Building a schedule: tasks, links and the critical path

Tasks, phases and milestones

• Tasks have a duration in working days. Your work calendar (Settings → Work calendars) decides which days count.
• Phases group tasks (Demo, Rough-in, Finishes). A phase's dates come from the tasks inside it.
• Milestones have zero days — use them for inspections, deliveries and client walkthroughs.

Link tasks so the schedule moves itself

Drag from the end of one bar to the start of another, or type predecessors in the grid (for example “4” or “4FS+2”). When a task slips, everything linked after it moves too, and the subs on those tasks get one text with their new dates.

• FS (finish-to-start) — the usual: drywall starts after insulation finishes.
• SS (start-to-start) — paint can start 2 days after drywall starts: SS+2.
• Lag can be negative to overlap work.

Critical path and float

Red bars are on the critical path: any slip there pushes your finish date. Float is how many working days a task can slip before it moves the finish. Watch tasks with 0–2 days of float most closely.

Save a baseline before you start

1. Open Baselines & versions.
2. Click Save baseline and name it (e.g. “Contract schedule”).
3. Reports → Schedule variance now compares every task against it.