If you do the same kinds of jobs over and over, you already know how much of each one repeats. A kitchen remodel has a familiar scope of work, a familiar set of tasks, and a familiar rhythm to the schedule. A project template lets you capture all of that as one reusable bundle — the scope and the tasks — so the next time a similar job comes in, you can drop the whole setup onto it in a couple of clicks.
Think of a project template as the full recipe for a type of job. Your scope templates and task templates are the ingredients; the project template ties them together so you don’t have to reassemble them every time.
This article covers how project templates are put together, and how to build, save, and use them.
How a Project Template Is Put Together
A project template is a container. Open one and you’ll see two sections:
Scopes — the scope templates bundled into this project. Each tile shows the scope template’s name, how many line items it has, and its total cost.
Tasks — the task templates bundled in. Each tile shows the task template’s name, how many tasks it holds, and how many days the sequence runs.
Each section has a + Add scope template (or + Add task template) tile. Click it, and you’ll get a searchable list of your existing templates — check the ones you want, and add them all at once. Templates you’ve already added won’t show up again in that list, so you won’t accidentally add the same one twice.
Click any tile you’ve already added to hop straight to that scope or task template’s editor and make changes to it. And each tile has a small remove button if you want to take it out of the bundle.
The key idea: these are links, not copies
When you add a scope template or task template to a project template, you’re adding a reference to it — not a frozen copy. That means the two stay connected. If you later improve your “Rough Plumbing” scope template, every project template that includes it picks up the improvement automatically. You fix things in one place, and they flow everywhere.
The flip side matters just as much: deleting a project template does not delete the scope or task templates inside it. You’re only throwing away the bundle, not the parts. The underlying templates stay right where they are, ready to be used elsewhere.
Building a Project Template From Scratch
Go to Resources and open Project Templates.
Click + Create template. A new, empty template opens.
Click the name at the top to rename it — call it something you’ll recognize, like “Kitchen Remodel” or “Bathroom Gut.”
In the Scopes section, click + Add scope template and pick the scope templates that belong on this kind of job.
In the Tasks section, click + Add task template and pick the task templates you want to come along.
That’s it — the template saves as you go. Back on the Project Templates listing, each tile echoes back what’s inside: total cost, number of scopes, number of tasks, and the overall duration, so you can tell your templates apart at a glance.
If you don’t have any scope or task templates to add yet, the add window points you to the Scope Templates and Task Templates pages in Resources, where you build those.
Saving a Project Template From a Live Project
You don’t have to build a project template from nothing. If you’ve already got a project set up the way you like it, you can capture it:
Open the project’s Scope tab.
Click the Project Template button and choose Save as Project Template.
Give it a name. You’ll see a Template Includes summary confirming how much scope and how many tasks are about to be captured.
Click Save.
Eano turns each of the project’s subprojects into its own scope template and captures the project’s tasks as a task template, then bundles them into a new project template for you. Those pieces become reusable on their own, too.
Using a Project Template on a New Job
When you’re building an estimate and want to start from a template:
Open the project’s Scope tab.
Click the Project Template button and pick the template you want. Each one shows its scope count, task count, duration, and total cost. (On a brand-new estimate with an empty scope, your project templates also appear as a row of cards right on the Scope tab.)
A confirmation appears. If your scope is still empty, it’s a straightforward Import Project Template. If the project already has scope, you’ll instead see Overwrite the project with this template? — and that’s worth taking seriously. Importing a project template replaces the project’s current scope and tasks with the template’s. It isn’t a merge, and it can’t be undone, so use it on a fresh estimate rather than one you’ve already customized.
If the template includes tasks, you’ll see an Import task start and due dates toggle. Leave it on to bring the schedule dates from the task templates, or turn it off to add the tasks without dates.
If you keep dates on, pick a Start on date. Eano lays the task sequence out from that starting point.
Click Import Project Template.
Your scope and tasks populate in one shot, and you can adjust anything from there for the specific job in front of you.
A quick safeguard worth knowing: before anything is written, Eano checks that the task templates’ dependencies form a valid sequence. If it spots a loop — a task that ends up depending on itself through a chain — it stops the whole import and tells you, rather than writing a half-built schedule. Fix the dependency in the task template and try again.
The Project Template button lives on the Scope tab while you’re still building the estimate. Once a project is signed or started and the scope locks, you can still save a template from it, but importing a fresh one over the top is no longer offered.
A Few Things Worth Knowing
Project templates span more than scope. A project template is a bundle of scope and tasks — that’s what sets it apart from a plain scope template, which holds only a scope.
Edits flow through automatically. Because the pieces are linked rather than copied, improving a scope or task template updates every project template that uses it.
Deleting a bundle never deletes its parts. Removing a project template leaves the scope and task templates inside it untouched.
Importing overwrites. Applying a project template to a project replaces the existing scope and tasks — it’s a fresh start, not an addition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a project template and a scope template? A scope template is just a scope — line items and their pricing. A project template is a bundle that can hold several scope templates and task templates together. Think of the scope template as an ingredient and the project template as the full recipe.
If I change a scope template, do my project templates update too? Yes. Project templates link to their scope and task templates rather than copying them, so any change you make to the underlying template shows up everywhere it’s used.
Will deleting a project template delete the scope and task templates in it? No. You’re only removing the bundle. The scope and task templates it referenced stay put and can be used elsewhere.
Does importing a project template add to my current scope or replace it? It replaces it. Importing overwrites the project’s current scope and tasks with the template’s, and the action can’t be undone — so use it on a fresh estimate rather than one you’ve already customized.
Can I decide whether to bring the schedule dates over? Yes. When a template includes tasks, you’ll get an Import task start and due dates toggle and a Start on date. Turn dates off to add the tasks without a schedule, or keep them on and pick the day the sequence should begin.
Where do the scope and task templates come from? You build them on the Scope Templates and Task Templates pages in Resources, then add them to a project template. Eano also provides a set of ready-made scope templates for common project types to start from.