5 minute read•Last updated: February 13, 2026

Slow Performance & Loading Issues

Resolving slow page loads, AI generation delays, background job processing, and browser-related issues

What You'll Learn

Fix slow page loading times
Handle AI generation timeouts
Understand background job delays (quote-to-project conversion)
Resolve browser-related performance issues
Check WorkCentral system status

Issue 1: Pages Loading Slowly

The WorkCentral dashboard or specific pages take a long time to load.

Solution

Clear browser cache and cookies — clear your cache and cookies for the WorkCentral domain. Stale cached assets can cause rendering issues and slow loads.

Try incognito/private mode — open WorkCentral in a private browsing window or a different browser to rule out extension conflicts. Browser extensions (ad blockers, VPNs) can interfere with page loading.

Check your internet connection — run a speed test to verify your connection is stable. Slow or intermittent connections will affect all page loads.

Use filters on large lists — if specific pages are slow (like invoices or time entries with many records), use the available filters to reduce the amount of data loaded on the page.

Check the status page — visit the WorkCentral status page for any ongoing service issues that may be affecting performance.

Pro Tip

If the issue only affects certain pages, note which pages are slow and when the problem started. This information helps the support team diagnose the issue faster.

Issue 2: AI Quote Generation Is Slow or Times Out

The AI-generated quote is taking a long time to appear, or you see a timeout error.

Solution

Understand the timing — AI generation calls OpenAI's API, which has its own response times. The request timeout is set to 120 seconds, so complex quotes with detailed descriptions or large budget ranges may take longer to generate.

Simplify your input — if generation times out, try a shorter project description or a smaller budget range. The AI model processes the entire description, so shorter inputs generate faster.

Check OpenAI status — the default AI model (gpt-4o-mini) is optimized for speed. If you notice unusually slow responses, OpenAI may be experiencing high traffic or an outage.

Automatic retries — WorkCentral automatically retries AI requests up to 2 times on failure. If the first attempt fails due to a temporary issue, the system will try again without requiring any action from you.

AI Generation Details

Setting	Value
Default model	gpt-4o-mini (optimized for speed)
Request timeout	120 seconds
Automatic retries	Up to 2 retries on failure
Fallback behavior	Falls back to gpt-4o-mini if configured model is unavailable

Important

AI generation uses your organization's own OpenAI API key. If you see authentication errors instead of timeouts, verify your API key is valid and has sufficient credits in your OpenAI account.

Issue 3: Quote-to-Project Conversion Seems Stuck

A client accepted your quote, but the project creation appears to be taking too long or showing an error.

Solution

Background processing is normal — when a client accepts a quote, project creation happens in background jobs. The acceptance confirmation page polls for status every 4 seconds to show progress.

"Generating tasks..." is expected — if you see this message, the system is using AI to break down quote line items into individual project tasks. This calls OpenAI for each line item, so quotes with many line items take longer.

"We hit a snag" error — if the progress widget shows this message, the system has logged the failure and the team has been alerted. The project may still have been created with a simpler task structure.

Fallback task creation — even if AI task breakdown fails, the project is usually still created. The system falls back to creating one task per quote line item instead of detailed AI-generated subtasks.

Conversion Progress Stages

0–49%

"Generating tasks from your quote..."

50–99%

"Creating project and attaching tasks..."

100%

"All set! Your project is ready."

Don't Refresh the Page

If you see the progress indicator, let it complete. The page automatically polls for status updates every 4 seconds. Refreshing won't speed up the process and may cause you to lose the progress view. Check your Projects list if you navigated away — the project may already be there.

Issue 4: Kanban Board Feels Sluggish

Dragging tasks between columns feels slow, or the board takes a moment to update after each move.

Solution

Page reload is by design — when you drag a task to a new column, the board performs a full page reload after the move is saved. This ensures data consistency by refreshing all task positions, statuses, and timer states.

Large boards take longer — if you have many tasks (50+), the board may take a moment to re-render after each move. This is expected with full-page refreshes on larger datasets.

Archive completed projects — reduce the number of active tasks by archiving projects that are finished. Fewer tasks on the board means faster load times.

Use task filters — if available, use filters to show only relevant tasks. This reduces the number of cards rendered on the board and improves responsiveness.

What Happens During a Drag-and-Drop

You drop a task card onto a new column

The board sends the move to the server (updates column, status, and sort order)

Moving to "Done" automatically stops any active timer and records the time entry

The full page reloads to reflect the updated board state

Issue 5: Session Timeouts / Frequent Re-Logins

You're being logged out of WorkCentral more frequently than expected and having to sign in again.

Solution

Sessions last 8 hours — WorkCentral sessions expire after 8 hours of inactivity. If you're being logged out sooner, something else is clearing your session.

Check browser privacy settings — some browsers or privacy extensions automatically delete cookies when you close the browser or after a set period. This will end your WorkCentral session.

Use "Remember me" — check the "Remember me" checkbox on the login page. This extends your session so you stay signed in longer between visits.

CSRF token refresh — the CSRF security token refreshes automatically. If you leave a page open for a very long time without interacting, a stale token may redirect you to the login page. Simply log in again to continue.

Session Settings

Session Lifetime

8 hours (480 minutes) of inactivity

Browser Close Behavior

Sessions persist after closing the browser

Cookie Blockers

If you use browser extensions that block or clear cookies (such as privacy-focused tools), make sure to whitelist the WorkCentral domain. Blocking the session cookie will prevent you from staying logged in.

Issue 6: WorkCentral Itself May Be Experiencing Issues

If none of the above solutions help, the problem may be on WorkCentral's end.

Solution

Visit the status page — check the WorkCentral status page for real-time information about service health and any ongoing incidents.

Check for incident details — if WorkCentral is experiencing issues, the status page will show details about the affected services and estimated resolution times.

Subscribe to updates — you can subscribe to status page notifications to receive email alerts about outages and maintenance windows, so you know when service is restored.

Persistent Issues?

WorkCentral is hosted on dedicated infrastructure with monitoring. If you experience persistent performance issues that aren't covered here, contact support with details about which pages are slow and when the issue started.

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