> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Working a task

> The kinds of task Bumara gives you, how to complete each one, and what to do when you are stuck.

A task is one step inside a filing or a service request. Tasks are never free-floating — every
task belongs to something. Together they form the checklist that decides when that filing or
request is ready to submit.

## Where to find your tasks

| Place                           | Shows                                             |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Dashboard → Today**           | Tasks assigned to you, due soonest first          |
| **Compliance → Tasks**          | Every outstanding task across your whole business |
| **Regulator workspace → Tasks** | Everything outstanding for that one regulator     |
| **Inside a filing or request**  | That item's checklist, in order                   |

## The kinds of task

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Upload a document" icon="upload">
    Provide a specific file — a payroll summary, a bank statement, a board resolution. Completes
    itself the moment you upload the right document.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Fill in a form" icon="pen">
    Enter figures or details — payroll totals, turnover for the month, employer details.
    Completes when you save the section.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Review and approve" icon="thumbs-up">
    Confirm something is correct — the list of directors, the employee count, the final figures.
    You are taking responsibility for it, so read it properly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Make a payment" icon="credit-card">
    Settle a fee. Completes when the payment is received and verified.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Two more appear occasionally: **provide information**, where the Bumara team needs a detail from
you, and **custom**, used for anything that does not fit the others.

## Completing a task

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the task">
    From any of the lists above. The task shows what is wanted, why, and which filing or request
    it belongs to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Follow the link">
    Most tasks link straight to where the work happens — the upload area, the form section, the
    payment page. You do not have to hunt for it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Do the work">
    Upload the file, enter the figures, read and confirm, or pay.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Watch it complete">
    Upload and payment tasks complete themselves. Form and review tasks complete when you save
    or confirm. You rarely need to tick anything manually.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Task statuses

| Status      | Meaning                                                                         |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **To do**   | Not started                                                                     |
| **Doing**   | Someone is working on it                                                        |
| **Blocked** | Cannot proceed — a reason is required                                           |
| **Done**    | Complete                                                                        |
| **Skipped** | Deliberately not done. Only allowed on optional tasks, and a reason is required |

## Required and optional tasks

Required tasks carry a **Required** marker. They must be **Done** — or, if optional,
**Skipped** — before the parent filing can be submitted.

Optional tasks are useful but not mandatory. Skipping one with a reason is a legitimate choice
and the reason is recorded in the timeline.

<Warning>
  A **blocked** task stops submission even if it is optional. Blocked means "something is wrong
  here", and Bumara will not let a filing go while that is unresolved. Either resolve the block or
  move the task back to To do.
</Warning>

## Blocking a task

Use this when you genuinely cannot proceed — you are waiting on a bank statement, a director is
travelling and cannot sign, the regulator's portal is down.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the task and choose Block">
    You must give a reason. Write what you are actually waiting for, not "blocked".
  </Step>

  <Step title="The reason becomes visible">
    It appears on the task, in the blockers panel of the parent filing, and in the timeline. Anyone
    else who opens that filing can see why it is stuck.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Unblock when it clears">
    Move the task back to To do or Doing and carry on.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Skipping a task

Only optional tasks can be skipped.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the task and choose Skip">
    A reason is required.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Explain why it does not apply">
    "No overtime paid this period" is useful. "N/A" is not — someone reading your file in a year
    will not know what you meant.
  </Step>
</Steps>

A skipped task counts as satisfied for the purposes of readiness, so the filing can proceed.

## Reopening a task

If you completed a task and then realised the figures were wrong, reopen it.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the task and choose Reopen">
    It returns to To do.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the parent status">
    If the filing had already reached **Ready for submission**, reopening a required task takes it
    back to **In progress**. That is intentional — it should not be submittable while a required
    step is unfinished.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Do the work again and let it complete">
    The filing returns to ready when the checklist is complete once more.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  You cannot reopen a task on a filing that has already been submitted. If you find an error after
  submission, do not try to change the filing — raise it with the Bumara team through the messages
  panel on that filing. See [Messages and timeline](/compliance/messages-and-timeline).
</Warning>

## Assigning and discussing tasks

* **Assign** a task to a colleague so it appears in their Today panel. They are notified.
* **Comment** on a task to leave context — what you tried, what you are waiting for. Comments
  are visible to everyone in your organisation and cannot be edited once posted, so they form a
  reliable record.

## Progress and readiness

Every filing and service request shows its progress as tasks done out of total, plus documents
provided out of required.

Readiness is stricter than progress. A filing is ready only when all three of these are true:

1. Every **required** task is Done or Skipped
2. **No** task is Blocked
3. Every **required** document has been uploaded

You might see "8 of 10 tasks done" and still not be ready, because one of the two outstanding is
required. The blockers panel always names the specific items.

<Note>
  Tasks appear automatically. If you think a task is missing from a filing, it usually means the
  regulator does not require that step for your entity type — check the filing's document
  requirements, or raise a message on the filing.
</Note>