Your strategy template is a blueprint. Every Report you create is a copy built from that blueprint. When you update the template, those changes don't automatically rewrite everything you've already built. Different types of changes behave differently, and completed Reports are never affected.
This article explains what to expect when you make changes at the template level so you can update your template with confidence.
Your team's work is always protected
Template changes never overwrite data your team has filled in for a client. If a vCIO has graded an Assessment item, written notes, selected a status, or entered budget figures, those values stay exactly as they are. Template changes update the structure and options available, not the answers your team has already recorded.
Draft vs. completed Reports
Before anything else, understand the two states a Report can be in:
Draft Reports are active and editable. They can receive template updates.
Completed Reports are locked and fully disconnected from the template. No template change of any kind will affect a completed Report. To make changes, create a new version first.
Everything below applies only to draft Reports.
Assessment item changes update automatically
When you modify Assessment items at the template level, draft Reports update right away. This includes:
Adding or removing items and groups
Changing item names, descriptions, and health standards
Updating grade options and default grades
Modifying status, risk, solution, and budget dropdown options
Changing item weights and tags
Your team's existing grades, notes, and selections on each item are not affected. If you add a new dropdown option, it becomes available. If you remove one that nobody has selected, it disappears. If you rename an item, the name updates but all filled-in data stays.
Manual items and groups are not affected
Manual items and groups that your team has added directly to a client's Report are completely independent of the template. Template changes will not modify, remove, or reorder them. They belong to that Report only and are always left as-is.
Structural changes need a manual push
Changes to your Report's structure apply to new Reports automatically, but existing drafts need a manual push. These include:
Adding, removing, or reordering Parts (Cover Page, Executive Summary, Assessment, Plan, etc.)
Column layout changes
Dashboard and widget configurations
To push structural changes to existing drafts, use the Apply Changes to All Drafts button in your template settings. You can also use Apply to Current Report to update a single Report first and confirm everything looks right before pushing broadly.
Text content stays local
Template text for Cover Pages, Executive Summaries, and Text Parts does not overwrite content you've already customized in a client's Report. This protects the client-specific content your team has written.
If you want to pull in updated template text, you have two options on each Part's toolbar:
Reset Content from Template replaces the Part's content with the current template version
Append Content from Template adds the template content below your existing content
Both are manual and per-Report, so you're always in control.
Quick reference
What changed | Draft Reports | Completed Reports |
Assessment items (names, options, weights, tags) | Updates automatically | No change |
Grades, notes, and selections filled in by your team | Never overwritten | No change |
Manual items and groups added to a Report | Not affected | No change |
Report structure (which Parts are included) | Manual push required | No change |
Column layouts and dashboard config | Manual push required | No change |
Template text (Cover Page, Executive Summary, Text Parts) | Stays local unless you manually reset | No change |
For more on how templates work and why we recommend maintaining a single primary template, see Understanding Strategy Templates. For details on editing your Assessment template content, see Customizing Your Assessment.