Setting Up Templates for a New Engagement

Templates define what you track on each engagement. This guide walks you through creating finance, performance, and capacity templates and assigning them to engagements.

Before You Start

Ensure Catalog Items Exist

Before creating templates, verify that the catalog items you need are already in the system:

• Finance Catalog — P&L line items (revenue types, cost categories)
• Performance Catalog — KPI definitions (metrics, measurement direction, default targets)
• Capacity Catalog — Roles (job titles with default hourly rates)

If you need new catalog items, add them first in Configuration → Library / Catalogs.

Understand How Templates Flow to Engagements

Templates are reusable configurations that define what to track. When you assign a template to an engagement, engagement-level copies are created that inherit the template defaults but can be customised per engagement.

Create a Finance Template

Adding P&L Line Items from the Finance Catalog

Go to Configuration → Templates → Finance. Create a new template and give it a descriptive name (e.g., “Managed Services — Standard P&L”). Add items from the finance catalog: select revenue lines, COGS items, and operating expense items.

Configuring Default Values per Item

For each item, you can optionally set default values — default planned amounts that pre-populate when the template is assigned. Leave defaults blank if targets vary per engagement.

Create a Performance Template

Adding KPIs from the Performance Catalog

Go to Configuration → Templates → Performance. Create a new template and add KPIs from the performance catalog. Each KPI inherits its measurement direction and default target from the catalog.

Setting Targets

Override the default targets if needed for this template. For example, a premium service template might set Availability to 99.9% while a standard template uses 99.5%.

Create a Capacity Template

Adding Roles from the Capacity Catalog

Go to Configuration → Templates → Capacity. Create a new template and add roles from the capacity catalog. Each role inherits its default hourly rate.

Setting Planned Hours and FTE Targets

For each role, set the baseline planned hours per month. DigitalCore automatically calculates the FTE equivalent.

Assign Templates to an Engagement

What Gets Created Automatically

When you assign a template to an engagement, DigitalCore creates engagement-level configurations for each template item. These are individual copies that can be customised without affecting the original template.

Verifying the Assignment

After assignment, open the engagement’s check-in tab. You should see the finance grid populated with the template’s line items, the performance grid with KPIs, and the capacity grid with roles. All ready for targets and actuals.

Advanced: Project Templates

Pre-Configured Workstreams, Milestones, and Deliverables

Project templates are separate from the three data-domain templates. They define the timeline structure for project-based engagements: workstreams (phases), milestones (gates), and deliverables.

Reusing Project Structures Across Engagements

Assign a project template to an engagement to create a pre-populated timeline. Adjust dates and details per engagement while maintaining a consistent project structure.