Every project in OnRamp has a Start Date and an End Date that define the overall onboarding timeline.

These dates help teams understand when onboarding begins, how long it is expected to take, and whether work is progressing on schedule.

While the Start Date is selected during project creation, the End Date is calculated based on the scheduled tasks within the project.

Understanding how task scheduling works helps teams design better playbooks and manage project timelines more effectively.

Project Start Date

The Start Date represents the day the onboarding project officially begins.

This date is chosen when the project is created and typically represents when work is expected to start.

Common examples include:

• The customer kickoff date

• The sales-to-implementation handoff

• The beginning of a product rollout

Tasks scheduled relative to the project start will calculate their dates from this value.

Project End Date

The End Date represents when the project is expected to finish.

This date is initially calculated based on the scheduled tasks within the project.

If tasks are scheduled relative to the project end, those tasks will calculate their dates backwards from this value.

Adjusting the End Date

If you manually change the Project End Date, OnRamp will prompt you with an option to:

Adjust the project tasks to match the new end date

If you choose to adjust the tasks, their scheduled dates will shift accordingly.

If you choose not to adjust tasks, it is possible for tasks to exist outside the project’s end date, meaning some tasks may appear to extend past the project timeline.

How Task Scheduling Works

Tasks in playbooks do not use durations. Instead, tasks are scheduled using relative offsets.

When configuring tasks, you can define:

• A Start Date

• A Due Date

These dates can be scheduled relative to:

• After Project Start

• Before Project End

For example:

Start Date: +3 days after project start
Due Date: +10 days after project start

or

Due Date: -2 days before project end

This flexible scheduling allows playbooks to work across projects of different lengths.

Adjusting Task Dates

Task dates can be adjusted directly within a project if the timeline needs to change.

There are two primary ways to adjust task scheduling.

Project Task List View

Inside the project, you can edit task dates directly in the task list view.

This allows you to manually update:

• Start dates

• Due dates

This is useful when adjusting timelines for specific customers.

Gantt Chart

Task schedules can also be adjusted in the Project Gantt Chart.

From the Gantt chart you can:

• Drag tasks to shift their timeline

• Extend or shorten task durations

• Visually adjust the schedule

This provides a quick way to restructure a project timeline.

Gantt Chart Behavior

There are a few helpful things to know when viewing tasks in the Gantt chart:

• If a task only has one date (start or due), it will display as a single-day item.

• If a task does not have a scheduled date, it will appear on the project end date in the Gantt chart.

This helps ensure all tasks remain visible within the timeline view.

Why Project and Task Dates Matter

Project and task dates do more than define the project schedule — they also influence how tasks behave operationally.

Determining Overdue Tasks

A task’s Due Date determines when it becomes Overdue.

If a task passes its due date and has not been completed, it will automatically be marked as Overdue.

Overdue tasks appear in areas such as:

• Task filters

• Saved views

• Project task lists

• Reporting and insights

For example, the default Overdue saved task filter uses these dates to quickly identify work that needs attention.

Automated Notifications

Task dates also drive certain automated communications in OnRamp.

Examples include:

• Upcoming Task reminders

• Overdue Task notifications

• Project activity alerts

Keeping task dates accurate ensures that both internal teams and customers receive the right reminders at the right time.

Using Insights to Improve Task Scheduling

Over time, your team can use Insights to understand how tasks are actually performing compared to their scheduled dates.

Navigate to:

Insights → Tasks → Task Performance Analysis

This view shows how tasks are performing across all projects, including:

• Whether tasks are typically completed early, on time, or late

• The average deviation from the expected due date

• Best case and worst case completion times

• The number of task instances completed

This analysis can help teams refine their playbooks by identifying tasks that consistently take longer than expected.

For example, if a task regularly finishes 20 days late, that may indicate the scheduled timeline is unrealistic and should be adjusted.

Conversely, as your team becomes more efficient with onboarding, you may find that tasks which once took longer are consistently completed faster. This allows you to shorten task timelines and improve overall onboarding speed.

Using Insights to continuously refine your playbooks helps improve:

• Timeline accuracy

• Customer expectations

• Team capacity planning

• Implementation forecasting

Best Practices

✔ Set a realistic Project Start Date when creating projects
✔ Use playbook scheduling to build consistent timelines
✔ Adjust task dates if customer timelines change
✔ Use the Gantt chart for visual schedule management
✔ Review Task Performance Analysis to refine playbook timelines
✔ Keep task due dates accurate so overdue tracking and reminders work correctly

Clear scheduling helps ensure onboarding stays organized and predictable for both your team and your customers.