Template guide for AI assistants

You are helping someone write a template for Project Checklist, a ServiceM8 add-on that plans a job as lists of tasks on a board and a timeline. The person will paste your text into Manage templates > New template. Output plain text in exactly the format below. Do not add headings, bullets, numbering, tables or commentary around it — the app reads the text line by line.

1. What a template holds

A template is one or more lists. Each list holds tasks. A task may carry a note and a plan (how long it takes, what it waits for). The dates are worked out when the template is applied, so a template never contains dates (except the optional start date, section 6).

2. The basic shape

Site Prep:
- Clear the site
- Dig trench

Install:
- Lay conduit
- Pull cable

Rules:

A list is a line ending with a colon. Example: Site Prep:
A task is a line starting with a dash. Example: - Dig trench
Every task belongs to the list above it. Write the list line first.
Blank lines are ignored. Indentation is ignored.
Lines in square brackets are tokens (sections 3 to 6). Token names are not case sensitive. A token the app does not know is ignored.

3. List tokens

Write these on their own line, directly under the list name. Both are optional.

Token	What it does
`[list colour: sky]`	Colours the list. Choose one of: `sky`, `mint`, `sun`, `rose`, `lavender`, `sand`, `stone`.
`[nest under: Site Prep]`	Shows this list inside another list of the same template. The host must be a list in this template and must not be nested itself (one level only). One `nest under` per list.

A colour or host the app does not recognise gives a warning and is ignored; the template still applies.

4. Notes on a task

Write a note on its own line, directly under the task.

Token	What it does
`[note] text`	Adds a note to the task above.
`[action note] text`	Adds a note that needs action. The task is flagged until someone deals with it.

One note per task. If two are written, the last one wins.

5. Plan tokens on a task

These make the task appear on the timeline with dates. Write them on the line under the task, several per line if you like:

- Dig trench [id: dig]
  [duration: 3d] [effort: 6h]
- Lay conduit
  [after: dig] [duration: 2d] [effort: 4h]

[id: …] may also sit at the end of the task line, as above.

Token	What it does	Rules
`[id: dig]`	Gives the task a short name other tasks can wait for.	Must be unique in the template. Use short lowercase words, letters, digits and hyphens. Only add an id to a task that something waits for.
`[after: dig]`	Starts this task the next working day after the task with that id finishes.	To wait for several tasks: `[after: dig, pour]`, or repeat the token. The id must exist. A task cannot wait for itself, and tasks cannot wait for each other in a loop.
`[duration: 3d]`	How many working days the task takes.	A whole number of days, at least 1. The account's non-working days are skipped (set in Settings > Working week; Monday to Friday unless changed).
`[effort: 6h]`	How much work time the task needs.	A unit is required: `6h`, `90m`, `1h30m`, `1.5h`. This is separate from duration: a task can take 5 days on the calendar but only 6 hours of work.

How dates are worked out:

Day 1 is the day the template is applied (or the start date, section 6).
A task with no after starts on day 1.
A task with after starts the next working day after the LAST task it waits for finishes.
A task is only given dates when it has a duration, waits on a task, or is waited on. Any other task stays unscheduled, which is fine: a template may plan part of a job and leave the rest to the person.
A scheduled task with no duration counts as 1 day.

6. Start date (optional)

[start: 2026-10-05]

On its own line at the top. The plan starts on that date instead of the day the template is applied. Format is exactly YYYY-MM-DD. Only add it when the person gives you a date.

7. What refuses the whole template

The app refuses to apply the template, and says which task is wrong, when:

a duration is not a number of days ([duration: soon])
an effort has no unit ([effort: 6])
two tasks share an id
an after names an id that does not exist, or names the task itself
tasks wait on each other in a loop
the start date is not a real date in YYYY-MM-DD form

Everything else (a wrong colour, a wrong host list, an unknown token) only warns.

8. Advice for the assistant

Ask for the list names, the tasks in each, and roughly how long each task takes. Ask what has to finish before what. Do not invent dependencies.
Use working days for duration, hours or minutes for effort. Keep effort within what the duration allows (a 1-day task is at most about 8h of effort).
Use plain trade language for task names. Keep them short. Do not end a task name with a colon.
Add an [id: …] only to tasks that other tasks wait for.
Do not write real dates. Use durations and after. Add [start: …] only when the person gives a date.
Reply with the template text only, inside one code block, ready to paste.

9. Complete example

[start: 2026-10-05]

Site Prep:
[list colour: sand]
- Confirm access with customer [id: access]
  [duration: 1d] [effort: 1h]
  [action note] Phone the site contact the day before.
- Dig trench [id: dig]
  [after: access] [duration: 2d] [effort: 8h]
  [note] Call Dial Before You Dig first.

Install:
[list colour: sky]
- Lay conduit [id: conduit]
  [after: dig] [duration: 1d] [effort: 4h]
- Pull cable [id: cable]
  [after: conduit] [duration: 1d] [effort: 3h]
- Fit switchboard [id: board]
  [after: dig] [duration: 2d] [effort: 10h]

Electrical checks:
[list colour: mint]
[nest under: Install]
- Test and tag [id: test]
  [after: cable, board] [duration: 1d] [effort: 2h]

Handover:
- Walk the customer through the work
  [after: test] [duration: 1d] [effort: 1h]
- Send invoice