ERP Background Tasks
Several ERP modules depend on work happening on a schedule rather than when somebody presses save. All of the tasks below ship disabled, in keeping with the platform rule that nothing starts running because an update was applied.
Where to find it
Architect Panel → Automation:
- Tasks — enable, schedule and run each one
- Task Log — what ran, when, and what it did
The six tasks
- Calculated Field Recalculation (hourly) — the consistency sweep for calculated fields and rollups. Catches totals left stale by imports, data extraction or direct database changes.
- Accounting and Bank Feed Sync (hourly) — pulls transactions from connected accounting packages and bank feeds into the feed inbox.
- Accounting Outbound Mirror (hourly) — pushes postings out to an external package where you mirror rather than replace it.
- Asset Depreciation (daily) — posts the depreciation charge per period. Run daily so a period end is never missed; the engine refuses to run a period twice.
- Scheduled Report Distribution (hourly) — runs saved analytics reports on their schedules and delivers them.
- Letter Dispatch (every few minutes) — sends queued letters to the print and post provider. A queue rather than a batch.
Enabling one
Open Tasks, find it, set the frequency and tick Enabled. Run it once by hand first and read the Task Log entry before leaving it on a schedule.
Reading the log
Two patterns are worth watching for.
- A recalculation sweep that regularly corrects things means a table rule is missing somewhere. Add the rule rather than running the sweep more often — the sweep is a safety net, not the mechanism.
- A feed sync that regularly finds nothing may mean the connection has expired rather than that there is nothing to fetch.
Only enable what you use
No feeds means no sync or mirror. No assets means no depreciation. Enabling a task for a module you do not use wastes a run and clutters the log, which makes the entries that matter harder to see.
Worked example
A firm using documents, the ledger and projects enables three tasks: recalculation hourly, report distribution hourly, and letter dispatch every five minutes. Depreciation and both feed tasks stay off because they have no assets and no external accounting package. The task log stays short enough that an unusual entry is noticed.
Recommendations
- Run each task manually once and read the log before scheduling it.
- Enable only what your configuration needs.
- Check the log weekly for the first month after enabling anything.
- Trigger recalculation by hand after a large import rather than waiting for the schedule.