Creating a Task List: Template vs. From Scratch

Roles: Owner, Director

There are two starting points, and after the first minute they work the same way.

Importing from a template starts on the Templates page. Morning Opening, Evening Closing, Playground Safety Inspection, Classroom Daily Sanitation, Nap Time Setup, Classroom Transition, and New Hire Onboarding all come built in, managed by Childcare Owl. Importing one creates a fully independent copy inside your center. Later updates to the original template never change what you've already customized.

Building from scratch starts on the Task Lists page with Create Task List. Name it, add tasks in whatever order fits your center, and mark which ones need manager signoff, if any.

Either way, a task list definition doesn't do anything on its own. It needs to be scheduled to a room before it becomes a real checklist anyone completes — see Scheduling a Checklist to Recur.

Two active task lists in the same center can't share a name. Re-importing a template you've already customized once means renaming or archiving the old copy first, which is also what prevents an accidental, confusing duplicate.