Introduce task start dates, end dates, and capacity‑based scheduling so multi‑day tasks automatically appear across a user’s BrightManager calendar based on working hours and estimated effort.

Detailed idea / proposal for the BrightManager development team

At present, BrightManager tasks allow only a single target date, which works well for short, single‑day activities but becomes limiting for larger pieces of work that realistically span multiple days.

The proposed enhancement would introduce basic project‑style scheduling within BrightManager, without needing users to rely on external planners such as Microsoft Planner or separate calendar tools.

1. Task‑level enhancements When creating or editing a task, users should be able to enter:

   • Task start date

   • Task end date

   • Estimated total effort (hours)

   This allows tasks that take longer than one day (for example, year‑end accounts or large VAT reviews) to be planned realistically rather than being forced into a single target date.

2. Employee working capacity settings Within each employee’s profile, allow configuration of:

   • Working hours per day (e.g. 7.5 hours)

   • Working days (e.g. Monday to Friday)

   • Optional working time window (e.g. 9:00 to 17:30)

   These settings define the employee’s daily capacity and are used for task scheduling calculations.

3. Automatic task spreading across days Using the estimated task hours and the employee’s daily capacity:

   • BrightManager automatically spreads the task across the required number of days

   • For example, a 15‑hour task assigned to someone working 7.5 hours per day would automatically span two working days

   • If a task starts on a Monday, it would appear on both Monday and Tuesday without manual duplication

4. Calendar‑style task view inside BrightManager Introduce a simple calendar or daily agenda view where users can:

   • Open BrightManager each morning and see what they are scheduled to work on that day

   • See multi‑day tasks displayed across consecutive dates (e.g. “ABC Limited – Accounts”)

   • Understand workload at a glance without opening individual tasks

5. Key benefits

   • Keeps all planning inside the BrightManager ecosystem

   • Reduces reliance on external planning tools

   • Encourages more realistic workload planning and deadline management

   • Improves visibility of ongoing client projects and staff capacity

   • Scales naturally for firms managing many long‑running client tasks

This feature would effectively bridge the gap between task management and light‑weight project planning, while remaining aligned with BrightManager’s core compliance‑focused workflow.