This manual refers to Easy Redmine and Easy Project in version 13.\nThe features of both products are nearly identical; therefore, the terms “Easy Redmine” and “Easy Project” are used synonymously throughout this document.
\nNow that your application is installed and ready for use, it is time to prepare it for the structured management of your projects, tasks, and other business processes.
\nWith version 13, Easy Redmine / Easy Project has become even more flexible and powerful.\nThe platform can be precisely adapted to any type of organization and workflow — from small teams to complex corporate structures.
\nBecause of this high level of flexibility, there are many configuration and customization options.\nThis manual guides you step by step through the most important settings and helps you set up your system in an optimal way.
\nIn the following logically structured checklist, we highlight the key configuration areas you should consider during initial setup.\nAdditionally, we provide practical tips for fine-tuning so that you can use all features efficiently.
\nWhether you are just beginning the setup process or are already using a preconfigured Easy Redmine / Easy Project environment — we recommend reviewing this checklist thoroughly.\nYou may discover useful features or optimizations you were not aware of before.
\nGo to: Administration > Settings > General
\nThe options related to users and spent time are preset and do not need to be configured.
\nApplication title – Name of the application. It is displayed in your browser and in your bookmarks as the name of the website, for example Easy Software Information System.
\nHostname and path – It is important that this address is correct. It is used in email notifications to generate links to your application. For example, a link to issue 123 will be generated as:\nhttps://is.easysoftware.com/issues/123.
Start of fiscal year – This setting is used in date filtering (fiscal year, quarter). Very useful in reports and dashboards.
\nGo to: Administration > Settings > Display
\nLanguage – If all users speak the same language, we recommend selecting both settings.
\nThe date and time formats should be selected explicitly. If you keep Based on the user’s language, you may receive “error” messages about inconsistencies.
\nGo to: Administration > Settings > API
\nEnable JSON support – The checkbox only needs to be selected if you want to import or export JSON files.
\nGo to: Administration > Settings > Email notifications
\nEmail address for notifications (FROM) – We recommend using a general mailbox here, for example noreply@. This option is relevant only for Helpdesk projects with an integrated mailbox.
If you want to allow users to add comments to issues by replying to a notification, you must enter an existing mailbox and connect it to the Helpdesk (if your plan includes this feature).
\nGo to: Administration > User types
\nDepending on the imported data, you will see one or more preset user types.\nIf there are several user types, first decide which ones you will use (less is more in this case — only as many as needed and as few as possible).\nYou should delete all unused user types so that they do not appear as options when creating or editing users.
\nIn these initial steps, make sure that you activate only the relevant start menu items.\nThere should not be too many entries — only the most commonly used (because of the width of smaller screens).\nWhen entering custom menu items, use relative paths, e.g. /issues instead of https://is.easysoftware.com/issues.
An important setting is the visibility of user types. During the initial configuration, you may allow each type to see all other types.
\nIf you do not set a user group to internal, the following applies:
\nDetailed technical documentation: https://www.easyredmine.com/documentation-of-easy-redmine/article/user-types
\nGo to: Administration > Export templates
\nThis setting can initially be ignored. However, if you work in a larger company with a high degree of corporate identity, it may be necessary to define some brand-related export templates.
\nFor exporting lists, you must use the dynamic token %query%, which is replaced during export by the current list you are viewing (e.g., issues for invoicing, spent time report, etc.).
\nDetailed technical documentation: https://www.easyredmine.com/documentation-of-easy-redmine/article/export-templates
\nGo to: Administration > Settings > Authentication
\nAuthentication required – This is the default; users must log in in order to use the application.\nDisabling authentication is intended for cases where your application serves as an open portal with public projects.\nThrough self-registration you give new visitors the possibility to create an account. The account must then be activated either by clicking a link received in an email or manually on the administration page (Users > Filter by Status – Registered > Edit > Activate).\nYou can add self-registered users to a specific user group (Administration > Groups), which can then be added as a member of certain projects with a particular role (more in chapter 1.2.3).\nThis allows newly registered users to receive defined rights without having to manually add them to projects.
\nSingle Sign On – If this option is available in your instance, please do not make any changes to the settings.
\nSingle Sign-On is provided via the user management of the Cloudogu Ecosystem or the Bundescloud development platform.
\nTwo-factor authentication using TOTP requires external mobile apps (e.g., Authy, Google Authenticator, etc.) and can be set up easily.SMS authentication requires an extended configuration of an SMS gateway connection to Easy Redmine / Easy Project.
\nNevertheless, the accounts of your users are sufficiently secure if you enforce strong passwords and an automatic session expiry time. Two-factor authentication should only be used if this is required by official security policies.
\nDetailed technical documentation: https://www.easyredmine.com/documentation-of-easy-redmine/article/authentication
\nGo to: Administration > LDAP Authentication
\nAs with Single Sign-On, please do not make any changes to the configuration here.
\nDetailed technical documentation: https://www.easyredmine.com/documentation-of-easy-redmine/article/ldap-authentication
\nGo to: Administration > Users > New User
\nNow let us focus first on user groups. Managing user groups is very simple: Administration > Groups > New Group. Name the group and add members after creating it.
\nUser groups make it easier to filter tasks or spent time or any other entity – instead of selecting users one by one, you simply select a group. They also help with task assignment – assign a task to a group and let members choose which specific user will take it. Most importantly, groups allow fast/automatic assignment of members to projects. You only need to add the group to the respective projects under a specific role, and all users who are members of the group will automatically become members of the project. The same logic applies when members are removed from groups. If you delete a group, all members of the group will also be removed from the project.
\nWhen setting up your application, you should create a few basic groups to make future management of project members easier.
\nGo to: Administration > Custom Fields > Users (or New custom field > Users)
\nIn addition to the system attributes, you can add custom attributes (e.g., phone numbers, departments, job titles, etc.) that may have various types of values (e.g., Boolean, text, number, etc.). These fields can then be used flexibly in projects (e.g., in tabs or sections). We recommend configuring only the attributes that are truly necessary in order to keep project pages clear and easy to read.
\nDetailed technical documentation: https://www.easyredmine.com/documentation-of-easy-redmine/article/custom-fields
\nGo to: Administration > Dashboard customisation
\nAll users have their own homepage – their personal dashboard/workspace. It is the first page you access when you log in, and it is always available in the main menu under the Home button. This page is customisable so that all users can see exactly what they need.
\nWe recommend not allowing your users to change their own homepage during the first months (via Roles and Permissions – chapter 1.2.7). Users who have the same position should have consistent homepages. Otherwise, they may make changes that interfere with their work (for example, they might hide tasks they should actually monitor).
\nIf you decide to create your own page templates, we recommend keeping them simple. Pay attention to a reasonable maximum number of items in lists (between 10–15 entries). Once you receive feedback, you can continuously optimise the pages.
\nGo to: Administration > Working Time – Templates > (New Calendar)
\nWorking calendars allow you to define a working system for the entire company (Monday–Friday, 9–17 with a 0.5-hour lunch break), specific calendars for part-time users, and even a fully customised calendar. The user’s assigned calendar determines their time and attendance reports.
\nDetailed technical documentation: https://www.easyredmine.com/documentation-of-easy-redmine/article/working-time-calendar
\nIf you do not yet have any roles, you must create a new one. This setting is quite complex, as it affects many areas throughout the entire application. The most frequently used areas are: project, issue tracking, and spent time.
\nThe individual permissions are self-explanatory. However, there are some general principles we want to highlight.
\nAll special permissions are divided into two main groups:
\nGlobal – these permissions have no project context; they are used throughout the entire application. Example: Use issue list – this function is not tied to a specific project and can be used anywhere.
\nProject permissions – these apply only to the specific project in which the member has this role. Example: Create issues – issues are always tied to a project; you cannot have an issue without a project. For example, if you have the Management role in Project A and the Worker role in Project B, you can only create issues for Project A, because workers are not allowed to create issues.
\nFollowing our Evergreen principle – Keep it simple – it is sufficient to start with three role levels: ( Top manager, Team leader,Team member) Based on your experience, you can then make adjustments and possibly add new roles for specific cases.
\nIn the list of roles and permissions, you will always see two roles that cannot be deleted. In chapter 1.2.1 (Authentication settings), we described how authentication can be disabled – the application is then accessible without logging in. Users who are not logged in are considered Anonymous, and permissions of that role apply to them. If login is required in your application, you may ignore this role. Non-member – global permissions apply to all registered users in the application. Project permissions apply to users who are not members of the project but can still see it.
\nBoth of the above roles can see the content of public projects, and project permissions apply to them accordingly. Normal projects are not public, but you can designate some projects as public to make them available to everyone without adding them as members.
\nNext to certain permissions, you may see letters:
\nGo to: Administration > Settings > Projects
\nYou can import or export a template under: Administration > Project templates
\nTo export a template: Click the gear icon next to the corresponding template. Then click “Export template”
\nTo import a project template file: Click “Import template” in the top right corner of this administration area. Upload the file.
\nGo to: Administration > Workflow
\nNow that we are familiar with trackers and issue statuses, we can define the issue life cycle, i.e., how statuses can progress. The workflow combines: the user’s role, the tracker, the current status of the issue and evaluates what project members are allowed to do with the issue.
\nLet’s explain this using a simple user story: Team members report to their team leader > their work must always be reviewed by the team leader.
\nThis can be ensured via the workflow settings: Team members are not allowed to close issues. They may only set the issue to a status such as Supervisor review to hand over their work. The team leader has a queue of issues in this status. Only the team leader’s role can close the issue. Additionally, the team leader may reopen already closed issues Example in the workflow settings: A team member has all options to close an issue disabled, while the team leader has this option available.
\nDetailed technical documentation: https://www.easyredmine.com/documentation-of-easy-redmine/article/custom-fields
\nGo to: Administration > Default filters > Issues
\nHere, you configure the default filter — the default view of the issue list when opened by any user. Important recommendations: Always set the filter Status – open, so that old, closed issues are not displayed. Consider the screen size of project members when selecting visible columns. We recommend placing the issue name (Subject) in the first column so that project members can quickly navigate into work
\nProject members can then adjust the filter columns ad hoc to suit their needs. Saved filters Go to: Administration > Manage saved filters > Issues. Here you can predefine other types of issue lists (including: charts, pivot tables, reports). Saved filters are displayed: in the right sidebar of the issue list, or in the header
\nThere are many configuration options for issue sets so that you can adapt them to any possible usage scenario. For a start, we recommend creating filters such as: Overdue issues per user or High-priority issues per user
\nGo to: Administration > Settings > Spent Time
\nFirst, we should clarify some semantic questions. What are spent time, time tracking, and time entry/entries?
\nSpent time is a term for the entire concept/functionality of measuring the time that employees have spent on projects.
\nTime tracking refers to the act or process of measuring time. The first two terms can be used synonymously.
\ntime entry is a single data record with the following attributes, for example: Date: 2 August; User: Allison; Project: A; Issue: 123; Hours spent: 2.5 h.
\nApprovals mean that project members with sufficient rights (chapter 1.2.7) can approve and reject time entries of project team members. When a time entry is approved, it receives the status \"approved\" and can no longer be modified (not even administratively). There are no email notifications for the approval of time entries. This means that if you want to work with this function, you should prepare filters that display only unapproved entries.
\nWe recommend setting a reasonable limit for the past (~14 days), so that not too many values are shown. Logging time into the future should not be allowed at all (0). The daily limit is mainly intended for legislative reasons, but a restriction to 24 hours makes sense.
\nThe most important settings are: Allow time tracking on closed issues (we recommend leaving this option enabled). Require selecting an issue for time logging, which controls whether you may log time directly on the project without selecting an issue
\nGo to: Administration > Categories > Activities (Spent Time)
\nUsed time activities are used for an additional dimension of categorization and for reporting. Use activity names that are understood by everyone in your organization. For example: Work and Meeting. Whenever users are not in a meeting, they will log Work. This gives you an overview of how much time per day is spent in meetings.
\nWe advise creating as few categories as possible and as many as necessary. A rule of thumb is 4–5 categories.
\nTo force users to select an activity, you can avoid setting a default activity — this way, no activity is preselected when logging time.
\nGo to: Administration > Custom Fields > New (or New custom field > Spent Time)
\nIn the previous three chapters about custom fields, you have learned everything important about these fields. We would simply like to recommend not making life harder for your users by defining custom fields as required. Better yet: try to avoid creating custom fields for spent time altogether. There are already enough attributes by which you can filter/report spent time:Issue attributes, Project attributes, User attributes, Activities.
\nDetailed technical documentation: https://www.easyredmine.com/documentation-of-easy-redmine/article/custom-fields
\nGo to: Administration > Page Customisation
\nIn chapters 1.2.5 and 1.3.4, we already configured this setting for managing the page templates My Page and Project Overview.
\nNow we will look at general dashboards that can be used for all types of company-wide overviews — we will call them global dashboards in the following.\nYou have the possibility to create them from scratch by clicking the New page button.
\nhttps://is.easysoftware.com/easy_pages/hr-reports. This is the form of the link for every global dashboard. It must be noted that only users who know the URL can access the page. Apart from the global dashboard administration (which only administrators can access), there is no other place where these pages are listed automatically. Therefore, you must provide the link to this page to the relevant users. One way to do this is to add it as a custom menu in the user type settings (chapter 1.1.6). It is highly likely that during the initial setup of the application you do not yet have a clear concept of the types of dashboards and reports you will use. This means that this setting will only make sense after several weeks of production use. Do not spend too much time creating dashboards with theoretical reports before you have enough data in the system.
\n1. Checklist for Administration
\n