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

# Effective dates

> What everyone sees

LeanCPM, like legacy CPM, has many date fields for each task, as seen in this guide. The Effective dates are the bottom line; they are the most important dates you share with your subcontractors and clients.

All other dates are supplemental information for you as a planner.

The Start and Finish, known as the Effective dates, are usually driven by the [target dates](/terms/target_dates).

If a task is not in a valid dependency path, it will not have target dates.

### Start

When the task’s [status](/terms/status) is not set to `started`, `finished`, or `completed`, the value `start` will be set to the [target start](/terms/target_dates#target-start) date (or early start date if not in a valid dependency path). Otherwise, it will be set to the [actual start](/terms/actual_dates) date.

## Finish

When the task’s [status](/terms/status) is not set to `finished` or `completed`, the value `finish` will be set to the [target finish](/terms/target_dates#target-finish) date (or early finish date if not in a valid dependency path). Otherwise, it will be set to the [actual finish](/terms/actual_dates) date.