# Run a matter with a center

Group the activities of one matter in a center with a progress bar, and create a center and all its activities from a template in one click.

A center gathers the activities of one matter, a lease dispute or a new client's onboarding, and shows how far it has gone: the share of its activities that are done. A center template is the checklist of a kind of matter; it creates a center and all its activities at once.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- **Centers** needs the **User** access right on **Activities**; **Center Templates**, under **Configuration**, needs **Supervisor**. Deleting a center needs **Manager**.
- The **Activity Centers** option of [Activities settings](activities-settings) shows the **Center** field on activities. It is on by default.
- The demo has the center "Lease dispute file", two of its five activities done, and the template "New client onboarding".

## Build a template {#build-a-template}

1. Open **Activities/Configuration/Center Templates** and click **New**, or open "New client onboarding".
2. Name the template, then add one line per planned activity with **Add a line**: the **Activity** title, its **Type**, the **Assignee** and the **Supervisor**, the **Priority**, and when it falls due: **Deadline After** a number of **days**, **weeks** or **months** counted from the start of the center.
3. In **Depends On**, choose the lines that must be done before this one.

![The four planned activities of the template, each with its delay after the start and what it depends on.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12037-c81c294c/activities-center-template_lines-en.png)

## Create the center {#create-the-center}

Choose **Create Center** in the **Actions** menu of the template; the template's card on the **Center Templates** board has the same button. The new center opens:

- it takes the template's name, starts today and is **In Progress**, with you as **Manager**;
- each line becomes an activity of the center, due today plus its delay at 17:00, assigned to the line's assignee or to you;
- the dependencies between lines become dependencies between the activities.

![The new center is In Progress and holds one activity per line of the template.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12041-ed841b8b/activities-center-center_created-en.png)

Fill in the **Client** and the **End Date**, and rename the center after the matter.

## Follow the progress {#follow-the-progress}

Open **Activities/Centers**. Each card shows the client, the dates, how many activities are done out of all, the progress bar and the manager.

![The centers board; each card shows how many of its activities are done and the progress bar.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12045-96314e24/activities-center-centers_board-en.png)

**Progress** counts the done activities too, while the **Activities** tab of the center lists only the open ones: done activities are archived. To add an activity to a center, choose the center in the **Center** field of the activity's **Extra Info** tab, or use **Add a line** in the center's **Activities** tab.

## Close the center {#close-the-center}

**Mark Done**, in the **Actions** menu of the center, turns it **Done**; **Reset to Draft** brings a done center back to **Draft**, and **Start** moves a draft to **In Progress**. These states belong to the center only: they neither close nor reopen its activities.

## FAQ {#faq}

### An activity of the new center will not start or finish. {#pending}

It depends on another activity of the center that is not done yet; the lock on its card says so. Finish the activities in the order of the template.

### Why does the center show five activities and the tab only three? {#done-hidden}

The two others are done, so they are archived. **# Activities** and **Progress** count them; the tab shows the work left.

### Does switching Activity Centers off hide the centers? {#option-off}

It hides the **Center** field of the activities only. The **Centers** and **Center Templates** menus stay.

### Can the same template serve again? {#reuse}

Yes. Each **Create Center** makes a new center with new activities; the template does not change.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/activities/run-a-matter-with-a-center
- Updated: 2026-10-27
- Version: Activities 19.0.2.0.1
- Verified: 2026-10-27