Getting Started with Task and Project Tracking (Activities)

Overview

What Is Activities?

Activities is Helios's visual Kanban task board, built for manufacturing teams to create, assign, and track daily work, maintenance tasks, and project-based activities in one structured view. Visualize work, stay aligned, and get things done, without adding another subscription to your stack.

Who Is It For?

  • Businesses - replace whiteboards, group chats, and scattered spreadsheets with one visual Kanban board for your team's daily, maintenance, and project-based work.

Key Features

  • Kanban board with six status columns: To Do, In Progress, Done, Pending, Blocked, Canceled
  • Filter the board by Projects or Equipments to see exactly what you need
  • Activity cards showing title, linked equipment, project tag, priority, due date, and assignee
  • Link tasks to equipment, projects, or both
  • Assign work to team members with due dates and priority levels
  • Notes, Checklist, Files, and History tabs on every activity
  • Search with Keyword, Phrase, and Exclude modes
  • Global Search finds any activity instantly across your workspace

Key Terms

  • Activity - A single work task or job item (for example, Motor and Bearing Check, or Fluid Replacement).
  • Project - A grouping that organizes related activities together (for example, General Maintenance or Tooling Standardization).
  • Kanban Board - The visual board showing activities grouped by their status columns.

Understanding the Board Layout

The Activities board is organized into six status columns representing every stage a task can move through: To Do, In Progress, Done, Pending, Blocked, and Canceled. Each column displays a count of activities it contains. You can collapse any column by clicking the diagonal arrow (↙) icon next to the column header to free up board space, and expand it again with the expand icon (↗). You can also add an activity directly into a specific column by clicking the + button in that column's header. The new activity automatically inherits that column's status.

The Left Sidebar

The left panel runs alongside the board and lets you filter activities by either Projects or Equipments using the two tabs at the top.

  • Projects tab - Displays all active projects with activity counts. Clicking a project name filters the board to show only activities linked to it. An Archived section stores completed projects. A + button lets you create a new project directly from this panel.
  • Equipments tab - Shows all equipment in your workspace with activity counts. Clicking a machine filters the board to show only activities linked to it. An Archived section stores decommissioned equipment.

To return to the full unfiltered board, click All Activities at the top of the left panel.

Activity Fields Explained

Left Panel

  • Title - The name of the activity. Click the pencil (✏) icon to edit it.
  • Reporter - The person who created the activity, set automatically.
  • Date Created - Set automatically; not editable.
  • Equipment - Links the activity to a specific piece of equipment. Select from the dropdown or leave as No equipment.
  • Project - Assigns the activity to a project from the dropdown.
  • Details - A rich-text description field supporting bold, italic, underline, links, and lists. Up to 3,000 characters.

Right Panel

  • Status - The current stage: To Do, In Progress, Done, Pending, Blocked, or Canceled.
  • Priority - Urgency level: Lowest, Low, Medium, High, or Highest.
  • Assignee - The team member responsible for the task.
  • Planned Start Date - The date work is expected to begin.
  • Due Date - The deadline for the activity.

Using the Tabs Inside an Activity

  • Notes - Add internal comments, updates, or observations. Notes are visible to all team members with access.
  • Checklist - Break the activity into subtasks. Check off items as they are completed. A percentage progress bar at the top updates automatically.
  • Files - Attach supporting documents, photos, or references to the activity.
  • History - An automated log showing all changes made to the activity: status updates, edits, and reassignments with timestamps.

Activity Card Quick Actions

Hovering over any activity card on the board reveals a three-dot menu (···) in the top-right corner of the card. Options:

  • View details - Opens the full activity detail view.
  • Delete - Permanently removes the activity from the board.

At the top of any open activity detail view, a chain link (🔗) icon copies a direct URL to that specific activity to your clipboard. Share this link with a teammate and they will be taken straight to that activity when they click it.

Searching Activities

Click the search (🔍) icon in the top-right area of the board to open the search panel. Three search modes are available:

  • Keyword - Find activities containing specific words in their title or description (default).
  • Phrase - Search for an exact phrase.
  • Exclude - Filter out activities matching certain terms.
  • AI (coming soon) - Natural language search.

Type your query and press Enter to apply. When a search is active, a Reset button appears to clear it.

Filtering Activities

Click the filter (funnel) icon next to the search button to open the Filters dropdown. Available filters:

  • Priority - Show only activities of a specific urgency level.
  • Reporter - Filter by who created the activity.
  • Assignee - Filter by who the activity is assigned to.
  • Created At - Filter by the date the activity was created.
  • Task Period - Filter by planned start or due date range.

Click Reset Filters at the bottom of the menu to clear all active filters at once.

How to Create an Activity

Option A: From the Activities Board

  1. Click + Add Activity in the top-right of the Activities page.
  2. Enter the Activity Name, link it to Equipment or a Project, set the Status, Priority, and Assignee.
  3. Enter the Planned Start Date and Due Date.
  4. Add a description in the Details field.
  5. Click Save & Exit (>>) to save.

Option B: From a Status Column

  1. Click the + icon at the top of any column. The activity inherits that column's status automatically.
  2. Complete the remaining details and save.

Option C: From an Equipment Record

  1. Open any equipment record and click the Activities tab.
  2. Click + Add Activity. The equipment link is set automatically.
  3. Complete the details and save.

How to Update an Activity's Status

  1. Click on the activity card on the board to open the detail view.
  2. Click the Status dropdown in the right panel and select the new status.
  3. The activity card automatically moves to the corresponding column on the board.

Pro Tip: You can also drag and drop activities across status columns to change the status.

How to Manage Projects

  • Projects appear in the left panel under Current Projects. Click any project to filter the board to show only its activities.
  • Click the + icon next to the project search bar to add a new project.
  • Use the search field in the left panel to find a specific project quickly.
  • Archived projects appear under the Archived section at the bottom of the left panel.


Frequently Asked Questions

A Project is an organizational container. It groups related activities under a shared initiative, such as General Maintenance, Facility Expansion, or a Customer Job. An Activity is the actual task. It has a title, status, priority, assignee, and due date, and it lives on the Kanban board. You can link multiple activities to the same project to keep related work organized in one view.
Yes. An activity can be linked to both a Project and an Equipment record simultaneously. For example, a preventive maintenance task linked to a specific CNC machine and also categorized under a General Maintenance project. This allows you to filter work by either dimension depending on whether you need an asset-level or initiative-level view.
All team members added to your Business Profile can view the Activities board and see all tasks. Editing, creating, and updating activities depends on each member's assigned role and permission level. If a team member can't create or edit activities, check their role under Business Profile → Team Members and confirm they have the appropriate permissions.
The Activities board has five status columns: To Do, In Progress, Pending, Done, and Canceled. Each column displays a count badge showing how many activities are currently in that stage. You can move activities between columns by updating the status field inside the activity detail, or by using the quick-add icon at the top of each column to create a task directly in that status.
Yes. Open any activity and go to the Files tab inside the activity detail panel. You can upload supporting documents, photos, reports, inspection checklists, or any relevant reference material directly to that activity. Files attached to an activity remain associated with it and are accessible to all team members with board access.
There is no stated limit on the number of activities you can create. To keep your board manageable, use the filter and search tools to isolate specific projects or equipment, and move completed work to Done regularly so the active columns stay focused on work that still needs attention.
Both views display the same activities, just organized differently. Projects groups tasks by operational workstreams or initiatives. Equipments groups tasks by the machine they are linked to, ideal for maintenance teams reviewing asset-specific work.
Currently each activity has a single Assignee. For shared tasks, use the Notes or Checklist tabs to coordinate responsibilities within the activity.
Each activity is linked to a single piece of equipment. If the work spans multiple machines, create separate activities for each.
Use the filter icon and filter by Assignee to show only activities assigned to you.


Troubleshooting

Check your current filter — if the board is filtered to a specific Project or Equipment, activities linked to other contexts won't be visible. Click All Activities at the top of the left panel to clear the filter and view everything. Also check that the activity was fully saved. If you exited the panel without clicking the Save & Exit (>>) button, the activity may not have been created.
The assignee must be an active member of your Business Profile workspace. If the team member isn't appearing in the assignee dropdown, go to Business Profile → Team Members and confirm they have been added and their invitation has been accepted. If you are not an admin on the workspace, you may have limited permissions to assign work to others. Contact your workspace admin.
Use the Projects or Equipments toggle in the left panel to filter the board to a specific workstream or asset. Use the search bar to find a specific activity by title. Use the filter icon in the top right to narrow by status, assignee, or priority. Regularly moving completed work to Done also keeps active columns focused and easier to scan.
Confirm the activity was saved with the correct equipment linked — open the activity from the board and check the Equipment field in the detail panel. If the field is blank, the link was not set. Update it by selecting the correct equipment from the dropdown and saving. If the link is set correctly but the activity still isn't appearing inside the equipment record, refresh the equipment page.
Check your internet connection before saving. Changes require a stable connection to process. Make sure you're clicking the Save & Exit (>>) button at the top of the activity panel and not simply closing the panel. If changes consistently fail to save in one browser, try in Chrome. If the issue persists, report it through the lightbulb icon → Ideas & Requests with the activity title and a description of the problem.
Navigate to the Archived section in the left panel, find the project, and use the unarchive option to restore it.
Check your internet connection and refresh the page. If the issue persists, try logging out and back in.


Tips for Getting the Most Out of Activities

  • Use Projects to group related tasks by department or initiative and Equipments to link tasks to specific machines. Both views display the same activities, just organized differently.
  • Set Planned Start Dates and Due Dates consistently so overdue and upcoming tasks are easy to spot when filtering by Task Period.
  • Use the Checklist tab for complex activities with multiple steps. The percentage progress bar updates automatically as items are checked off.
  • Use the History tab to understand what changed and when. It logs every status update, reassignment, and title edit with timestamps.
  • Use the Exclude search mode to hide noise from the board. For example, excluding a project tag to see everything outside of it.
  • Use Priority levels consistently across your team so the board reflects what truly needs attention first.


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