For Jobs that are regular in nature and workflow despite being for different clients, such as producing accounts, you can create and apply a Job Template which can be used to auto-populate certain selections for the Job and related Tasks.

We have provided some default templates for Annual Accounts, Tax Returns and VAT Returns. Whilst these templates are locked and cannot be edited, you are able to Duplicate them into editable templates to save you time creating new templates from scratch.

Creating a Job Template
Template Details
Job
Tasks

Automation

Creating a Job Template

1. Launch Admin Centre from the home screen.
2. Select Applications > Practice Manager Plus > Customise Practice Manager Plus.
3. Select Job Templates which will display the system default.
4. You can either:

• Click Duplicate and enter a new name for your template. This will copy all the settings for Dates/Recurrences/Tasks within the default whilst allowing you to edit. Highlight the template you would like and click Duplicate on the right hand menu. 
• Click Create to start from scratch.

Template details

Give your Template a new name, for example, Individual Tax Return. Select Activity Type to describe the nature of the Job. There are system activity types set up for you or you can add your own in Client and Non-Client activity types found in Customise Practice Manager in Admin Centre.

Job

Name and Description

Provide details of the Job Name and optional Description. You may have different templates for different types of clients where the dates, recurrences or automations differ. For instance, you may have a group of clients who will always have their return information ready for filing early in the year and the template dates could be set accordingly.

Assignee

You can choose whether to assign the Job to an individual, Team, Portfolio Manager or a Custom User Role. The Assignee or team members will receive reminders regarding the Job (if set) in the Notifications panel. They can view their Jobs on the Dashboard view by using the Jobs assigned to me widget.

Recur on job completion

As part of your practice, you will probably have Jobs and Tasks that you perform more than once and most likely on a regular basis, for example, tax returns or annual accounts,

To use a Job more than once you can set it to recur, for example, you can create a VAT return Job that occurs every quarter.

Once you have chosen how frequently you would like the Job to recur (choices from daily to yearly), you can specify how many instances you would like the Job to recur for.

The next Job will be created once the existing Job status is Complete and this can be viewed in the Work Management/Active Work screens.

Use client work to set dates

This option when ticked will calculate the dates based on the work item. If you choose a work item for accounts with an accounting period of 01/04/2021- 30/04/2021, this work item will be used to set the dates. 

Job Dates

There are several system date offsets available. The dates you set will affect how the Job is displayed in Work Management/Active Work as well as determine the dates created for future Jobs if the job is set to recur.

Due date (optional)

Enter the date you would like the Job completed by. When the reminder date has passed the date will be highlighted orange. When the due date has passed, it will be highlighted red on these screens.

Start date (optional)

Enter the date you would like the Job to start from. When the due date has passed, it will be highlighted red on these screens.

Deadline (optional)

This date is likely linked to statutory deadline and penalties whereas a due date may be something set internally such as when the work was received and a determined turnaround. 

Reminders

You can set reminders to appear in the Notifications panel (top right-hand corner of the TaxCalc screen) for intervals before the due date and start date on Jobs.

Applying a Job Template in Work Management

Applying a Job Template in Active Work

Tasks

Tasks can be created to provide all the relevant steps needed before the Job is complete. For example, the first task may be to request client records and the last could be to send the client an invoice for the work with several tasks for steps in between.

In this section you can create multiple tasks providing details unique to each created task. Tasks can be assigned to an User, Team or Portfolio Manager. Similar to assigning a Job, the assignee of a Task will receive reminders in the Notifications panel (top right-hand corner of the TaxCalc screen).

You can create Tasks in workflow mode or checklist mode. Workflow mode allows you to create sequential workflow tasks with additional information and settings for advanced handling of work. However, these tasks can be completed in any order.  Checklist mode allows you to create a simplified list of tasks in the form of a checklist. These Tasks are automatically allocated with the Job assignee and due date and the status is either Planned or Completed.

Reminders

You can set reminders to appear in the Notifications panel for users before the due date and start date are reached for the Tasks.

Automation

You can automate the start of each Task by setting Automations within the Tasks page on the Job. You can set up your Tasks so that when one is complete, the next Task begins and you can send a notification to specific users.

In this scenario we will set a Task to complete and notify a user that the status has changed:

1. From the Job Template navigate to the relevant Task.
2. Click View task automation to display the Task Automation dialog.
3. From the When dropdown list, select the task is completed.
4. From the Then dropdown list, select Change work status.
5. From the To dropdown list, select sent to client.

When the Task is completed the status is changed to sent to client. 

To notify a user of the status change you will need to add a second result.

5. Click Add Result.
6. From the Result 2 dropdown list, select Notify User and select the user to be notified when the Task is complete. This will appear in the Notifications panel for the user.