New client onboarding often includes the same core steps, while the schedule changes from one implementation to another. Easy Templates for Jira, you can create one reusable onboarding template and calculate all task dates automatically from a single Kickoff Date variable. In Easy Templates, Dynamic Fields use Expressions, and those expressions can reference template variables and supported date functions like plusDays(), minusDays(), and plusWorkingDays().
This is useful for scheduling discovery, access collection, configuration, training, handover, and follow-up steps — without manually editing every issue each time a new client is onboarded. Dynamic values are calculated during issue creation, so every onboarding project starts with a ready timeline.
Example onboarding template structure
Example parent issue:
New client onboarding
Example child issues or subtasks:
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Schedule kickoff meeting
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Collect client access and requirements
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Configure project or workspace
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Import initial data
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Prepare documentation
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Run admin training
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Run end-user training
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Go-live checklist
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Go live
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Post-launch follow-up
How to set it up
1. Create your onboarding template
Create a template with the issue structure you want to reuse for each new client.
For example, add one parent issue and a set of child issues or subtasks for the main onboarding steps.
2. Add a Kickoff Date variable
Create a template variable called:
Kickoff Date
This variable will be filled in when the template is applied and used to calculate dates across all onboarding tasks. Easy Templates supports variable references using variables() or the shorter var() form.
Use this syntax to reference it in expressions:
var("Kickoff Date")
3. Switch date fields to Expression mode
For each task where the date should be calculated automatically:
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Open the field
...menu -
Choose Use expression
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Enter your expression
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Save the template
When expression mode is enabled, the field becomes a Dynamic Field and its value is calculated automatically during issue creation.
Example expressions for onboarding tasks
Schedule kickoff meeting
On the kickoff date:
var("Kickoff Date")
Collect client access and requirements
2 working days after kickoff:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWorkingDays(2)
Configure project or workspace
4 working days after kickoff:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWorkingDays(4)
Import initial data
6 working days after kickoff:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWorkingDays(6)
Prepare documentation
7 working days after kickoff:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWorkingDays(7)
Run admin training
8 working days after kickoff:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWorkingDays(8)
Run end-user training
10 working days after kickoff:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWorkingDays(10)
Go-live checklist
1 day before go-live:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWorkingDays(13)
Go live
3 weeks after kickoff:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWeeks(3)
Post-launch follow-up
5 working days after go-live:
var("Kickoff Date").plusWeeks(3).plusWorkingDays(5)
These examples use supported date adjustment functions documented for Expressions, including plusWeeks(), plusDays(), and plusWorkingDays().
Expression syntax used in this example
Reference the variable
var("Kickoff Date")
Add time
var("Kickoff Date").plusDays(3)
var("Kickoff Date").plusWeeks(3)
var("Kickoff Date").plusWorkingDays(5)
Subtract time
var("Kickoff Date").minusDays(1)
Easy Templates also notes that single and double quotes both work, variable names are case-insensitive, and some references support optional parentheses.
Optional: calculate child tasks from the parent issue
Instead of using the variable in every child issue, you can set a date on the parent issue and calculate child task dates from that field.
Example:
parent.fields("Due Date").minusDays(2)
You can also use the short form:
parent.duedate
Easy Templates supports references to parent issue fields in both forms, which is useful when all child tasks should depend on the main onboarding issue timeline.
Result
With one Kickoff Date variable, you can generate a complete new client onboarding plan with dates calculated automatically. This makes onboarding faster to launch, easier to maintain, and more consistent across every new client engagement.