Onboarding timeline¶

The Timeline tab of the Onboarding page puts every brand you're onboarding on one calendar. Each brand is a row, and each of its milestones is a bar across its planned dates that fills in as tasks get done. Use it to spot which brands are on track and which are slipping, to move a brand's plan when dates change, and to open a milestone and see what's left.

Overview¶

• See every onboarding brand you work on in one place, with each milestone drawn as a bar across its planned dates.
• Check progress at a glance: tasks done, percent complete, projected finish date, and which brands and milestones are overdue.
• Move a milestone by dragging it, change its length by dragging one end, or nudge it by a day or a week from its toolbar.
• Open a milestone to see its outstanding, completed, and cancelled tasks, and to change its dates.
• Add a one-off milestone to a brand's plan by hovering over an empty day.
• Start a new onboarding brand with New onboarding brand.

Screenshot: Onboarding brands on the Timeline. (pending capture)

Open the timeline¶

1. Select Onboarding in the navigation. On mobile, open it from the footer navigation.
2. The page opens on the Timeline tab. Switch to Templates for the template library. See Onboarding templates.

The header counts how many brands are onboarding, how many are overdue, and how many are on track. If you've scrolled the calendar away from today, select Today to jump back.

A brand is listed here while its status is Onboarding. It drops off when onboarding is completed or when the brand is marked inactive. When there are no onboarding brands, the tab reads No brands are onboarding right now.

Read a brand's row¶

The left side of each row sums up the brand:

• Tasks — tasks completed out of the total, for example 12/30 tasks.
• Dates — the onboarding start date and projected finish, for example Sep 4 → Oct 20. The projected finish is the end date of the brand's latest milestone. A note follows when the brand isn't simply on track: overdue, all tasks done, or no planned dates.
• Percent complete — the ring on the right.
• N milestones not on the calendar — shown when some milestones have no dates, or their dates fall outside the calendar.

Select a brand's row, anywhere outside its bars, to open that brand's Brand Work Desk.

Rows are sorted with overdue brands first, then on-track brands by soonest projected finish, then brands whose tasks are all done, then brands with no planned dates.

Read the milestone bars¶

Each bar is one milestone. It runs from the milestone's start date to its end date and shows the milestone's name and how many of its tasks are done, for example Receiving 3/5. The filled part of the bar is the share of tasks that are done. When milestones overlap, their bars stack on separate lines within the row. Hover over a bar to see its exact dates and progress.

The legend under the calendar explains the bar styles:

• Planned milestone — a milestone with dates from the brand's plan.
• Tasks completed — the filled part of a bar.
• Past its end, not done — the milestone's end date has passed and it still has open tasks. This makes the milestone, and its brand, overdue.
• From task due dates (no plan) — an older milestone with no planned dates, drawn from the earliest to the latest due date of its tasks.
• Today — the vertical line marking today.

A milestone with no tasks is never shown as done or overdue. A brand is also overdue when its projected finish date has passed and it still has open tasks.

Very short milestones are drawn a little wider than their dates so their names stay readable. Hover over one to see its real dates. The calendar reaches at most about two months back and a little over a year ahead of today. Bars beyond that are cut off at the edge of the calendar, or counted as not on the calendar.

Move or resize a milestone¶

When a brand's dates change, move its plan right on the chart:

• Move — drag the middle of a bar left or right.
• Change the start — drag the left end of the bar.
• Change the end — drag the right end of the bar.
• Nudge — hover over a bar to show its toolbar, then select −1w, −1d, +1d, or +1w. On a touch screen, tap the bar to show the toolbar, and tap × to close it.

A message confirms the new dates, for example Receiving moved to Sep 8 → Sep 12. The rest of the plan moves with it:

• When a milestone's start moves, its tasks' due dates move by the same number of days, so each task keeps its place within the milestone.
• When a milestone's end moves, every later milestone in the plan moves by the same number of days, and so do their tasks.
• Dragging only the left end changes that milestone's start and its own tasks. Nothing after it moves.
• Dragging only the right end moves the later milestones, but not this milestone's tasks. If you shorten a milestone, a task can end up due after the milestone ends, so open the milestone to check.

Moving milestones never changes the brand's Onboarding start date, which records when onboarding began.

See a milestone's tasks¶

1. Select a bar, or hover over it and select Details on its toolbar. On a touch screen, tap the bar, then tap Details.
2. The milestone panel opens. It shows the brand, the milestone's start and end dates, the template it came from, and its progress.
3. Tasks are grouped into Outstanding, Completed, and Cancelled. Each one is a regular task card, so you can change its status, assign it to yourself, or select it to open the task.
4. To change the milestone's dates, pick a new start or end date. The rest of the plan moves the same way it does when you drag the bar.
5. To go to the brand's Brand Work Desk, select the Open … workdesk button at the bottom.

Add a milestone by hand¶

Add a milestone for one brand when its plan needs something the template didn't cover, such as a photo shoot or an extra integration.

1. On a computer, hover over an empty day on the brand's row, from today onward. A dashed Add milestone button appears.
2. Select it. The New milestone panel opens, with the milestone starting on that day.
3. Enter the milestone's name, adjust Starts if needed, and set how many days it lasts (1–365).
4. Optionally, select Add task to add the work it covers. Each task has the same settings as a template task: priority, who it's assigned to, its due day within the milestone, and whether it's Internal · 3PL only or Brand-visible. See Add tasks to a milestone.
5. Select Add milestone.

The new milestone takes its place in the brand's plan by date, and moves with the rest of the plan from then on. Its tasks go onto the brand's onboarding board, like template tasks.

Start a new onboarding brand¶

1. Select New onboarding brand at the top of the Timeline. The button only appears if you have permission to create brands.
2. The Create New Group wizard opens with the status already set to Onboarding. Fill in the basics, then choose the Onboarding start date and one or more Onboarding templates, and continue through the remaining steps.
3. Select Start Onboarding. The brand appears on the Timeline.

For a step-by-step walk through the wizard, see Create a brand.

Tips¶

• Moving a milestone's end also moves every milestone after it. To give one milestone more time at the start without touching the rest of the plan, drag its left end instead.
• The timeline counts internal tasks, so its percentages can differ from what brand users see on their board.
• To take a brand off the timeline, complete its onboarding. If the brand isn't going ahead, mark it inactive instead. See Complete onboarding.

Common questions¶

Why isn't a brand showing on the onboarding timeline? The timeline only lists brands in Onboarding status that you're a member of. 3PL Admins see all of them. A brand also drops off once onboarding is completed or it's marked inactive. If you should be able to see a brand, ask an admin to add you to it.

What happens to the rest of the plan when I move a milestone? The milestone's tasks move with its start date. Every later milestone, and its tasks, moves with its end date. Dragging only the left end changes that one milestone and nothing after it.

Why is a brand marked overdue? Either one of its milestones has passed its end date with tasks still open, or the brand's projected finish date has passed with tasks still open. Finish or reschedule the open tasks, or move the milestone.

How do I add a milestone that isn't in the template? On a computer, hover over an empty day on the brand's row, from today onward, and select Add milestone. Give it a name, a start date, and a length in days, and optionally add tasks.

How is a brand's projected finish date worked out? It's the latest end date among the brand's milestones. Moving or extending the last milestone changes it.

Does moving a milestone change the brand's onboarding start date? No. The onboarding start date records when onboarding began. It stays the same however you move the plan.

Who can see the onboarding timeline? Your 3PL team: by default, 3PL Admins, 3PL Managers, and 3PL Employees. 3PL Admins see every onboarding brand, and everyone else sees the ones they're members of. Brand users can't open it.

Related¶

• Onboarding overview
• Onboarding templates
• The onboarding board
• Managing brands