Assignments modified directly in Resource Management automatically update the associated rows in Smartsheet. Certain changes made in Smartsheet also automatically sync to Resource Management.
This article only applies to users with a Resource Management and Smartsheet account.
Get started
Ensure you have set up the Resource Management Panel and account-level connection for your organization.
Update assignments in Resource Management
You can make assignment changes directly in Resource Management and have those changes automatically applied to the connected sheet. Changes in Resource Management to work item description, assignee, dates, phases, and allocation can sync back to Smartsheet. These changes are automatic, with no extra steps or confirmation required.
Anyone who has edit privileges in Resource Management can make these changes. Resource Management users don’t need access to the connected sheet. Changes appear in the activity log for the sheet as modified by the Resource Management Synchronization service.
There are some scenarios where syncing may not be possible. See the tables below for details.
Update assignments in Smartsheet
Make your changes, then save the sheet. You may need to refresh your browser to see the updates.
How assignment syncing works
Users must be paid members of the Smartsheet plan that owns the sheet to access the Resource Management panel.
Assignment syncing only applies to sheets connected to Resource Management via the Resource Management Panel. Assignments changed in Resource Management are processed and applied (where allowed) to the connected sheet.
Here's a sample workflow:
- Create a project sheet in Smartsheet.
- Use the Resource Management panel to connect it to a resource plan in Resource Management.
- Create placeholder assignments in the project sheet.
- Save the sheet. Placeholder assignments sync to Resource Management.
- In Resource Management, reassign the work from the placeholders to specific team members. In the sheet, assignee fields automatically update with the assigned team members.
Want to see a history of changes? Use the activity log.
Phases in connected projects
Phases can only be added, deleted, or edited in Smartsheet. The first assignment start date is the start of the phase, and the last assignment end date is the end of the phase. Learn more about adding and editing phases.
In Resource Management, you can add assignments and resources, track time, create phase budgets, add bill rates on a phase, and report on the phase.
The change won't be applied if the change made isn’t allowed by the sheet (for example, editing the dates on a parent row assignment). In this example, the dates for the child row(s) must be updated in the sheet to match the new assignment dates in Resource Management.
The chart summarizes how actions made in Smartsheet or Resource Management sync together.
| Action in Smartsheet | Action in Resource Management |
|---|---|
New phase value added to a row* | New phase is created (action can only be taken in Smartsheet) |
A phase tied to multiple rows is deleted* | The phase is deleted in RM* If a phase has time entries, it remains in RM for historical reporting purposes (action can only be taken in Smartsheet) |
A phase name is edited* | The phase name is updated (action can only be taken in Smartsheet) |
A new row is added to a project with an existing phase value* | The assignment is created under the existing phase (action can only be taken in Smartsheet) |
Update an assignment date that is associated with a phase | Update the associated phase date |
Assignee value updated in the sheet | Reassign from one person or placeholder to another person or placeholder |
Allocation converted to equivalent % (if using other allocation types in Resource Management ) and updated in the sheet | Allocation value or type changed |
Dates updated in the sheet | Dates changed |
Text in primary field updated | Work item description updated (added, changed, or removed) |
The person reassigned is updated in the row; all other fields remain unaffected. | Reassignment on multi-assigned row |
The allocation is updated for the row, which then applies to everyone assigned to that row. | Allocation change on multi-assigned row |
The dates are updated for that row, which then applies to everyone assigned to that row. | Date change on multi-assigned row |
The text in the primary field is updated, which then applies to everyone assigned to that row. | Work item description updated on multi-assigned row |
A new row with the assignment details is added to the bottom of the sheet. | New assignment created |
The assignee is removed from the row, but the row and associated details remain in the sheet. | Assignment removed |
The first part of the assignment updates the end date for the associated row in the sheet. The second part of the assignment is created as a new row at the bottom of the sheet. | Split an assignment |
The additional assignments are created as new rows at the bottom of the sheet. | Repeat an assignment |
Any assignments that are removed in Resource Management have the assignee(s) removed from the associated row(s) in the sheet(s). | Remove overlapping assignments |
Cell values editable by a sheet Admin are updated in the sheet. Note that this may erase formulas entered into the cell. | Edit values for an assignment in a sheet with locked rows, columns, or formulas |
Unsupported actions
Sometimes, a change made in Resource Management may not appear in the connected sheet; this may be due to locked fields, project hierarchy, or dependencies.
No alerts occur when a sync issue occurs (see sync error warnings). This chart shows common situations where the change made in Resource Management may not update the associated sheet.
| Change made in Resource Management | Sync issue in Smartsheet |
|---|---|
| Edit dates for a person assigned to a parent row | Dates for parent rows in Smartsheet aren’t editable. |
| Edit allocation for a person assigned to a parent row | Allocation for parent rows in Smartsheet isn’t editable. |
| Edit the start date for a person assigned to a dependent row | Start dates for rows with a predecessor aren’t editable. |
| Reassign a work item to a person who doesn’t exist in Smartsheet or isn’t managed by the Smartsheet account | The sheet is updated with the user’s email address in Resource Management, but the Resource Management Panel won’t recognize this user. |
| Reassign a multi-assigned assignment from a person to a placeholder | Rows in Smartsheet don’t support a combination of named people and placeholders, which make the update fail, leaving the existing person still assigned in the sheet. |
| Edit allocation for an assignment when the sheet is using a column formula to calculate allocation | Cells with a column formula aren’t editable. |
| Remove an assignee from an assignment but leave the unassigned work item in Resource Management | The person is removed from the row in Smartsheet, and the association between that work item in Resource Management and Smartsheet is removed. Future changes to the assignments are treated as if they are different assignments. |
| Change work item status | The work item's status isn’t currently synced with the data on the sheet. |
| Change notes or sub-tasks | Notes and sub-tasks aren’t currently synced with data in the sheet. |
| Track time for the assignment | Time can be tracked against projects, phases, and categories, but tracking time against tasks is currently not supported. |
| Include custom information | The fields synced through the panel are the primary fields for that row, along with assignees, allocation, and dates. Other custom information cannot currently be included. |