Service templates and custom services

Firm owners and admins use Service templates to define reusable service structures — for standard engagements like HST, T2 corporate tax, and payroll, as well as unique custom services offered by your firm.

If template controls are hidden, see Permissions and Visibility.

Set up a standard or custom service template

1. Open Settings > Templates > Service templates.
2. Select Add (the plus icon) or edit an existing template.
3. Enter a Template Name (such as HST/GST Filing, T2 Corporate Tax, Payroll Processing, or Custom Advisory Service).
4. Select a Client Type (Individual, Business, or both) to restrict which client types can use this service.
5. Select one or more Reporting Periods (such as Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, or custom frequencies).
6. Set Status to Active.
7. Add Sub Categories if your firm breaks the service into sub-services (for example, Monthly Bookkeeping and Quarterly Reconciliation under a Accounting service template).
8. Choose a Fiscal Year Type:
   • Fixed: Uses a standard fiscal year end date (such as December 31) locked for all clients using this service.
   • Date of Establishment: Seeding fiscal year end dates from the client’s incorporation date (for businesses) or date of birth (for individuals).
9. Add custom input fields under Meta Fields (see below).
10. Select Save.

Create custom meta fields for custom services

When building custom services, use the Meta Fields section to define custom data fields that staff must fill when attaching the service to a client.

For each meta field row, configure:

• Key: Internal field identifier.
• Label: Customer or staff field label displayed on the client service form.
• Field Type: Choose from Text, Number, Date, or Dropdown.
• Required: Enable if staff must provide a value before saving the client service.
• Options: For dropdown fields, enter comma-separated selection choices.

For example, a custom Corporate Secretarial Service template can include meta fields for Business Registration Number (Text), Annual Filing Month (Dropdown), and Last Resolution Date (Date).

Connect custom service templates to items and client services

• Billable Items: Under Accounting > Items, link items to service templates to auto-filter reporting periods and attach custom intake forms.
• Client Services: When attaching a service to a client record, Assisterp uses the service template to populate frequency choices, period tags, and meta fields.
• Automations & Pipeline Triggers: Service tags linked to custom service templates fire Pipeline triggers to launch automated workflow jobs.

Workflow automation guides

Learn how to build end-to-end automations for common services:

• Automate HST & GST filings
• Automate T2 corporate tax
• Automate payroll processing