Creating Task Templates

Written By Timothy Murenzi

Last updated 18 days ago

Task Templates let you build a task once and reuse it across projects — so you're never rebuilding the same checklist every time you start a new job. This guide covers everything: creating templates, auto-adding them, linking them with dependencies, and dropping them into your projects.

What Task Templates do

A template task is a saved task with all its details filled in — name, description, task type, status, tag, priority, estimated hours, duration, room, and subtasks. You create templates in Settings, then reuse them in any project's Work in Progress board in three ways:

  • Automatically, when a phase is added to a project

  • On demand, by picking a template while adding a task

  • From an existing task, by saving it back as a template

Templates are organized by project type and phase, so the right tasks show up for the right kind of work.

Before you start

Task Templates build on two things you may already have set up:

  1. Project types and Default Project Phases — found in Settings → Default Project Phases. Templates attach to a project type's phase list, so make sure your types and phases exist first.

  2. That's it — if you have at least one project type with phases, you're ready.

No project types yet? You can still create Standalone templates (not tied to a phase) and add them to any project manually.

Creating a task template

  1. Go to Settings → Work in Progress → Task Templates.

  2. At the top, pick a project type. The section shows that type's phases, with a Standalone group for tasks not tied to a phase.

  3. Find the phase you want the task under (or Standalone) and click Add.

  4. In the template editor, fill in the task:

    • Task name (required) and Description

    • Phase — the default phase this template belongs to, or Standalone

    • Task type — Standard, Milestone, Meeting, Payment, Deliverable, Installation, Site visit, or Deadline

    • Status, Tag, and Priority

    • Duration (days), Est. hours, and Room

    • Subtasks — add as many as you like

    • Visible to client — whether the created tasks show in the client portal

    • Auto-add when phase is added — see below

  5. Click Create template. It appears under its phase, ready to reuse.

You can edit or delete any template later from the same screen.

Auto-adding templates when a phase is added

This is the biggest time-saver. Turn on "Auto-add when phase is added" on a template, and its task is created automatically whenever that phase is added to a project of the matching type.

Example: You add a "Schematic Design" phase to a Residential project → every auto-add template attached to Schematic Design (for Residential) is instantly created in that phase, subtasks and all.

A small Auto badge appears next to templates that have it on.

Auto-add only fires for projects of the same project type the template belongs to, and only for templates where the toggle is on. Standalone templates never auto-add — they're for on-demand use.

Linking template tasks with dependencies

If some template tasks should wait on others, link them:

  1. On the Task Templates screen (with a project type selected), scroll to Dependencies.

  2. Choose a Predecessor task, the relationship (Finish → Start, Start → Start, Finish → Finish, or Start → Finish), and a Successor task.

  3. Click Link.

When those templates are added to a project together (via auto-add), the dependencies are recreated automatically on the real tasks.

Adding a task from a template (on demand)

There are two ways to pull a template into a project you're working in.

A. From the Work in Progress menu

  1. Open Work in Progress for a project.

  2. Click the ⋯ (more) menu in the top-right and choose Add task from template.

  3. Pick the project, phase, and template. The name, duration, and other details prefill — edit anything you like.

  4. Click Add task. It's created in that phase with the template's full contents.

B. From inside a task (Load from template)

  1. Add or open a task so the task panel is showing.

  2. In the panel header, click the Load from template icon (the tray-with-arrow).

  3. Pick a template. The task is filled with its details and subtasks.

Saving an existing task as a template

Built a great task from scratch and want to reuse it?

  1. Open the task so the task panel is showing.

  2. Click the bookmark (Save as template) icon in the panel header.

  3. Choose which default phase to save it under, or Standalone.

  4. Click Save template.

Everything on the task — its details and subtasks — is saved. Manage it afterward in Settings → Work in Progress → Task Templates.

Tips & tricks

  • Build a full phase's checklist, then turn on Auto-add. Add every recurring task for a phase (with subtasks + dependencies), flip on Auto-add, and a fresh project's phase populates itself the moment you add it.

  • Use project types to keep templates relevant. A Residential kitchen and a Commercial fit-out need different task lists — scope templates to their project type so only the right ones auto-add.

  • Start from a real task. The fastest way to build a good template is to perfect one task in a live project, then Save as template — no re-typing.

  • Standalone = your "grab bag." Keep one-off or cross-type tasks (e.g., "Client walkthrough") as Standalone templates you can drop into any project on demand.

  • Assignees aren't carried over — on purpose. People differ from project to project, so tasks come in unassigned. Assign them per project after they land.

  • Rooms match by name. A template's room is applied if the target project has a room with the same name; otherwise the task comes in without one. Keep room names consistent for a clean match.

  • Chain the essentials with dependencies. Even two linked template tasks (e.g., "Order finishes" → "Install finishes") save you from re-drawing the relationship on every project.

  • Prefer "Load from template" mid-flow. When you're already editing a task, loading a template is quicker than reopening the WIP menu.

  • Templates are studio-wide. Anything you create is available to your whole team, so build them once and everyone benefits.

Good to know

  • Legacy/existing projects: Auto-add fires going forward, when you add a phase. To populate a phase that's already on a project, use Add task from template.

  • Editing a template doesn't change tasks already created from it — it only affects future ones.

  • Deleting a template removes it from the list (and its dependency links); tasks already created from it stay in your projects.