Project Description
My goal is to run task management from both Smartsheet and Notion while keeping them perfectly in-step through Make.com.
⚠ READ FIRST — The Two-System Model
This is the most important section of the document. Everything else in this spec only makes sense if the two-system separation is understood. Read it twice.
THE ARCHITECTURE
SMARTSHEET = THE DATA LAYER. It holds cases, IDs, statuses, dates, contacts, expenses, payroll, leave balances. Smartsheet is the source of truth for all data. Day-to-day staff entry happens here.
NOTION = THE WORK LAYER. It holds two things and only two things: (1) documents (LOAs, records, demands, pleadings, etc.) and (2) tasks (the to-do lists per phase). All tasks live in Notion. None in Smartsheet.
MAKE.COM = THE BRIDGE. When a case is created or updated on Smartsheet, Make.com pushes the changes to Notion — creating the Case page, the documents folder structure, and the task list appropriate to the case's current phase. Smartsheet drives Notion. Not the other way around.
The cardinal rule: If a developer is about to put a task list on a Smartsheet, stop them. Tasks live in Notion. If a developer is about to enter case data directly into Notion, stop them. Data lives in Smartsheet.
How Data Flows (typical case)
1. Call center submits Intake Form → row created on Smartsheet Intake Sheet → BFIL-#### auto-generated.
2. Make.com sees the new row → creates the corresponding Case page in Notion under /Cases/BFIL-#### with the documents folder skeleton and the initial Intake task list.
3. Client signs up → staff sets Case Status = "In Intake" on Smartsheet → Make.com sees the change → adds the next-phase task list to the Notion page and copies the case row to the Active Cases Master sheet.
4. Case advances. Each Case Status change on Smartsheet triggers Make.com to update the Notion task list (add new phase tasks, mark prior-phase tasks complete).
5. Staff uploads documents (LOA, records, demand letter, pleadings) to the Notion documents folder. Smartsheet stores the data fields ABOUT the document (LOA Received? Y/N, Date Sent, etc.) but not the document itself.
6. When a Smartsheet data field flips (e.g., LOA Received → Yes), Make.com marks the corresponding Notion task complete.
7. Terminal status (Settled / Closed / Dropped) → case archives out of all working Smartsheet sub-sheets → Make.com pushes a final task list (closing checklist) to Notion.
Both Smartsheet and Notion carry equal weight in this workflow, so no side is “master.” Avoid one-way overwrites; the sync must include conflict-handling logic (e.g., most-recent edit wins or a flagged exception record I can review).
Deliverables
1. Build Smart Sheet
2. Build notion
3. Talk to each other with make.com
4- Automations and Formulas
5- Import Data
6- Testing and firing.
Acceptance is based on my duplicating your steps in a fresh workspace and seeing tasks stay synchronized under typical add / edit / reorder actions.
Smartsheet, Notion, Make.com, and dependency formulas should be second nature to you so we can move quickly once access is shared.