Basecamp Tips and Tricks

Bria Sundton | February 2024

Illustration of people working at a table together.

At ArcStone, we rely on Basecamp as a critical project management tool. Our business’s central hub includes client projects, performance management, employee resources, and more. Basecamp is versatile, but only when used by all team members. We put together a guide on some Basecamp features that we’ve noticed can cause hangups.

Why Basecamp?

Our work requires our teams to use various digital tools and platforms daily. As a remote company, we must have a central location to organize resources. Basecamp allows us to organize and manage each project from a centralized spot.

Recently, we’ve also begun using Basecamp for performance management. We wanted to bring structure and accessibility to performance reviews and monthly check-ins. Rather than introduce another new platform, we decided to use a space we were already in daily. We created a Basecamp project for each employee called their Development Space. It houses notes from monthly check-ins and links to the annual review self-assessment. It also provides a designated space for development and performance-related messages.

Why Basecamp? It is versatile and provides our remote team with a home base.

Messaging

Use the message board within a project to share information or ask questions about the project. Please stick to these guidelines to use the tool effectively:

Always tag the person your message is for. This will ensure they receive a notification, and it won’t alert the other team members on the project. If people receive messages that don’t pertain to them, they’re more likely to miss the ones for them!

Screen shot of tagging a person in a message.

At the bottom of the message, select who to notify. Anyone tagged will get an alert, but make a selection here for the rest of the project members. If you want to add a quiet message, select “No one.” Also, don’t forget to press the “Post this message” button! Many people accidently save their message as a draft because the save button is more prominent than the post button.

Screen shot of setting message notifications.

Message board communication should relate to the project details. Please use another channel, such as Slack or email, to send a message about something else.

To-dos

Tasks can be added to a checklist within any Basecamp project by any project member. Once a task is added, notes, files, and comments can be added as needed. Please stick to these guidelines to use this tool effectively:

Always tag a team member in the “Assigned To” field. Tag multiple team members if more than one person is working on the task.

Select a “Due Date” if the task has a deadline.

Keep the task title short and sweet.

Add more information about the task in the “Notes” section in the task header. Link any critical files for the task here, too.

Check the subscribers. Ensure that whoever keeps tabs on the task is subscribed to notify the right person when someone comments on or completes the to-do.

My Assignments

To see all your assigned tasks, go to the top of the page and click “My Stuff”> “My Assignments.” Here, you’ll see a list of all the tasks assigned to you across all the projects you’re on. This is why assigning a person to each to-do is essential! If a person is not tagged in the “Assigned To” field of the task, it won’t show up in their assignments.

Don’t use Pings

Please avoid using Pings in ArcStone’s Basecamp. Messages related to a project can be posted on the message board within that project. If you need to send a message unrelated to a project, use Slack or email.

Forwards Tool

Basecamp also has a Forwards tool. This allows users to forward an email message and its attachments to a project or group in Basecamp. This can be really helpful if the project team needs to view and discuss an email relevant to the project. There are a few things to keep in mind when getting started:

Make sure Forwards are enabled. Click into a project’s settings, select “Change tools,” and toggle “Email Forwards” on.
There are two ways to use forwarding. We recommend the second option that Basecamp presents, which eliminates a step. Open a project, click into the Email Forwards tile, and copy the unique project address to your clipboard. Go back to your email message and paste the copied address into the forwarding address field. Once the email has been forwarded, it will populate in the Email Forwards tile within the Basecamp project.
Project members can comment below the email in the Email Forwards tile. Comments and replies posted in Basecamp will not be sent to the original sender.

For more information on Forwards, check out this Basecamp guide or this YouTube demo.

OOO and Other Admin-y Things

Finally, a few housekeeping items:

If you will be out of the office during regular business hours, update your Basecamp status. Go to your profile photo > Out of Office > toggle to Out.
Change your notification settings by clicking the bell icon in the top right corner. If you turn notifications off, check your projects regularly.
Add a project schedule to your Google, Outlook, or Apple calendar! Navigate to the project schedule and click “Add this Calendar…” above the month view. Follow the instructions to sync.

If questions arise as you’re working with us, Basecamp provides a range of training videos and documentation. Alternatively, you can always contact us for help.