Stages, deadlines, and assignments

A stage describes a piece of work. It can be a plain task, a place to provide content, or a review. Its assignees do the work; its approvers make the approval decision.

Create a stage

1. Open the project and choose Add Stage.
2. Enter a name that describes the result, then add instructions in Description.
3. Leave uploads off for a task, or choose a content type and its mode.
4. Select Assignees. Turn on Requires Approval and select Approvers when the work needs a formal decision.
5. Set the deadline and time, revision limit, comments, and client portal visibility as needed. Choose Create Stage.

Assignees and Approvers are separate selections. Adding a person to one doesn’t mean they should take both responsibilities. If the picker is empty, add them to the project through Team Members → Manage first.

Edit or complete work

Use the stage’s Edit control, change the intended fields, and choose Save Changes. Check deadlines and assignments after saving. A deadline isn’t a dependency; it doesn’t determine whether a locked stage can start.

Complete a plain task when its work is done. For content stages, upload the material and make the review decision in the appropriate review or editor. Stago creates paired reviews for supported uploaded media and document flows.

States and reopening

Locked means prerequisites are unfinished. Waiting for upload needs material. Blocked records an obstacle. Completed records finished work; Approved records an approval decision.

Use the permitted reopening action when accepted or completed work must change. In Strict workflow or a dependency chain, later work may lock again. Coordinate changes with the responsible people and inspect the affected stages.

Client visibility

Upload visibility and review visibility are separate. You can keep the upload stage team-only while exposing the review to the client. Client access also requires a visible attached project and suitable portal link permissions.

For more complex ordering, use Flow and dependencies. If an action is unavailable, check permissions and the current stage state.