Dependent and Preceding Tasks

Nekst lets you base a task's due date on the Start Date, the End Date, or another task. Chaining tasks this way keeps a whole sequence of deadlines accurate even when one date moves.

• A task set to occur a number of days before another task is a Preceding Task.
• A task set to occur a number of days after another task is a Dependent Task.

The task they're built around is the Parent Task.

Preceding Tasks

Open any task and click Preceding/Dependent Task at the bottom to add one before it.

Choose the type of preceding task to create.

On an active transaction, a preceding task gets a calendar due date right away and sorts into your to-do list. It shows "approx." before the date because it moves with the Parent Task if the parent's date changes.

In a workflow, a preceding task nests under its Parent Task so the relationship is clear.

Dependent Tasks

Dependent tasks come due a number of days after another task. You can build a stair-step sequence from any mix of Standard, Email, and SMS tasks — and unlike preceding tasks, a dependent task can be built off another dependent task.

Example, built around the inspection contingency:

• Standard Task: Inspection Due Date (due 10 days after Start Date) — the Parent Task
• Dependent Task: Sellers Response to Inspection Due (due 3 days after Inspection Due Date)
• Dependent's Dependent Task: Buyers Response to Inspections Due (due 3 days after Sellers Response to Inspections Due)

A dependent task has no formalized due date until the task it's linked to (dependent upon) is marked complete.

Changing a task's Parent Task

A task's Parent Task is no longer locked in once the task is created. You can move a dependent or preceding task under a different parent without deleting it and rebuilding it. The task keeps its name, assignees, checklist, and day count, and any tasks that depend on it move along with it.

There are two ways to do it.

From the task's edit form

1. Open the task you want to move.
2. Open the Parent Task dropdown next to the day count.
3. Pick a different task to depend on.
4. Save.

The task now sits under its new parent. The day count (days before or after the parent) stays editable and keeps the value you already had.

The dropdown only lists tasks the current one can legitimately follow. It leaves out the task itself and any task that already depends on it, so you can't build a loop where two tasks wait for each other.

[image: the Parent Task dropdown open on the edit form]

By dragging one task onto another

Above the task list is a Drag to Rearrange Tasks switch with two modes:

/

• Within Same Date — dragging reorders tasks that share the same due date (the default).
• Under Another Task — dragging changes what a task depends on.

Switch to Under Another Task. Every task you can attach the dragged task to shows a labeled drop area.

To move a task under a new parent: drop it onto that task. Nothing saves yet — a short form appears with the details filled in, so you can confirm the day count before it's applied. Cancel leaves everything as it was.

To turn a task back into a Primary Task: drag it to the Drop a task here to give it a fixed due date bar at the top of the list. The task stops depending on another task and gets its own fixed due date on the transaction calendar instead.

As with the dropdown, drop areas appear only on tasks the dragged one can legitimately follow — never itself, never its own dependents — so you can't build a loop.

[gif: dragging a task under another to change its dependency]

Hiding or showing dependent tasks

You can choose whether you want dependent tasks minimized under their parent, or have them expanded by default. It depends on how "clean" a task list you want to see.

Set your preference on the Settings / Preferences page.

Updated on: 08/13/2026