Tasks assigned over chat, email, or a quick verbal request have a way of quietly disappearing.
A proper Task Tracker keeps every assignment in one place, tells the assignee when something new lands on their plate, chases them automatically as a deadline approaches, and keeps an honest record of what actually finished on time.
Here’s how to build one in Lark Base using just a table, a form, and two automations.
Setting Up the Table
Start with a table holding one row per task, with these fields:
- Task: A brief description of what needs to be done.
- Date Created: When the task was first entered, recorded automatically.
- Status: A single-option field with colour-coded values: New Assigned / Not Started, Today Must Complete, This Week Must Complete, Next Week Must Complete, In Progress, and Completed.
- Acknowledge: A checkbox confirming the assignee has read and understood the task.
- End Date: The deadline.
- Reference & Attachment: A central place for supporting documents or screenshots.
- Link: A direct link to related docs or external pages.
- Remarks: Notes and background gathered during the task.
- Date Completed: The actual finish date, filled in automatically once Status changes to Completed.
- Check if is Late: A formula field flagging the record as Late if Date Completed falls after End Date.
Assigning a Task
Generate a form from the table so a supervisor can assign work without touching the table directly: Task Name, Status (defaulting to New Assigned / Not Started), End Date, Link, Remarks, and Reference & Attachment.
Once submitted, the record appears in the table, ready for the notification automation to pick it up.
Notifying the Assignee Automatically
Build an automation that triggers when a new record is added, sending a Lark message to the assignee with the task name, status, and remarks, plus a “View Record Details” button.
For tasks marked Today Must Complete, style the message title in red so it reads as urgent at a glance:
For every other status, use purple instead, so the two are easy to tell apart in a busy chat feed:
Sending an Automatic Reminder
Add a second automation that runs at 09:00, one day before a task’s End Date, but only if Status is not yet Completed and not already Today Must Complete (since that status already carries its own urgency).
Trigger it off the End Date field, add both status conditions with “And”, then have it send a Lark message titled “Task Almost Due” with the task name, due date, and remaining days pulled straight from the record.
The assignee gets a clear nudge before the deadline arrives, without anyone having to check the table manually:
Acknowledging and Completing a Task
When the assignee is ready to start, ticking the Acknowledge checkbox automatically moves Status to In Progress, a simple field-linked automation that saves a manual status update.
Once the work is done, changing Status to Completed automatically stamps Date Completed with the current date and time. The Check if is Late formula then compares that against the End Date: on or before the deadline, the field stays blank.
Miss the deadline, and the same field automatically displays Late instead, giving you an honest, self-maintaining record of on-time performance without anyone having to chase it up.
Practical Use Cases for SMEs and Startups
- Onboarding new hires: Give a new employee a single place to see every task assigned to them, instead of digging through chat history.
- Cross-team delegation: Let managers assign work through a form without needing table access, while automations handle the notifications.
- Deadline-sensitive operations: Use the colour-coded urgency and automatic reminders for time-critical requests like approvals or vendor forms.
- Performance tracking: Use the Late flag over time to spot which types of tasks consistently run over deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I customise the Status options beyond the six shown here?
Yes. Status is a standard single-option field, so you can add, remove, or recolour options to match how your team actually talks about task urgency.
Does the reminder automation notify tasks that are already Today Must Complete?
No. The reminder is deliberately excluded for that status, since a same-day urgent task has already been flagged through the red notification title.
What determines whether a completed task is marked Late?
The Check if is Late formula compares Date Completed against End Date. If completion happens after the deadline, it shows Late; otherwise the field stays blank.
Do I need a separate automation for every status colour?
No. One automation handles the notification for every new task; the message title colour is set with a condition based on the Status value, not a separate workflow.
Can the Acknowledge checkbox be unchecked to revert the status?
That depends on how you configure the automation. As described here, it only handles the forward action of moving to In Progress; add a second condition if you also want unchecking it to revert the status.
A Tracker That Chases Deadlines So You Don’t Have To
None of this requires anything beyond what’s already built into Lark Base: a table, a form, and two automations. What it gives back is a task tracker that assigns, reminds, and grades itself, instead of one more list someone has to remember to check.
Ready to Power Your Business with Lark?
Lark Base is just one part of an all-in-one platform that brings messaging, meetings, documents, approvals, and automations together for your entire team.
As the Platinum Partner for Lark in Malaysia, Exabytes offers tailored Lark plans, hands-on onboarding, and dedicated local support to help your team stop losing track of what’s assigned to whom.
