BigTime Foresight offers two assignment form types to better fit different planning needs:
| Form Type | Best For | Key Features |
| Standard Form | Detailed, long-term planning | Full control over time, billing, labels, notes, and more |
| Compact Form | Quick, short-term scheduling | Fewer fields, smart auto-calculations, streamlined experience |
Use the Compact Form when:
- You need to assign work quickly.
- You’re doing short-term or high-volume scheduling.
- You prefer fewer fields and faster input.
Use the Standard Form when:
- You need advanced utilization settings and detailed financial metrics such as Total Income or Total Cost.
- You want full control over every aspect of the assignment.
- You are managing longer or more complex projects.
Follow these steps to quickly create an assignment using the Compact Form:
1. Click the Create Assignment icon.
2. Use the toggle at the top of the form to switch to the Compact Form.
3. Choose your planning method:
- Capacity – Plan using a percentage (%) of the staffer’s total capacity.
- Time per Day – Plan a specific number of hours per day.
If you’re planning by % of capacity, you can skip the Total Time field—it will be calculated automatically for you.
4. Fill in the key scheduling fields:
- Total Time (Hours)
- Total Duration (Days)
- Start Date and Due Date
You can start with any field—BigTime will automatically adjust the others based on what you enter.
5. Set the assignment status: Choose between Active, Reserved, or Draft.
6. Select the Task/Deliverable/Phase name from the predefined list.
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Note: This field name depends on your Lexicon settings in BigTime. To customize naming conventions (e.g., “Task” vs. “Deliverable”), follow the steps below:
Close Resource Management ➡ Click My Company Tab when you're in BigTime ➡ Click My Company section on the menu ribbon ➡ Go to the Lexicon section
Learn more in: Your Company's Lexicon and Synchronizing Lexicon Settings in Foresight |
The list of available tasks comes from the Project List setup in BigTime.
Go to the following instructions to learn more about tasks in BigTime: Using Tasks in BigTime and Task-Based Resourcing in BigTime Foresight
7. Configure financial settings - Select the Staffer’s Bill Rate.
8. Define if the assignment is:
- Non-billable – Learn more: What is Billable Capacity? and Understanding "Reduce Billable Capacity" and "Use Leftover Capacity" in Calculations
- Off-hours Work – Learn more: Understanding Off-Hours Work and Calculations
9. (Optional) Add a Label — it will appear as a tag on the assignment tile, such as in calendars.
10. Click Apply and Close to finish.