Use Project Templates, Workflow Defaults, and Automations

Projects has three reusable layers: the Template Centre, workflow/content defaults and bounded reminder automations. Each layer snapshots or acts on authoritative records without rewriting their history.

Permission required

Manage Project templates controls Project templates. Workflow settings require the relevant Agreement, intake or Projects settings access. Automation Settings is owner-only.

Use the Template Centre

A Project template can save a repeatable Draft structure: defaults, milestones, tasks, team roles, billing pattern and supported controls. Projects → Templates opens the Template Centre, where Yepsta starters and business-owned templates can be searched, filtered by category and previewed before use.

Create and use a Project template

1. Open Projects → Templates and search or choose a category.
2. Preview a template’s milestones, tasks, controls and best-use guidance.
3. Select Use template to create an independent Draft Project, or start with Blank Project.
4. For a Yepsta starter, select Save to My Templates when you need a business-owned copy.
5. On a business template, use Template Workflow Defaults and change its active state only when permitted.
6. Review the resulting Draft and tailor dates, people, commercial amounts and optional controls before activation.

Using a template creates a snapshot. Future template edits do not mutate Projects already created, and no template overwrites an in-progress Project.

Manage workflow defaults and content templates

Use Projects → Workflow Settings to make optional capabilities available, choose defaults for future Projects, and maintain published Agreement and Intake templates. Retainer defaults also live here where available.

Use Time & Financial Controls, Rate Cards, and Planning & Capacity for their specialist policies. Business defaults affect future Project snapshots; change an existing Project deliberately.

Important information

Availability, business default and Project configuration are different. Turning a default on does not silently enable it in every historic Project.

Configure reminder recipes

Automation Settings includes bounded recipes for:

• task due soon and task overdue;
• milestone due soon and milestone overdue;
• Project target approaching and Project overdue;
• client review waiting and client information waiting;
• Change Order waiting and Change Order expiring;
• client update due;
• weekly management digest.

Choose eligible recipients, timing and available channels. The weekly digest is email-only. A preset is not active until you save it.

Understand automation safety

Recipes are idempotent and suppress stale or duplicate reminders. Client notification preferences and consent apply. A recipe may point someone to a source record, but it never:

• accepts a Proposal or Change Order;
• approves a deliverable;
• records a signature, intake response, Invoice or Payment;
• overrides a gate;
• releases a final asset;
• completes a task, milestone or Project.

Warning

Do not use reminders as a substitute for a real owner, due date or client responsibility. Automation can surface responsibility only when the underlying record is correctly configured.

Pause Project communications

An authorised user can pause reminder automations for one Project or suppress its client-update cadence with a reason. Restore them when the exception ends. The reason and state change remain auditable; direct operational events may still create their normal notifications.

Tip

Start with fewer high-signal recipes. Review the actual recipient experience before increasing reminder frequency or adding another channel.

Related guides

• Manage Project notifications
• Create Agreements from published templates
• Create intake forms from published templates
• Create a Project from a template

Last reviewed: 1 September 2026