Templates and Element Groups
Templates and element groups are the two main tools for building proposals faster and more consistently across your team.
Proposal templates and element groups require that your enterprise uses CRM Plus. Contact your administrator to confirm access before following the steps below.
| Tool | What it is | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal Template | A pre-formatted proposal with set styles, layouts, pages, and record placeholders. Selected when creating a new proposal. | Proposals > Templates (Proposal Templates grid) |
| Element Group | A saved set of elements (text boxes, images, records) that can be dragged onto any proposal or template. | Proposals > Templates (Element Groups grid) and the Deltek Elements panel in the Proposal Builder |
Proposal Templates
Why use a template?
Templates save time on every future proposal. When a new proposal is created from a template, the layout, branding, and record structure are already in place. You only need to adjust project-specific content.
Keep hub records in templates as drafts so each proposal based on the template pulls fresh data from the hub.
Three ways to create a template
- From scratch
- From an existing template
- From an existing proposal
- Go to Proposals > Templates.
- In the Proposal Templates grid, click + Add Proposal Template.
- On the Add Proposal Template dialog box, enter:
- Name (required) — This name appears in the Templates list on the New Proposal dialog.
- Category — Organizes templates for easier search. Defined by your administrator.
- Description — Describe the template's purpose and intended proposal types.
- Click Save. The Proposal Builder opens automatically.
- Build the template using the same steps as building a proposal:
- Define proposal and document properties (page orientation, margins, title).
- Add elements (text boxes, images) from the Elements pane.
- Add hub records by dragging the Record element onto the canvas.
- Insert fields and configure formatting for number, currency, and date columns.
- Add section breaks and pages as needed.
- Click Save when done.
The template is now available in the Templates list on the New Proposal dialog box and in the Proposal Templates grid.
- Go to Proposals > Templates.
- Find the template you want to copy in the Proposal Templates grid.
- At the end of that template's row, click the Options icon and select Copy.
- Edit the name, category, and description for the new template.
- Click Save, then modify the template content in the Proposal Builder.
- Click Save.
This is the quickest way to capture a proposal structure you have already refined.
- Open the proposal in Proposals > Custom Proposals.
- Click Other Actions > Save Proposal as Template.
- On the Save Proposal as Template dialog box, enter:
- Name, Category, and Description.
- Click Continue.
The template appears in the Proposal Templates grid.
If the proposal you are saving as a template includes hub records, consider keeping them as drafts. Draft records continue to pull updated data from the hub each time the template is used to create a new proposal. Finalized records are frozen at the time of finalization.
Managing existing templates
From the Proposal Templates grid (Proposals > Templates), you can:
- Open a template by clicking its name.
- Edit the name, description, or category directly in the grid row.
- Copy, rename, export, or delete a template using the Options icon at the end of the row.
The grid also shows Created By, Last Updated, and Updated By columns for tracking.
Element Groups
Why use element groups?
Element groups are ideal for content blocks you reuse across many proposals — for example, a standard company bio section, a project summary layout, or a branded image-and-text header. You drag the element group onto any proposal or template and it appears ready to use.
If an element group contains hub records, those records are saved in their current state (draft or finalized) at the time the group is created. To keep records updatable from the hub, leave them as drafts before saving the element group.
Three ways to create an element group
- From scratch
- Copy an existing element group
- From a proposal or template
- Go to Proposals > Templates.
- In the Element Groups grid, click + Add Element Group.
- On the Add Element Group dialog box, enter:
- Name — Unique name; appears in the Element Groups list when adding to a proposal.
- Category — Organizes groups for search. Defined by your administrator (same categories as Proposal Templates).
- Description — Describe the group's purpose and intended use.
- Click Save. The element group opens in the Proposal Builder.
- Drag and drop elements onto the canvas and format them.
- Click Save.
- Go to Proposals > Templates.
- In the Element Groups grid, find the element group you want to copy.
- Click the Options icon at the end of that row and select Copy.
- On the Copy Element Group dialog box, enter a new Name, Category, and optionally update the Description (pre-filled from the original).
- Click Continue to open the Proposal Builder and modify the copied group.
- Open a proposal in Proposals > Custom Proposals (or open an existing template).
- Insert and arrange the elements you want to group.
- Hold Ctrl and click each element you want to include in the group.
- Click Save as Element Group (appears in the toolbar when multiple elements are selected).
- On the Add Element Group dialog box, enter the Name, Category, and Description.
- Click Save.
Adding an element group to a proposal or template
- Open a proposal or template in the Proposal Builder.
- In the Elements pane, locate the Element Group element and drag it onto the canvas.
- The Element Groups dialog box opens, listing all saved groups by Name, Description, and Category.
- Select the element group you want and click Select.
- If the element group's page properties differ from the target page, choose whether to keep the existing page properties or use the properties from the element group.
The element group appears on the proposal or template.
Where element groups and templates appear after saving
After saving, both tools are available in these places:
| Location | Templates | Element Groups |
|---|---|---|
| Proposals > Templates grid | ✓ Proposal Templates grid | ✓ Element Groups grid |
| New Proposal dialog Template field | ✓ | — |
| Proposal Builder Elements pane | — | ✓ Deltek Elements panel |
| Element Groups dialog (in Proposal Builder) | — | ✓ |