is available with Manager access or higher, hidden on closed or archived Jobs, and disabled when no Task has both dates.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Check the earliest Task

The Shift all task dates popup loads the current Tasks and Milestones and identifies the earliest dated Task. Its start date is the reference for the whole move.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Choose the new start

Set New start date for the earliest task. The difference between the old and new start determines how far every included item moves, forward or backward.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Review the complete move

Check the Task and Milestone count, direction, number of days, new first Task start and new last Task end. Weekends are not skipped. A move by whole weeks keeps Tasks on the same weekdays; the popup also counts any Tasks left without dates.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Move the dates

Choose Shift Dates to apply the move, or Cancel to leave the dates unchanged. Keep the page open while Moving dates… shows progress. The popup cannot be closed while it is saving.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Check the updated schedule

After the move finishes, check the refreshed Timeline and Job date range. Task moves can widen the Job’s start or end dates when necessary; shifting back does not automatically shrink that range.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### When Planner bookings block a shift

If an included Task has upcoming Resource Planner bookings, the popup lists it and disables Shift Dates. Review those bookings on the [Resource Planner](/task-schedule/resource-planner.md) and agree the revised schedule before removing or changing them. Reopen the popup after the booking changes so it loads the current position. Past bookings do not block the move and remain on their original dates.

### If only some dates move

A failed save stops the run and shows Moved n of N with the item that failed. Choose Try again in the same popup to continue only with the remaining items; dates already moved are not moved twice. Choose Close to keep the partial result and refresh the Timeline. If you close it, review the actual dates before starting another shift.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Great for** a campaign postponed by three weeks before people have been booked. Move the earliest Task to the same weekday three weeks later, review the new last end, then shift the included Tasks and Milestones together. For a Job with completed phases, remember that the completed items move too.
{% endhint %}

## Reading Resource Planner bookings

With Manager access or higher, the **Bookings** switch shows a slim booking row beneath active Task bars. It starts on and is remembered in this browser. This row is read-only; people’s hours are still booked and changed on the Resource Planner.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Switch **Bookings** on and find the Task. A light blue block shows the booked hours for each day, summed when several people are booked. Hover to see the people and their hours.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Read **Booked** against the Task’s estimated hours, including amendments. An orange block marks a booking after the latest Milestone linked directly to the Task, or the latest Group Milestone if the Task has none. A booking on the Milestone’s own date is on time.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Click a booked block to open the Resource Planner on the Task and its booked person, with the Task highlighted. Use the Planner to change the booking; moving the Timeline bar alone does not move it.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
An open Task due today or later with no bookings shows **Not booked yet**. Drafts have no booking row. The Timeline only receives bookings from today onwards, so these figures do not reconstruct past bookings.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

For example, the design Task may end on Friday while a person is booked on Monday after its approval Milestone. The orange booking prompts you to review the plan before committing to the client’s date. Booking rows are left out of the client Timeline print and Job Summary PDF.

## The Milestones rail

The Milestones row carries each dated Milestone, with its name and linked-work initials when expanded. Choose MILESTONES or its chevron to show or hide the names. The count badge covers the whole Job, rather than just the dates currently visible.

A collapsed row keeps one line of markers. Several Milestones on the same day appear as a stack of up to two visible markers; hover to read all their names, then click the stack to open the row and choose the intended Milestone. A stack is not dragged as one item.

Milestones starts expanded when the Job has Milestones and collapsed when it has none. The Financial row starts collapsed. Both rows open and close by your choice, rather than changing when you scroll. Adding a Milestone opens its row so the new name is visible.

A Milestone marks a date that matters on the Job: a client presentation, a print deadline, a go-live, an asset handover. What makes it more than a note is its connection to real work, which is what drives its progress and keeps its status current.

### Milestone status

The Timeline colours combine the saved Milestone completion state with its date:

* **Upcoming** (blue) — the date is still ahead, with near-term Milestones emphasised.
* **Overdue** (red) — applied automatically the moment the date passes without completion.
* **Done** (green) — completed, and visually settled so it stays out of the way.

Linked work can supply progress, but reaching 100% is not the same as saving the Milestone as done. To complete or reopen it, open the Milestone popup, change the circle beside its name and choose Save.

### Where Milestones are created

Create a Milestone from the Timeline’s day-level plus button, by clicking a day on the expanded Tasks-tab summary rail, or from an item’s **Create Milestone** shortcut. Managers and above can use the diamond beside unfinished Tasks and Costs on hover, the diamond beside a Group on the Tasks or Costs tab, or **Create Milestone** in a Job Costing Group’s ⋯ menu. These shortcuts are available on open Jobs and preselect the linked item. Job Costing shortcuts also support drafts.

* Task — connect it to one unfinished deliverable, active or draft.
* Group — connect it to a workstream with at least one unfinished Task or Cost.
* Cost — connect it to an unfinished procurement item, active or draft.
* Standalone — keep it as a Job date without linking it to a Task, Group or Cost.

Choose the linked work inside the popup whichever Timeline entry point you use. Standalone is useful for a client presentation or launch date that needs a deadline without linking it to one deliverable.

### Adding a Milestone on the rail

With Manager access or higher on an open Job, hover a day in the Milestones row and choose the plus icon. In a collapsed row, the plus appears only on days without a Milestone; expand the row to add another one on an occupied day. The popup starts with the clicked date. On the Tasks tab, expand the summary rail, hover a day and click the **Add milestone** preview. Keyboard users can use the plus on the full Timeline.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Choose the connection

Under Link to, choose Task, Group, Cost or Standalone. Search the loaded list and select the item. The chosen item appears in an outlined pill; use Change to choose again.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Name the Milestone

Type the required Milestone name. For linked work, its name appears as a grey suggestion. Press Right arrow in the empty field, or use the arrow button on touch screens, to accept it. A suggestion is not filled in or saved automatically.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Set the date

Choose the Date button or Set date to open the calendar. The Job runs text shows the Job’s permitted range. Select the day you intend; the date picker closes after selection.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Check and add

Check the name, date and link, then choose Create Milestone. Choose Close to discard unsaved form changes. After saving, the Timeline refreshes and the Milestones row opens.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Connecting a Milestone

A connection lets you read the Milestone alongside the work it marks. The report uses the progress supplied for that linked work, while the Milestone keeps its own saved completion status:

* Task — one deliverable, with its supplied Task progress.
* Group — a workstream, with progress supplied for its grouped work; do not assume a simple count of completed Tasks.
* Cost — one procurement item, with its supplied Cost progress. Choose its Milestone date explicitly; the popup does not copy a Purchase Order delivery date.
* Standalone — a Job deadline without linked-work progress.

{% hint style="info" %}
Connecting a Milestone to a Task or Group surfaces it on the assigned team members' My Desk, so the people doing the work see the deadline they are accountable for.
{% endhint %}

### Check the date against linked work

For a Task or Group with dates, the fixed preview below Link to shows the Job’s start and end, the linked work as a blue bar, and the Milestone as a diamond. The message says whether the Milestone sits within the linked dates, before them or after them. This guidance does not stop you choosing a different date within the Job.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Read the linked range

For a Task, the range is its start and due date. For a Group, it runs from the earliest dated Task start to the latest dated Task due date. Tasks without both dates and the Group’s Costs do not define that range.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Use a boundary date if appropriate

Choose Use end date for a completion deadline or Use start date for a kickoff. An empty Milestone date can take the linked work’s end date; a date you already chose is not replaced automatically.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Check the message and save

Read the updated date and message, then choose Create Milestone or Save. The calendar highlights the linked Task/Group range. Cost and Standalone links have no linked-date preview.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

The preview is fixed and is not a draggable date control. Use the date button or Use start/end date in the popup; to drag a Milestone, return to the actual Timeline. The diamond follows the Milestone’s date/completion colours, so being outside the linked bar does not create a separate orange status.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Great for** checking a creative presentation against its preparation work. If the presentation sits weeks before the Creative Group starts, the message makes the mismatch clear. Use end date for an approval at the end of that workstream, or deliberately keep an earlier briefing date when that is the intended event.
{% endhint %}

### Editing and completing

Click a single Milestone to open its popup. For a collapsed same-day stack, click the stack first to expand the row, then choose the Milestone. On an open Job, Manager access or higher can edit its name, date and connection.

{% hint style="info" %}
The link picker offers unfinished Tasks and Costs, including drafts (marked Draft), and Groups containing available work. An existing link that is no longer available for a new selection is kept unless you choose another item or Standalone. A 100% Group or Cost may prompt you to consider completion; tick the circle and save only when the Milestone itself is done.
{% endhint %}

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Edit and save

Change the name, Date or Link to fields, then choose Save. Use Close to leave the saved Milestone unchanged.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Complete or reopen

Choose the circle beside the name to mark it complete or reopen it, then choose Save. Ticking the circle alone does not save the change.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Move it on the Timeline

Drag a single Milestone marker along the Milestones row to another day within the Job’s date range. Release to save its new date. Expanded same-day Milestones can be moved individually; collapsed stacks cannot be dragged together.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Delete only when intended

Use the delete icon in the edit popup and review the confirmation. Cancel keeps the Milestone; confirming removes it.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Great for** the dates a client actually holds you to. A campaign might have thirty Tasks but only three dates that matter: creative presentation, final approval, and live. Marking those makes the Timeline readable to an Account Executive at a glance, and gives everyone on the Job the same set of deadlines.
{% endhint %}

### Creating a To-Do from a Milestone

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Open a saved Milestone. Click the checked-box icon in its header, labelled **Create to-do**. It appears once the linked work has loaded.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
The Milestone popup closes and a new To-Do opens. Check its title, due date, Job reference and description. The linked Task or Cost is included as a clickable reference where your access allows it; a Group is named as text.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Choose colleagues in the people picker, which opens automatically, and check the draft. Click **Add to-do** to save it. The To-Do appears on My Desk. Closing without adding lets you discard or keep editing.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
The To-Do uses the values showing in the Milestone popup. Unsaved Milestone edits are copied into the To-Do draft but do not save back to the Milestone. Creating the To-Do does not complete the Milestone.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## The Financial rail

The Financial row appears only when the Job has dated Invoices, Purchase Orders or Estimates. Choose FINANCIAL or its chevron to show or hide labels; its badge counts the Job’s displayed document markers. The dates come from those documents, rather than dates placed by hand on the Timeline.

When collapsed, same-day documents form a stack of up to two markers. Hover to read all the labels, click the stack to open the row, then choose the document you want to inspect. A single marker opens its document directly. Open the document to confirm its status and date; a marker is not a supplier-payment or client-payment confirmation.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Great for** progress billing on a long build. Seeing the last Invoice sitting behind three quarters of the remaining work is the prompt to raise the next one.
{% endhint %}

## The compact milestone timeline on Tasks

The compact milestone timeline appears above the Tasks list on the Tasks tab. It is separate from the full Task-bar Timeline and is not shown above every Job tab or above Job Costing.

The collapsed summary shows the Job’s dates, overdue Milestones, the next open Milestone with time remaining, and a done count. Click the dates or pills, or use the arrow button, to expand or collapse it. Expanded, it shows month labels, weekly guide lines, elapsed-date shading and named diamonds that stack into extra lanes when needed. The shading is a calendar reference, not Task progress. Upcoming Milestones are blue, overdue ones pink and completed ones settled in grey. Hover a diamond for its date and status. Managers and above can click a Milestone to edit it, or hover and click an empty day to create one on an open Job. The full Timeline retains its plus button for keyboard access.

{% hint style="info" %}
Read elapsed dates alongside the Tasks tab’s Time Recon and Task Recon figures, then inspect what remains. Those measures help choose a conversation; they do not by themselves prove that the Job is ahead of schedule or ready to finish.
{% endhint %}

## From the Timeline to the report

The Timeline is one Job in depth. For upcoming, overdue or completed Milestones across Jobs, use the [Milestones report](/admin/reports/milestones.md). Filter by date view, Client, Department and Account Managers, or search Job Category text. Print the filtered list or export it to Excel; clicking a Milestone row returns you to its Job timeline.

## Download a Job Summary PDF

Use **Job summary (PDF)** for a document-style scope summary rather than a chart of the schedule. It includes your agency’s logo and details, the Client and Job, Milestones, grouped Tasks and amendments, and Costs. Task rates and Cost prices are left out; a Job budget is shown when one has been entered.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
On the Job’s **Timeline**, set **Drafts** for the version you want to share, then click the PDF icon between **Print** and **Shift Dates**, labelled **Job summary (PDF)**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
In the popup, choose **Job description**, **Allocated hours**, **Tracked hours**, **Task status** and **Cost quantities**. Description, allocated hours, status and quantities start on; tracked hours starts off. Your choices are remembered in this browser. Check the line that says whether drafts are included.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Click **Print / Save as PDF**. Agencydesk prepares an A4 portrait document and opens the browser’s print dialog.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Review every page. In Chrome, choose **Save as PDF** under Destination, then **Save**. The suggested name uses the Job number, name and Job Summary. Cancel returns to the Job without creating a file.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

Amendment hours are listed beneath their Task and included once in the totals. Draft Tasks have no scheduled dates on this document, even if a draft bar has dates on the Timeline. Cost quantities are shown per item; item counts are totalled rather than adding unlike units together.

## Print or save the Timeline as a PDF

Use **Print** to prepare a copy of the Job’s schedule for a client meeting, approval, or project update. You can save it as a PDF or send it to a printer from your browser’s print dialog.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Open the Job’s Timeline

Open the Job and select the **Timeline** tab. Check that the Task dates and Milestones reflect the schedule you want to share.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Click Print

Click the **printer icon** in the top-right corner of the Timeline, beside the month headings. Hover over it to see **Print**.

Agencydesk prepares the Timeline and opens your browser’s print preview. The copy includes the full Timeline, including the part outside the on-screen scroll area.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Choose PDF or a printer

To save a PDF in Chrome, select **Save as PDF** under **Destination**. To print on paper, select your printer instead.

Review the preview before continuing. Long schedules can produce a wide page, so check that the dates and Task names are readable.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Save or print

For a PDF, click **Save**, choose a file name and location, and save the file. Agencydesk suggests a name using the Job number, Job name, and **Timeline**.

For a paper copy, click **Print** in the browser dialog. You can also click **Cancel** to return to the Job.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### What appears on the client copy

The printed Timeline includes:

* The **Job name**, **Job number**, **Client**, and **Job date range**.
* Your **agency name** and the date the copy was printed.
* The **Groups**, **Task names**, **Task dates**, and assigned users’ profile pictures.
* **Milestone names**, even when the Milestones row is collapsed on screen.
* Plain **blue active Task bars**, with completed Tasks shown in **grey with a check icon**. With Drafts on, dated drafts retain their lighter blue treatment and undated drafts retain their dotted placeholder.

The client copy leaves out the **Financial row**, including Purchase Order numbers and supplier amounts. It also leaves out the time-used shading, the progress rings around profile pictures, and the on-screen action buttons. If the Job has no Milestones, there is no Milestones row on the printed copy.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Great for** sharing a campaign schedule with a client. An Account Executive can send a PDF showing the creative presentation, final approval, and launch dates, with the Tasks leading up to each one. The client receives the delivery plan without the agency’s supplier amounts or internal time-used indicators.
{% endhint %}


---

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