Plan Automation Action - Copy or Create Plan

This article explains how to configure the Copy or Create Plan action for Plan Automations in OnePlan. Use this action to automatically create a new plan or copy an existing plan into a new plan of a specified plan type when an automation is triggered.

What you will accomplish
By the end of this article, you will be able to configure a Copy or Create Plan action, including plan type selection, duplication rules, ownership, field copying, and financial or resource plan handling.

Requirements

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A OnePlan account with Licensed permissions
• Contributor or Owner access to the plan
• A Plan Automation trigger already configured

See the following trigger articles if needed:

• Plan Automation Trigger - When a Date Passes
• Plan Automation Trigger - When a Field Changes
• Plan Automation Trigger - When a Process Step Changes
• Plan Automation Trigger - When an Item is Created

Background

The Copy or Create Plan action allows you to automate plan creation and plan progression. Depending on configuration, this action can:

• Create a new plan of a selected plan type
• Create a new plan by copying data from an existing plan

This action is commonly used to:

• Standardize plan creation
• Support lifecycle transitions (for example, Idea → Project)
• Automatically create related or downstream plans

Instructions

Add the Copy or Create Plan Action

1. In the Plan Automations editor, select Add Automation Action.
2. Choose Copy or Create Plan from the list.
3. The Edit Copy / Create Plan panel opens on the right side of the screen.
   

Select the Plan Type

In the Plan Type field, select the plan type for the new plan.

Note
The selected plan type determines the available fields, process steps, and financial structures of the new plan.

Configure Duplicate Behavior

Select Allow Duplicates if the automation should be allowed to create more than one plan from the same source plan.

Important
If Allow Duplicates is not selected, the automation will prevent creating multiple plans from the same source plan.

Select Ownership (Shared With)

In the Shared With field, select who should be assigned ownership or access on the new plan. This determines who can view and manage the newly created plan. Options include:

• Plan Field – Select a plan‑level user field. Any user assigned to that field will receive the notification.
  
  • Shared‑With Level – Select one or more Shared With permission levels. All users with the selected level(s) will receive the notification.
    
  • Specific User – Select one or more individual users.
    
  • Specific Team – Select one or more resource teams.
    

Configure Copy Behavior

Copy All

Select Copy All to copy all eligible fields from the source plan into the new plan.
Checking the Copy All check box will deactivate the Set Field Values options.

Tip
Use Copy All when the new plan should closely mirror the source plan.

Set Field Values

Use Set Field Values to control individual fields.

1. Select Add Field.
2. Choose a plan‑level field.
3. Choose one of the following:
   • Copy – Copy the value from the source plan
   • Value – Enter or select a specific value for the new plan

Use this option to override defaults or selectively copy data.

Copy Resource Plans (Optional)

Use Copy Resource Plans to control how resource plans are copied.

1. Select Add Row.
2. Map the From Cost Type to the To Cost Type.
   

Copy Financial Plans (Optional)

Use Copy Financial Plans to control how financial plans are copied.

1. Select Add Row.
2. Map the From Cost Type to the To Cost Type.

Note
Cost type mappings allow you to align financial structures between different plan types.

Configure Copied Lookups (Optional)

Use the Copied Lookups section to maintain relationships between plans.

• Converted To Lookup – Select the lookup field on the source plan that should reference the new plan
• Converted From Lookup – Select the lookup field on the new plan that should reference the source plan

This is useful when you want to preserve traceability between related plans.

Save the Action

1. Review all configuration settings.
2. Select Update to save the Copy or Create Plan action.
3. When finished configuring the automation, select Save.

Next Steps

After configuring an Approval Task Workflow action, you can:

• Add additional actions to extend the automation:
  • Plan Automation Action - Send Notification
  • Plan Automation Action - Update Plan
  • Plan Automation Action - Reorganize Plan
  • Plan Automation Action - Copy or Create Plan
  • Plan Automation Action - Approval Task Workflow
• Add Filters to control when the automation runs. See Plan Automation Filters.

While there is no strict limit on the number of actions, we recommend keeping automations manageable to maintain optimal performance.