Project templates in Factor are reusable project structures that pre-populate the budget, timeline, and task lists when you create a new project. Templates contain no actual assignments, time entries, or expenses — only the structural setup that you repeat across projects.
What Templates Include
A template pre-populates:
Team — Project roles and rates, specific to the template. These rates override defaults in the SETTINGS.
Budget phases — Reusable fee structure with phases, billing types, and budget amounts (optional).
Tasks — Predefined task lists and task hierarchy that reflect your firm's deliverables and workflow.
Timelines — Predefined milestones, phase durations, and task schedules that reflect typical project flow.
Overview — Some settings from the overview tab, like invoice numberint method.
Using a Template to Create a Project
When you create a new project:
1. Go to PROJECTS > Add Project.
2. Select a template from the dropdown (if templates are available).
3. Complete the project form with client and project-specific information.
4. The budget phases, tasks, and milestone structure from the template are automatically applied.
5. Adjust dates, amounts, or task details as needed for this specific project.
When to Use Templates
Templates are most valuable when:
Your firm offers standardized services that follow a consistent scope.
You want to ensure consistency in how you structure similar projects.
You want to speed up project setup by avoiding repetitive manual entry.
Templates are optional — you can always create a project without one and build the budget and task structure from scratch.
Creating and Managing Templates
Templates are created and managed in PROJECTS > Project Templates. You can:
Create a template — Build a reusable project structure as a template (not as an active project).
Modify a template — Update the budget phases, tasks, or timelines in an existing template.
Delete a template — Remove templates you no longer use.
Copy a project as a template — If you have a project with a good structure, you can copy it as a template for future use by going to the overview tab of the project and selecting Create Template in the Project Actions section toward the bottom of the page (only the structure is copied, not the time entries or expenses).
Building-Block Approach
Some firms use templates to create "building blocks" — smaller templates that represent portions of a typical project. These can be combined when setting up a new project to create a custom structure specific to that engagement.
Factor's Built-In Template
Factor includes a pre-built template as a starting point. You can use this as-is, modify it to suit your firm's needs, or create custom templates from scratch.