Start and Finish Dates

Amy Evans

Hello,

I have the following columns:

1) Planned Start Date and Planned Finish Date

• the above two columns are defined with predecessors and durations which link the dates

2) Actual Start Date and Actual Finish Date

• I'd like to create predecessors and durations with the above Actual Dates. How do I do that?

It seems the Project Settings only allow me to select one set of Start/Finish date columns. Can I have multiple start/finish date columns?

Thanks!

AE

Genevieve P.

Hi @Amy Evans

You're correct, a Project Sheet in Smartsheet can only associate one set of Start / End date columns with Predecessors and Duration.

One solution would be to write formulas in other columns to mimic certain functionalities, if needed. (Such as using a NETWORKDAYS function to calculate the number of working days between two dates, for a "Duration x2" column).

However, I would suggest having your Actual Start Date and Actual Finish Date columns be the ones set in your Project Settings, then set a Baseline in your sheet (automatically creating the Planned Start and Finish). This will then calculate the variance, and show a thin grey bar on the Gantt chart for your review. See this webinar: Keep Your Projects on Track with Baselines and this Help Article: Set Baselines on a Project Sheet

Cheers!

Genevieve

Genevieve P.

Hi @Amy Evans

You're correct, a Project Sheet in Smartsheet can only associate one set of Start / End date columns with Predecessors and Duration.

One solution would be to write formulas in other columns to mimic certain functionalities, if needed. (Such as using a NETWORKDAYS function to calculate the number of working days between two dates, for a "Duration x2" column).

However, I would suggest having your Actual Start Date and Actual Finish Date columns be the ones set in your Project Settings, then set a Baseline in your sheet (automatically creating the Planned Start and Finish). This will then calculate the variance, and show a thin grey bar on the Gantt chart for your review. See this webinar: Keep Your Projects on Track with Baselines and this Help Article: Set Baselines on a Project Sheet

Cheers!

Genevieve

Amy Evans

Thank you Genevieve.

Amy