Project Templates
Create project templates with predefined task lists, statuses, automations, and settings to standardize and speed up creating similar projects repeatedly
Project templates let you easily predefine recurring work packages.
Main benefits and use cases
Project templates are especially useful when you're creating similar projects over and over again:
- Standardize project creation with consistent descriptions, tags, and settings
- Start with ready-made task lists and tasks instead of creating them manually
- Set project statuses and task statuses from the start
- Use automations by defining project automations in advance
What project templates contain
- Name and optionally an image: The image is displayed when selecting a template during project creation and helps with recognition.
- Description that gets added when creating a project
- Tags for projects created with the template
- Budget
- Project settings:
- Pre-set tracked time as billable (including Auto, which depends on whether a customer is selected during project creation)
- Choice of list for tasks created from emails: which task list should receive tasks created via email
- Project type
- Use template image for project: if disabled, the customer image will be used by default when creating a project with a customer
- Link a workflow, change or disconnect the selected workflow: learn more here
- Project and task statuses (board columns): learn more here
- Custom fields for tasks: learn more here
- Automations: learn more here
- Task lists and tasks as a starter set for new projects
You can rearrange statuses, task lists, and tasks using drag and drop.
Task templates can contain relative fields (for example, due dates).
Learn more: Task Templates
Important: You need at least one yellow status (active project) and one green status (completed project).
Creating a new project template
- Navigate to Settings (gear icon in the bottom left of the main menu) > Templates.
- In the top section Project Templates, click + Add.
- Enter a name and optionally add an image.
- Click Save.
- Then customize the template details (for example, tasks, automations, statuses).
Once you've created task templates, you can also import task lists into your project template.
Converting an existing project into a template
- Open the project.
- Open the Actions menu in the top right (in the header or in the Home tab) and select Create template.
- Give the template a name and optionally an image.
- Choose which project elements should be included (by default, all are selected).
Creating a project with a template
- Start creating a new project and enter your project information.
- When the template selection window appears, click on the template you want to use. Choose between your own templates and an awork template.
If you want to continue without a template, click Create without template to create a blank project.
Previewing project templates and setting favorites
To use project templates efficiently, the following features are available to you:
Show preview
- In the project template selection, an info icon appears in the bottom left corner when you hover over it. You can use this to open a preview of the template.
- In the preview, you'll see the settings and content that will be applied to your project.
Set favorites
- Click the star icon in the bottom right corner, which appears when you hover over the selection, to save the template as a favorite.
- Favorites are displayed first in the order they were selected.
Backward scheduling for templates
With backward scheduling, you can specify a deadline when creating a project with a template for when the last task should be completed.
Instead of scheduling all tasks from "today," you set a reference date when selecting a template (for example, project end date or a custom date). The tasks are then automatically scheduled backward from this date.
Managing templates
- Go to Settings (gear icon in the bottom left of the main menu) > Templates
- In Project Templates you can see all templates saved in your awork.
- Using the Actions button you can edit a template (change the name and image), duplicate it, or delete it.
- Click on a template to open the details and edit the content.
Changes are applied immediately, separate saving of the entire template is not necessary.
Tips for using project templates and notes
Templates and projects are not linked to each other after creation. Using a template copies the data into the project.
Changes to the project do not affect the template, and changes to a template do not affect already created projects.
Exception: When making changes to automations, awork asks whether active projects should adopt the changes (you can also skip this step).
- Keep automations optional by creating them as disabled in the template
- In addition to templates you create yourself, you'll find pre-made project templates in awork that were created by the awork team. You can find more information about awork templates here.
FAQ
Are project templates linked to the projects created from them?
No. When you create a project with a template, the template data is copied into the project. You can edit or delete the project content without affecting the template.
If I change a template later, will existing projects be updated?
No. Changes to the template do not affect projects already created from it. The exception is automations: if you change an automation in the template, awork asks whether existing projects should adopt the change (you can skip this).
Can I preview a project template before using it?
Yes. When selecting project templates during project creation, click the info icon to see a preview of the template's settings and content.
What is backward scheduling for templates?
Backward scheduling lets you set the deadline for when the last task should be completed when creating a project with a template. The tasks are then scheduled backward from this reference date.
How is the due date for a task set dynamically when using a project template?
Dynamic due dates are set based on the project creation date (the day the template is used). Example: If you load a project template on 05.03.2026 and the task is set to have a due date 5 days after creation, the due date will be 10.03.2026.
What does the lock symbol mean for templates?
The lock symbol means that the number of templates is limited in your current plan.
