Guide Templates let you build a Guide structure once and reuse it across every client. Instead of rebuilding the same pages and components from scratch each time, you create a template with the layout you want, and then every new client can start from that structure. You manage all of your templates in one place: the Guide Templates tab inside the Overview Editor.
Where to Find Your Templates
Click your profile icon in the top-right corner of any page
Select Templates
You'll land on the Guide Templates tab — this is where all your templates live
The page is split into two sections:
Your Templates — Templates you've created. Click any one to open it in the editor.
Kerdora Templates — Two built-in templates that come with every account: Overview and Changes to be Made. You can't edit or delete these, but you can duplicate them and use the copy as a starting point for your own.
Creating a New Template
From the Guide Templates tab, click New Template in the top-right corner
Give your template a name (e.g., "Annual Review," "New Client Onboarding," "Mid-Year Check-In")
You'll land in the template editor, which has a Components sidebar on the left
From here, drag components into your template layout to build the structure you want. Components include things like goals summaries, account tables, charts, text blocks, changes to be made, and more. Arrange them in the order that makes sense for your deliverable.
You can also toggle the AI assistant from the toolbar to help generate or modify your template layout.
Editing an Existing Template
Click any template card under Your Templates to reopen it in the editor. You can add, remove, or rearrange components at any time.
Each template card also has three quick-action buttons:
Eye icon — Manage which clients can see this guide
Copy icon — Duplicate the template (great for creating variations like "Annual Review - Retired" vs. "Annual Review - Accumulation")
Trash icon — Delete the template
To reorder your templates, drag and drop the cards. The order here controls the order they appear in a client's Guide, so put your most important template first.
Setting New Client Defaults
Click New Client Defaults at the top of the Guide Templates tab. This lets you choose which templates are automatically visible when you create a new client.
Without this setting, you'd need to manually toggle visibility for every new client you add. Setting your defaults means new clients immediately get the right Guides without extra steps.
Using a Template for a Client
When you go to a client's Overview page, the Guides you see are based on the templates that are visible for that client. If you've set your New Client Defaults, those templates are already active.
To toggle which templates are visible for a specific client:
Go back to the Guide Templates tab in the Overview Editor
Click the eye icon on any template card
Check or uncheck clients to control who sees that guide
You can also manage visibility from within a client's Overview page directly.
How Template Changes Work
This is the most important thing to understand about templates:
When you edit a template, the changes apply to the template structure going forward. Guides that have already been built from that template are not retroactively updated — they keep whatever content and layout they had when you last edited them.
Think of a template like a blueprint. When you build a house from a blueprint and then change the blueprint, the house that's already built doesn't change. The updated blueprint only affects the next house you build.
This means:
Adding a new component to a template — New clients who get this template will see the new component. Existing clients won't.
Removing a component from a template — Existing clients keep the component in their Guide. It's only gone for new clients going forward.
Renaming a template — The name updates everywhere, including for existing clients.
If you need to update an existing client's Guide, go to that client's Overview page and edit their Guide directly.
Using Kerdora's Built-In Templates
Every account comes with two Kerdora templates:
Overview — A general-purpose template with common components for a client overview
Changes to be Made — A template focused on displaying the client's action items
You can't edit these directly, but you can:
Click the copy icon on either template to duplicate it
The duplicate appears under Your Templates where you can fully customize it
Hide the original Kerdora template if you don't want clients to see it
This is a good way to get started if you're not sure what to put in your first template — duplicate one of the built-ins and adjust it to match your workflow.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Templates
Start with 2–3 templates that match your main meeting types (annual review, onboarding, check-in). Most advisors find this covers 80–90% of their clients.
Set your New Client Defaults early so you don't have to think about visibility every time you add a client.
Duplicate before you experiment — If you want to try a new layout, duplicate an existing template rather than editing it. That way you can compare both versions.
Use Template Fields for reusable text — If you have standard language (introductions, disclaimers, process descriptions) that appears across multiple guides, set those up as Template Fields in the Template Fields tab rather than typing them into each template individually.