---
title: "Use predecessors"
slug: "using-predecessors"
updated: 2026-04-27T20:00:48Z
published: 2026-04-27T20:00:48Z
canonical: "help.quickbase.com/using-predecessors"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.quickbase.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use predecessors

In Quickbase, you can keep items in a sequenced order by using predecessor fields. For example, tasks in a project can occur in a specific order where one task cannot start until another task finishes. A predecessor task must finish before another task can begin. When you specify a predecessor for a task, you set up a dependency between two tasks.

When you link a task to a predecessor, you link their dates together. The projected finish date of a predecessor task automatically becomes the start date of a successor task. If you make changes to a predecessor's start date or duration, Quickbase automatically updates the calculated finish date. That finish date automatically carries over into the start date field of the successor task. For example, if a task's start date is changed to be one day later, Quickbase automatically changes the start date of the successor task to reflect the one-day delay.

Project management apps built by the Quickbase team come with predecessors built in. To see this feature in action, create an app using a project management app from the Exchange.

![Task record in the Simple Project Manager app showing a predecessor indicator dot on the Start field](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/33585688589844.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-10-16T02%3A48%3A11Z&se=2026-10-16T03%3A48%3A11Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=I4jndwe3nwh%2BJX3W79y9TkkNe9vmvNvu9eEuFgwOH8E%3D) For example, in the Simple Project Manager app, the Start field of a task has a dot in the field that indicates the predecessor. When you hover over it, it explains that the task cannot start until this date because of its predecessors.

Learn how to [add predecessors](/v1/docs/add-dependencies-to-an-existing-project-management-application) to any project management app.