How recurring jobs work

Recurring jobs let Tidyflow create the next job in a series for you, so repeating work like weekly bookkeeping, monthly management accounts, or annual tax filings keeps appearing on schedule without being rebuilt each time.

This article explains:

• How to turn on Repeat for a job
• The options that control when the next job is created
• A worked example for weekly work

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Turn on Repeat for a job

You set repeating behavior on the job itself. Open the job, then open its Repeat Settings.

In Repeat Settings you can choose:

• Repeat frequency: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly (choose Not repeating to turn it off)
• Repeat every interval, for example every 2 weeks
• The specific days, when relevant. Weekly repeats require at least one day of the week. Monthly repeats let you pick days of the month

The job’s own due date drives the schedule, so set the due date on the first job in the series to the date that period’s work is actually due.

Recurring settings also exist on Job Templates, which is the better fit when you want the same recurring work across many clients. See Job Templates.

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When the next job is created

The When to create the next job setting controls the timing of the next job in the series. There are three options.

On completion. The next job is created the moment you mark the current job complete. If the current job is never completed, the next one is not created. This suits work that only makes sense once the previous round is finished.

When overdue. The next job is created once the current job passes its due date and is still open. If several periods have already gone by, Tidyflow catches the series up so you have a current job to work from.

Days before due. The next job is created a set number of days before its own due date, or as soon as you complete the current job, whichever comes first. Enter the number of days in the days before its due date field. This is the option to use when you want each job to appear on a predictable day, ahead of when it is due, without waiting for the previous one to be finished.

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Example: a weekly job created on Monday, due Sunday

Say you want each week’s bookkeeping job to appear on the Monday and be due that Sunday, with the following week’s job appearing the next Monday.

Set it up like this:

1. Set the first job’s due date to the upcoming Sunday.
2. Open Repeat Settings, choose Weekly, every 1 week, and select Sunday.
3. Set When to create the next job to Days before due, and enter 6.

Because each job is due the following Sunday, “6 days before” creates the next job on that week’s Monday. So every week a new job appears on the Monday and is due the Sunday.

One thing to note: if you finish a week’s job early, the next job appears straight away rather than waiting for the Monday. Its due date is still the following Sunday, so the schedule stays correct.

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If you are not sure which option fits your workflow, just let us know and we are happy to help.