Create, clone, and default an acceptance checklist template

Open the template register

Navigate to Settings → Customization → Acceptance Templates. Confirm the page title is Acceptance checklist templates. Review Name, Type, Sections, Items, Applicability, and the default star. Treat SYSTEM templates as read-only starting points. FIRM templates can be edited or deleted by an authorised user.

Choose create or clone

Click Create New Template when you want an empty firm template. AuditLens creates a dated working name and opens the builder. Click Clone beside an existing system or firm template when most of its structure is useful. Enter New Template Name, then click Clone. The clone is a firm template and is not made default automatically.

Cloning is normally safer for a production methodology because it preserves a complete starting structure while leaving the source unchanged.

Name the template and create sections

Replace Template Name with a unique, purpose-led name. Enter a description that states the intended assessment, entity population, owner, and approval date or controlled-methodology reference. Click Save and wait for Template saved. Click Add Section. Select the new section and use Rename to replace its generated Key and Section label. Use Move Up or Move Down to put the section in the assessment order. Repeat until the complete methodology structure is represented.

Use short stable keys such as A, B, or IND. Changing a label improves presentation; changing a key can affect references used by reviewers or integrations, so confirm it before live use.

Add and configure questions

Select the required section and click Add Question. Expand the new question and enter the complete Question text. Choose Response Type: Yes / No; Yes / No / N/A; Risk Level; Dropdown; Free Text; Multi Select (Checkboxes); Rating (1–5); Date; or Number. Add the Regulatory Source and auditor Guidance. Enter an Auto-fill Source only when that source key is supported and tested. An invented key will not become a new data integration. Enable Required when the assessment cannot be submitted responsibly without a response. For a risk section, set Risk Weight from 0 to 100 under the approved…

Set applicability rules

Scroll to Applicability Rules. Enter Turnover Min (INR) and/or Turnover Max (INR) only when the template is intended for that range. Select the applicable Company Types and Industry Types. Click Save Rules. Return to the register and verify the applicability summary.

No restrictions means the template can appear broadly. It does not mean the checklist is suitable for every client.

Test and make the template default

Keep the existing default unchanged while testing. Start a synthetic acceptance assessment and select the new template explicitly. Verify section order, question wording, response controls, required validation, flags, scoring, and applicability. Complete the assessment through its review path without using a real prospective client. Obtain methodology approval. Return to the template register and click Set as Default beside the approved template. Verify the star moves to the intended template and start one more synthetic assessment to confirm the default selection.

Setting a new default changes the template selected for future assessments. It does not rewrite a previously created assessment.

Edit or delete safely

Edit a firm template only after checking whether new assessments are about to start. Clone before a substantial revision when the firm needs a controlled prior version. Deleting a section also deletes its questions from that template. Delete is available only for a firm template. Confirm the exact name and downstream use before the destructive action. The builder does not expose a formal publish/retire workflow. Maintain approval and effective-date evidence in the firm methodology register.

Expected result

The firm has an approved, tested template with complete sections, questions, flag logic, and applicability. The intended template is visibly marked as default and new assessments use it without altering historical assessments.

Related pages

• Understand reusable audit-report template availability
• Build and default an audit checklist profile