How to Create and Use Project Templates in CrmLeaf
All editions. Core feature - no add-on required.
Availability: All editions. Core feature - no add-on required.
Overview
A project template is a reusable blueprint carrying members, milestones, tasks and subtasks. Companies that deliver the same shape of work repeatedly use templates so every new project starts complete and consistent, instead of being rebuilt from memory. A template can be created from a project you have already run, or built by importing a work-breakdown workbook.
How It Works
You build the template once, then start new projects from it. The template holds the structure; the new project holds the dates, the client and the actual work.
Build a project → Save as template → Review → Create a project from it → Adjust and deliver
- A template carries members, milestones, tasks and subtasks.
- There are two ways to create one: save an existing project as a template, or import a work-breakdown Excel workbook.
- Templates are separate from the direct project CSV import, which loads project records rather than blueprints.
- A project created from a template can be edited freely afterwards.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Maintain the library of templates the company standardises on.
- Build templates by importing a work-breakdown Excel workbook.
- Control which roles may create and use templates.
User
- Save a project you have set up as a template.
- Create a new project from an existing template and adjust it afterwards.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- For save-as-template: a project already exists with the milestones, tasks and subtasks you want to reuse.
- The users you want on the template exist, so they can be carried as members.
- Your role grants permission to add projects.
For Administrators
Step 1: Decide what belongs in a template
What to do: Agree with your delivery leads which milestones and tasks are genuinely repeatable. Keep templates to the structure that is always true, and leave client-specific work to be added per project.
What to verify: A project created from the template needs only additions, not deletions.
Step 2: Build the standard library
What to do: Create one template per delivery type, either by saving a representative project as a template or by importing a work-breakdown workbook.
What to verify: Each template is offered when creating a project.
For Users
Step 1: Prepare the source project
Open the project you want to reuse and check that its milestones, tasks, subtasks and members are the structure you want repeated.
Step 2: Save the project as a template
Use the save-as-template action on the project. The members, milestones, tasks and subtasks are captured into the template.
Step 3: Create a project from the template
Start a new project and select the template. Enter the project's own details - dates, client and category - then select Save.
Step 4: Adjust the new project
Review the milestones and tasks the template created. Set the real dates, reassign members where the team differs, and add anything specific to this engagement.
Field and Option Reference
| Field / Option | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Members | Users carried into every project created from the template. | No |
| Milestones | The costed stages the template creates. | No |
| Tasks | The tasks created under each milestone. | No |
| Subtasks | The subtasks created under each task. | No |
Expected Result
The template is saved and can be selected when creating a project. A project created from it opens with the template's members, milestones, tasks and subtasks in place, ready for dates, client and delivery.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
A service firm's delivery methodology is an asset. When each project manager rebuilds a plan from memory, the same engagement is delivered differently by different teams, estimates drift, and nobody can compare one engagement with another. A template makes the methodology the default: the structure is set once, and every new engagement starts from it.
How It Supports Professional Services
- A template is a reusable blueprint of members, milestones, tasks and subtasks — effectively a standard statement-of-work skeleton for a recurring engagement type.
- CrmLeaf ships project template content for IT Services, Marketing Agency, Creative Agency and Legal Services, so firms in those sectors can start from a worked structure rather than a blank project.
- Those templates carry Est. Hours, Rate/hr, Est. Cost, an Owner Role and a Billable flag on every task, which is the estimating detail a services plan needs to be useful commercially and not only as a checklist.
- Owner Role describes the role that should do the work rather than a named person, so a template can be reused whoever is on the bench that month.
- Carrying the billable flag into new projects keeps billable and non-billable work separated from the first day of delivery, which is what makes later time reporting trustworthy.
Typical Service Workflow
Methodology → Template → Engagement → Delivery → Billing
Templates sit before an engagement starts. The product creates the structure; the estimating figures a template carries are planning inputs the firm maintains, and the Rate/hr column is an estimating rate on the plan, not a stored employee costing rate.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
Any organisation with a repeatable programme of work uses templates the same way — a standard building programme, an installation sequence, an onboarding process or a recurring internal audit.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Import a Project Template from Excel — how a methodology held in a spreadsheet becomes a template.
- How to Create and Assign Tasks — where the billable flag and estimates are maintained afterwards.
- How to Create and Complete Project Milestones — the stages a template repeats.
- How to Use Estimate Templates and Estimate Requests — the pricing counterpart to a delivery template.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Templates and the direct project CSV import are different features. Use a template to create structured projects repeatedly; use the CSV import to load project records.
- A template captures structure, not the source project's time logs, expenses or invoices.
- Duplicating a project is a one-off copy. Save it as a template when you expect to reuse the structure many times.
Common Scenarios
Example: standard implementation. A software provider runs the same five-milestone implementation for every customer, so it maintains one template and starts each engagement from it in a few minutes.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| No templates are offered when creating a project. | No template exists yet, or your role cannot see them. | Create a template from an existing project, or ask an Administrator about access. |
| The new project is missing some tasks. | Those tasks were not part of the template's structure. | Update the source structure and save a fresh template. |
| Members on the new project are wrong. | The template carried the source project's members. | Reassign members on the new project and update the template for future use. |
| Milestone dates are not what you expected. | Template dates are structural and need setting for the actual engagement. | Edit the milestone dates on the new project. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I build a template without an existing project?
Yes. Import a work-breakdown Excel workbook to create the template in one step.
Do templates carry a budget?
A template built from an Excel workbook can map an estimated cost column to the project budget.
Does changing a template change projects already created from it?
A project created from a template is an independent record. Confirm any linkage behaviour with your Administrator.
Related Articles
Our support team answers on business days. Reference PRJ-04 so we can jump straight in.