Once you have Lightspeed Tasks up and running, you can set up checklists for your staff to ensure they know what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and to verify that it’s been done correctly.
Creating a checklist
Checklists are lists of tasks that must be completed. When creating a checklist, you can schedule it by day or time and assign it to specific people or roles. Email notifications can be sent to employees and managers to remind them of the task and to confirm completion.
You can start with a blank checklist, use a premade template, or import checklist tasks in bulk.
Creating a blank checklist
- Navigate to Tasks > Checklists in the Back Office.
- Click Create Checklist.
- Fill in the checklist settings as needed.
- Click Create checklist to finish setting up the checklist.
Using a checklist template
Instead of creating checklists from scratch or importing tasks, you can use pre-made checklist templates to get started faster, such as Opening front of house or Closing back of house. When you select a template, a new checklist with pre-filled tasks is created for you. To preview the tasks before you select a template, click the eye icon (Preview).
Checklist settings
You enter a checklist's settings when you create it, but you can also edit them at any time thereafter. These settings are split into a few sections: Details, Notifications, and Tasks.
Details
Checklist details include the checklist's title, which users it applies to, its schedule, and other basic information.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Checklist title | This is the checklist’s name. Giving it a descriptive name will help identify it. |
| Locations | For businesses with multiple locations, checklists are assigned to one or more locations. |
| Assignees | The user tag of the group of users assigned to this checklist. Configure your user tags in the Back Office by navigating to Tasks > Settings. |
| Start date | Select the first day you need the checklist to be completed. The checklist will not appear in the Lightspeed Pulse app until this date. |
|
End date (optional) |
Select the last day you need the checklist to be completed. If you don’t set an end date, the checklist will keep repeating. Once the end date passes, the checklist stops appearing in the Lightspeed Pulse app. To bring it back, edit the expired checklist and extend its end date. |
| Repeats |
Set how often the checklist must be completed: Daily, Weekly, Every two weeks, Every four weeks, Monthly, Every three months, Every six months, or Yearly.
|
| Due time | Select the time by which the checklist must be completed. Only one time may be selected. |
| Visibility in Pulse | Select when the checklist is visible: All day, Morning (00:00 to 11:59), Afternoon (12:00 to 23:59). |
Notifications
Checklist notifications are optional alerts that can be sent to remind staff before the checklist is due or confirm the checklist's completion.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Send reminder 15 minutes before due time |
Enable this option to send a reminder email to the selected recipients fifteen minutes before the checklist is due if it has not been completed. Once enabled, a drop-down menu of available Back Office users and POS users with an email address appears. Multiple recipients can be selected. |
| Send email notification when completed |
Enable this option to send an email notification to the selected recipients when the checklist is completed. Once enabled, a drop-down menu of available Back Office users and POS users with an email address appears. Multiple recipients can be selected. |
Tasks
Tasks are added to a checklist by clicking the + Add task button. At least one task must be added to a checklist before it can be saved.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Title of task | The name of the task to be completed. 60 characters maximum. |
| Description (Optional) | A more detailed description of the task, if needed. Additional information or reminders be included here. |
| Response type |
To complete the task, a response must be submitted by the assigned user on a Lightspeed Pulse device in Staff mode. Select the best type(s) of response the task requires. At least one response type is required, but multiple can be selected.
|
Checklist reporting and insights
Using the checklist summary
Back Office users with the correct permissions can view the reports of scheduled checklists to see their completion rates or any notifications that may need attention. Users can only see reports for the locations that they have access to.
To view the checklist summary, navigate to Tasks > Summary in the Back Office.
Summary details
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Date: The date or date range of the summary. By default, the report for today is displayed on the page.
To change the date, click on it. Then select a new start date and end date from the calendar that appears. To view a single day, select the same date as both the start and end. Click Apply to view the report with the new date range.
- Location: Checklists are sorted by location.
- Completion rate: The fraction and percentage of checklists completed, as well as a line graphically showing the percentage of checklists completed.
- Name: Title of the checklist.
- Due by: The required completion time of the checklist.
- Status: The current status of the checklist: In progress or Incomplete.
- Progress: The fraction and percentage of tasks completed, as well as a line graphically showing the percentage of tasks completed.
The number of rows per page and page navigation are at the bottom of each location’s section.
Viewing completion logs
To view the completion logs of a checklist, click the title of the checklist in the summary.
Completion logs contain the following details:
- Summary: Displays the Completion rate as a percentage of tasks completed, Tasks completed as the number of tasks completed, and Time between tasks which is the average time between task completion.
- Task: The name of the task.
- Status: The current status of the task: Completed, In progress, or Incomplete.
- Completed by: The name of the user that completed the task and the date and time it was completed.
- Issues: Any problems or missing information related to the task completion is noted here, such as a missing response or a temperature that exceeds a set minimum.
- Comment: Any additional comments or information provided by the user completing the task.
To expand the task details, click the arrow icon at the start of the row.
Analyzing tasks with Lightspeed AI
Once employees complete some tasks, the Back Office Lightspeed AI agent can deliver insights about your checklist history. In your own words, ask the agent questions about your tasks over any time period, and it will respond using completion data and staff comments. For example:
- How did today's morning opening go?
- Were any temperature readings out of range last week?
- Which tasks were skipped most often this month?
- Is there a recurring problem I should fix?
The Lightspeed AI agent is available in the Back Office to users with AI access permissions.
Importing tasks
You can import tasks to create a new checklist faster. Download a CSV template, enter your tasks in the file, then upload it to add the tasks to a new checklist.
You can only import tasks when creating a new checklist. You can’t import to overwrite tasks in an existing checklist.
Download a template
- Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed Restaurant account credentials.
- From the navigation menu, go to Tasks > Checklists.
- Click Import from file.
- In the Import tasks pop-up, click Lightspeed import spreadsheet (.csv). The template downloads automatically.
Prepare your file for import
Open the downloaded CSV file and enter your task details. Before you upload your file, review these formatting requirements:
- Don’t change the column headers in the template.
- Fill in one task per row.
- For each task, use the format below for each field.
- Each row must include a task name.
- Keep all text on a single line within each field. For example, don’t split descriptions into paragraphs.
- Counts and multiple-choice response types can't be imported.
- If you set Temperature to “Yes”, enter values for Min temperature and Max temperature.
- Include a maximum of 255 tasks per file.
- Include a maximum of 255 characters for text fields.
- The template is already a CSV file. Keep it in CSV (.csv) format when you save your changes:
For definitions of each field and response type, see the setting descriptions.
| Data | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Task name | Text | Stock grab-and-go items |
| Task description | Text | Stock the grab-and-go refrigerator. Rotate items: new stock always goes in the back. Note any shortages or items running low. |
| Image | Yes/No | No |
| Signature | Yes/No | No |
| Short response | Yes/No | Yes |
| Temperature | Yes/No | No |
| Min temperature | Number | |
| Max temperature | Number |
Uploading the template
- From the navigation menu, go to Tasks > Checklist.
- Click Import from file.
- In the Import tasks pop-up, drag and drop or browse to select your prepared CSV file.
- Click Import tasks.
After you upload the file, the data is validated. If the file contains errors, you’ll see a message that lists the row and column and explains what needs to be fixed. The checklist isn’t created until you resolve the errors.
If the file is valid, you’re returned to the new checklist with tasks pre-populated from the CSV in the Tasks section. From there, edit your checklist settings as needed, then click Create checklist. This creates the new checklist and saves your imported tasks and checklist settings.
Editing a checklist
Edit a checklist to make changes to it. For example, you may need to change the users assigned to it, add or remove tasks, or update notification settings.
- Navigate to Tasks > Checklists in the Back Office.
- Click the name of the checklist you wish to edit.
- Make your desired changes to the checklist settings.
- Click Update checklist to save.
Changing the order of a checklist is done by dragging the stacked three lines to the left of the task name to its new position.
Deleting a checklist
Delete checklists you are no longer using to remove them from the Back Office.
- Navigate to Tasks > Checklists in the Back Office.
- Click the trashcan icon in the row of the checklist you wish to delete.
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Review the prompt that appears.
Deleting a checklist will also remove all of its tasks. This action cannot be undone.
- Click Delete checklist to confirm the deletion.
What's next?
Using Lightspeed Tasks in Lightspeed Pulse
In the Lightspeed Pulse app, staff can complete the checklists you set up for Lightspeed Tasks.
Setting up Lightspeed Tasks
Learn how to set up Lightspeed Tasks, create user tags, and switch the Pulse app to Staff mode.