Who is this article for: All users
Platform: Sense HR (also available on Sense Mobile)
Available on: All plans
Overview
A To Do is anything in Sense HR that needs your attention — a task to complete, a request to approve, a form to submit, a document to read or sign.
Two things decide what you can do with any To Do:
What type it is — a simple task, or a linked task (see below).
Your permissions and profile access — what your role lets you do, and whose profiles you can reach.
Everything else in this article expands on those two ideas.
Simple tasks and linked tasks
The difference comes down to how you complete it:
Can you finish it just by selecting Mark as complete? Then it's a simple task — even if it asked you to read or do something first.
Does finishing it depend on completing something else — a request, a form, a signature? Then it's a linked task, because it's linked to another action or record in another part of Sense.
A simple task may be assigned to one person, created as separate individual tasks for several people, or created as one shared task for several assignees.
| Simple task | Linked task |
What it is | A simple task record like a reminder or checklist | A task linked to another action or record in Sense — a request, form, document action, or workflow step |
When you open it (by clicking the To Do Record in the table) | Opens the Task details panel | Opens a specific form, modal, or completion screen |
How you complete it | Select Mark as complete | Complete the linked action (approve the request, submit the form, sign the document) |
What completion does | Updates the To Do status and completion details only | Completes the linked action and updates the related record in Sense, then updates the To Do |
Examples | Tasks added using Add task, checklist items, reminder and notification To Dos, "read company document" reminders | Event requests, expense requests, form submissions, sickness and return-to-work actions, personal document read/sign actions, document or picture uploads, new hire actions |
Why some To Dos created by a workflow still behave like simple tasks
How a To Do is created and how it behaves are two separate things:
Created using Add task or by a workflow (reminders, notifications, checklists). You can Mark as complete and open the Task details panel → it's a simple task.
Created by a workflow that is linked to another action or record in Sense. You complete the linked action instead → it's a linked task.
So a reminder generated automatically by a workflow is still a simple task — because behaviour depends on whether it's linked to another record, not on whether a person or a workflow created it. Linked tasks are always created by workflows or automated system processes, but workflow-created To Dos can be either simple tasks or linked tasks.
💡 Tip: The Category column tells you what a To Do relates to, but not always how it behaves. If in doubt, open it: the Task details panel means it's a simple task; a form or completion screen means it's a linked task.
What your permissions let you do
Permissions are set in Access Role Management and apply to both your own profile and other people's profiles.
Permission | What it lets you do |
View | See To Dos and action them where supported — e.g. change a simple task's status, or complete a linked task that allows it. Does not let you create or assign. |
Add | Create and assign simple tasks using Add task. You can only assign to people within your profile access (just yourself, if you have no access to others). |
Update | Edit allowed details — due date, assignees, status, category, subtasks. What you can change also depends on whether you created the task and how a linked task works. |
Delete | Delete To Dos where deletion is allowed for that category. |
🖊️ Note: View is included automatically whenever a role has Add, Update, or Delete.
💡 Tip: To "action" a To Do means doing the thing it's for — moving a task to In progress or Completed, or completing a linked task like approving a request or signing a document. View is often enough to action a To Do, even though it never lets you create or assign one.
The one rule worth remembering
Having a permission doesn't guarantee the action is available. The actual outcome also depends on the To Do's type and category, whether it's already completed, and any workflow, document, or legal rules. This is why you might have Delete permission but still can't delete a particular To Do.
Who can do what: creator, assignee, admin
Some actions depend on your relationship to the To Do.
You are… | You can usually… | But… |
The creator (added it via Add task) | Fully update it; delete it if you also have Delete | Without Delete, you can't remove it yourself — an Admin may need to |
Not the creator, with Update | Edit allowed fields like due date, assignees, status | You can't always edit every detail |
Not the creator, with View | View it and action it where allowed | You can't assign, reassign, delete, or fully edit |
Not the creator, with Delete | Delete only where the rules allow | Delete permission alone isn't enough — for Add task To Dos, only the creator (with Delete) or an Admin can delete |
Admin / Limited Admin | Manage To Dos across the system (Limited Admin: within their access area) | Some To Dos still can't be changed due to workflow, completion, or legal rules |
To action someone else’s To Do, it generally needs to be assigned to you, or you need access to that person’s profile and the To Do must support actioning on their behalf. Some never do — a Sign Document To Do must always be completed by the person assigned to sign it.
Actioning a To Do for someone else
If your role gives you access to another person’s profile and their To Dos, you may be able to action supported To Dos for them.
To action a To Do from another person’s profile:
Go to HR Dashboard > People.
Open the person’s profile.
Go to To do.
Open the To Do or use the available row action.
Complete the supported action.
What happens depends on the type of task:
For a simple task, you may be able to update the status, such as marking it In progress or Completed
For a linked task, you may be able to complete the linked action, such as approving a request or submitting a form, where that action supports completion on behalf of another person
You can also action your own To Dos from your own profile To Do screen, where that screen is included in your profile template.
🖊️ Note:
Not every To Do can be actioned on behalf of another person. Some tasks must be completed by the assigned person. For example, a Sign Document task must be completed by the assigned signatory.
Assigning and reassigning
You can assign simple tasks to yourself, individuals, groups, locations, departments, job titles, or contract types — limited to people within your profile access.
If you assign a simple task to more than one person, Sense asks how the task should be created:
individual tasks — each assignee gets their own task
shared task: any assignee can action — one shared task is created, and any one assignee can complete it
shared task: all assignees must action — one shared task is created, and all assignees must complete it
This choice affects whether the task appears as separate rows or as one shared row in the All To dos table
🖊️ Note: For shared tasks, you can use View assignees from the More actions (…) menu to check each assignee’s progress.
To reassign a task, you need Update access for the current assignee and Add access for the new one. You can reassign while a task is active, but not once it is completed or archived. Completed subtasks cannot be reassigned.
For linked tasks, reassignment is only possible if that To Do supports it and the assignee has not already started.
Status, filters, and overdue
A To Do's status can be Not started, In progress, Completed, or Archived.
By default the To Do table shows only active To Do tasks (Not started and In progress), sorted by due date with the most urgent first. To see Completed or Archived To Dos, use the Status filter, or clear the filters to see everything.
There is no completed date column. To see when a To Do was completed, expand its dropdown in the table — the completed date is shown there.
A To Do becomes overdue when its due date passes before completion. An overdue indicator appears next to the due date, and overdue To Dos stay actionable if you have permission to action them.
Subtasks
A simple task can be broken into subtasks. A parent task shows an expand arrow and a progress count (e.g. 0/5 means none of five done). Each subtask has its own status — Not started, In progress, or Completed.
Archive vs Delete
Archive and Delete do different things.
Archive removes a To Do from the active list but keeps it for audit and compliance. Find archived To Dos via the Status filter → Archived. Archive is not granted through View, Add, Update, or Delete permissions. It is usually available to Admins or Limited Admins where the To Do type and category support archive.
Delete removes a To Do permanently and can't be undone. Completed To Dos can't be deleted. Deleting a To Do does not undo the request, document, or workflow that created it.
🖊️ Note: Some linked tasks (such as Sign Document, Event Request, Expense Request) can't be deleted directly — they're removed only when their source record is deleted.
⚠️ Caution: Deleting a linked task can also stop its workflow from completing as expected. Where you can, Archive instead of Delete so the audit trail is kept and the workflow isn't interrupted.
Where To Dos appear
Location | Path | Use it for |
Dashboard widget |
| A quick glance at your own outstanding and overdue To Dos |
To Do module |
| The main place to view, filter, create, action, archive, complete, and delete — My to dos and (with access) All to dos |
A person's profile |
| Checking one person's To Dos while in their profile. Adding a task here fixes Assign to to that person |
Your own profile |
| Your own To Dos from your profile area |
Sense Mobile | To do app | Managing your own To Dos on the go — same permissions and rules as the web module |
🖊️ Note: The profile To Do screen only appears if the profile template includes it. On Elite and Enterprise plans, admins can design templates without it — use the main To Do module instead.
FAQs
Click here to see answers to frequently asked questions
Click here to see answers to frequently asked questions
Q: What's the difference between a simple task and a linked task?
A: The main difference between a simple task and a linked task is in how you complete it. A simple task is a task you finish with Mark as complete, even if it asked you to read or do something first. A linked task is tied to a record elsewhere in Sense (a request, form, or document) — you complete that action, and both the related record and the To Do task update.
Q: Why do some workflow-created To Dos behave like ones I added manually?
A: Some workflow-created To Dos behave like ones you added manually because they are simple tasks — they were just created by a workflow instead of by you. Both open the Task details panel and complete the same way. Only To Dos linked to a record elsewhere in Sense behave differently.
Q: Why can I see a To Do but not edit it?
A: You can see a To Do but not edit it because View lets you see and action To Dos, but full editing needs Update — and also depends on whether you created the task, and any workflow rules.
Q: Why can I action a To Do with only View permission?
A: You can act on a To Do because View allows status changes and supported linked actions. You can mark something In progress or Completed, or complete a linked task, without being able to create or fully edit it.
Q: Why can't I assign a task to someone?
A: If you can't assign a task to someone, they're probably outside your profile access. With Add permission but no access to others, you can only assign to yourself.
Q: Why can't I reassign a To Do?
A: If you can’t reassign a To Do, you may not have the required permissions, the new person may be outside your profile access, or the To Do may already be completed, archived, or started in a way that prevents reassignment. Reassigning a task usually requires Update access for the current assignee and Add access for the new assignee. Linked tasks can only be reassigned where that To Do supports it.
Q: Why can't I see completed or archived To Dos?
A: You can't see completed or archived To Dos because the To Do table shows active tasks by default. Use the Status filter to show Completed or Archived, or clear the filters.
Q: Why do the available actions differ between To Dos?
A: Available actions can differ between To Dos because they depend on the type (simple task or linked task), your role, whether you created it, whether it's assigned to you, its category and status, and any workflow, document, or legal rules.
Q: Where can I see when a To Do was completed?
A: To see when a To Do was completed, expand the To Do in the table. The completed date is shown in the expanded details.
Q: Can I manage To Dos from Sense Mobile?
A: Yes, you can manage To Dos from Sense Mobile — the To do app lets you view and complete tasks, subtasks, requests, and document read/sign actions on the go, following the same permissions and rules as the web module.
Q: Why did one task create several To Do rows?
A: One task may create several To Do rows if it was assigned as individual tasks for each assignee. Each assignee receives their own task and completes it separately.
Q: Why does one task show several assignees?
A: One task may show several assignees if it was created as a shared task. A shared task appears as one To Do row for multiple assignees. Depending on the option selected when the task was assigned, either any one assignee can complete it or all assignees must complete it.
Q: Can I action a To Do for someone else?
A: You can action a To Do for someone else if your role gives you access to that person’s profile and their To Dos, and the To Do supports being actioned on behalf of another person. Go to HR Dashboard > People, open the person’s profile, then go to To do. Some linked tasks, such as Sign Document tasks, must still be completed by the assigned person.