Templates are a fantastic tool when you want to quickly roll out standardized work you do for clients. Examples of templates commonly created by other firms are ones for bi-weekly bookkeeping, payroll processing, 1040s, 1041s, 1065s, payroll processing, and much more.
Create a Template
To create a template, follow the instructions below. We've also included some best practices that have helped other firms to be rock stars in their workflows:
Navigate to the Templates page and click Create new template near the top right corner of the screen.
Give the template a title (e.g. Weekly Bookkeeping or 1040 Tax Planning). You can also add a description if you'd like the template to include one. It is not necessary to proceed. Once you're ready, click Create Template and you'll brought into that new template.
Next, start adding tasks. You'll want one task for each item in this process's workflow so you can track where all your client work is at.
Don't forget, you can rearrange tasks or edit or delete tasks at any times, but they will update all projects made from that template in order to keep your workflow streamlined in all places. To learn more about editing a template, click this article: How to Modify a Project Type from a Template
Nice work! Once you've added all your tasks, team assignees and any other additional information, this template is now ready to be used to create projects for your clients!
Duplicate Templates
If you have a workflow that's similar to an existing template, it will make more sense to simply duplicate an existing template that will carry over the same tasks, task assignees, and other information. To duplicate a template in your account, follow these steps:
Go to the Templates page and click the template you would like to duplicate.
Click the 3 vertical dots to the right of the Edit Template button.
Click Copy, name the new template, and click Copy template.
Edit the new template as you'd like.
Don't Forget
As you begin to use templates to create projects, you'll see a list on the right side of the screen of clients who already have a project created from this template.
Keep in mind that creating a template, editing a template and deleting a template can be restricted by user permissions so if you don't see these options, reach out to your account admin to update your permissions as needed!