Every team faces recurring tasks — onboarding new employees, preparing release checklists, handling payroll updates, or managing IT requests. Although these processes bring real value, their repetitive nature can be draining. Recreating the same issues and subtasks manually in Jira is not only time-consuming but also prone to inconsistencies and errors.
The good news is that Jira already has everything you need to standardize and simplify these workflows through templates — no additional apps required. In this guide, we’ll explore how to design efficient templates, keep them clean and structured, and clone them effectively using both Jira’s built-in options and the Clone Expert for Jira app.
Why Templates Matter More Than Ever
Repetition is part of every organization’s rhythm. In HR, it’s onboarding and offboarding. In IT, deploying similar setups for new hires. In Finance, preparing payroll or benefit entries. In software development, sprint planning and release preparation are involved. These actions are predictable — and that’s precisely why templates make such a difference.
By structuring your recurring work with templates, you gain three things: consistency, clarity, and time. Instead of manually creating each issue, you can replicate a proven structure with all the details already in place.
From Concept to Structure: Building the Foundation
The first step to building a useful template is understanding your process end to end. List every action that needs to happen, assign responsible teams, and review real cases to identify which steps repeat. Often, existing checklists or onboarding documents can serve as a perfect blueprint.
Let’s use employee onboarding as an example. It involves multiple departments and dependencies — HR, IT, Finance, Health & Safety, and Learning & Development. Each has its own set of responsibilities that must be carried out in a coordinated way.
The process structure may look like this:
| HR DEPARTMENT | LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT | HEALTH & SAFETY DEPARTMENT |
|
Define agreement details (Job position, Type of contract, Salary, Working time, Start date, Employment percentage) Medical checks:
Employment documentation:
Announce the new hire on the intranet Assign a buddy or mentor |
Trainings:
Access to e-learning platforms |
Initial safety training (general instruction) |
| IT SUPPORT DEPARTMENT | FINANCE & PAYROLL DEPARTMENT |
|
Create an account in the HR system Create an email account Create a company account/access Prepare and issue a laptop Order and issue a mobile phone (optional) Print and issue an ID badge |
Payroll setup Registration for the pension fund Set up access to benefits (e.g. sports cards, medical plans, additional perks) Register in the travel expense system (if applicable) Set up bank account details in the payroll or payment system |
In Jira, this structure translates naturally into an Epic with child Tasks and Subtasks spread across departmental projects. The Epic acts as the central hub, while the Tasks and Subtasks define specific activities.
Designing a Template Epic That Works
Start with a master Epic, ideally located in the project that owns the process. For onboarding, that would usually be HR. Give it a clear name, such as ‘[TEMPLATE] New Employee – Hiring & Onboarding’. Using a consistent prefix, such as [TEMPLATE], helps distinguish template items from live work.
Under this Epic, add all related Tasks and Sub-tasks to their corresponding departmental projects. Each Task should include clear instructions, descriptions, and relevant fields prefilled — like team, assignee, or checklists. Consistency in naming and structure makes cloning fast and intuitive.
See the structure below:
Adding Clarity Through Custom Fields
To make your templates easy to manage, create a dedicated custom field — for example, ‘Template’ (Checkbox type). Set the option to ‘Yes’ and apply it only to your template issues.
This allows filtering, searching, and excluding templates from boards and reports using simple JQL queries. For example, you can run: type = Epic AND ‘Template[Checkboxes]’ = Yes. This allows you to build dashboards that show only your template library or prevent templates from appearing in active sprints.
Alternatively, you can use Ask AI search option:
Or Basic search:
Keep Templates Out of Active Boards
Templates should never appear in your daily backlog or sprint boards. To prevent this, move them to a status belonging to the DONE category. This way, they remain accessible for cloning but stay invisible in normal workflows.
Organizing and Visualizing Your Templates
Once you’ve tagged your templates with the custom field, it’s easy to organize them using filters and dashboards.
You can create a dashboard gadget to display all template Epics, grouped by team or process type. This acts as a single source of truth for everyone in the organization.
See here how to create dashboards with a previously created filter called “Global template”:
- From the left-hand sidebar, go to Dashboards
- Click the “+” icon (Create dashboard)
- Add a gadget – select Filter Results.
- Choose the Global template filter you just created and configure display options (columns, number of results, sorting) as needed and Save the gadget.
Cloning Templates: Native Jira vs. Clone Expert
When your templates are ready, cloning them into active issues is where the real efficiency happens. You can use Jira’s native Clone option or opt for a more advanced solution like Clone Expert for Jira Templates, Epics, and Issues.
The native clone feature works well for small templates — it copies attachments, child issues, and links. However, it requires manual cleanup (removing prefixes like ‘CLONE –’ and updating fields). For larger, cross-project hierarchies, Clone Expert offers a more controlled experience.
How Clone Expert Simplifies the Process
Clone Expert for Jira adds a preview window before cloning, allowing you to update fields like Summary, Description, Manager, and Region in bulk. You can replace ‘[TEMPLATE]’ with the new employee’s name across all items instantly, adjust dates, and even exclude unnecessary tasks.
This ensures that cloned issues are ready to use right away — no cleanup, no renaming, and no manual edits. The app also preserves attachments, subtasks, and links, making the whole process faster and more reliable.
The Big Picture: Templates as a Productivity Multiplier
Templates aren’t about automation for its own sake. They’re about creating a repeatable framework that ensures quality and consistency. By investing a bit of time in designing your Jira templates properly, you free teams from repetitive admin work and allow them to focus on meaningful progress.
Start small with Jira’s native features — an Epic, Tasks, and Sub-tasks — and grow your structure as your organization evolves. When your workflows become more complex, tools like Clone Expert will help scale your approach without losing control.
Final Thoughts
Building templates in Jira isn’t just a technical exercise. It’s a mindset shift — from manual repetition to structured consistency. Once in place, these templates become the backbone of efficient collaboration across departments, helping your teams move faster while maintaining quality.
