Merger and Acquisition Template Guide

The merger and acquisition process can be complex, involving diverse teams and multi-stage pipelines. However, it doesn’t have to be, with manageable phases, proven processes, and a tried-and-tested template.

Wrike offers the solution you’ve been looking for. Our complete merger and acquisition template guide is ideal for teams that want to centralize, organize, and streamline their entire end-to-end M&A process. This template guide will take you from strategic planning through due diligence and onto post-merger integration.

This guide will show you how to:

• Use a Gantt chart to visualize the project timeline and ensure alignment
• Create a workflow and dashboards to manage incoming work
• Build a request form to start projects
• Personalize your workspace with custom item types

See the project timeline with a Gantt chart

To get an overview of the project, click on the folder containing your project in the folder tree on the left, and then click on the Gantt Chart view. This displays the project and all tasks and dependencies on an interactive and dynamic timeline. You can focus on one phase or view the entire project. To adjust the length of any task, simply drag the due date marker. Milestones are fixed and must be rescheduled independently. 

Create custom dashboards

When you combine custom statuses and dashboard widgets, you gain instant visibility into just the areas and processes you want to monitor. Here's how to create a useful dashboard widget using one of your custom statuses on your paid account.

1. Select Dashboards from the top menu.
2. Click + New Widget and then + Custom Widget.
3. On the filter menu on the left, click Show Workflows and select your custom workflow.
4. Use the filter buttons to select the exact status and data you want to display.
5. Repeat this to build a custom dashboard showing all the information you want to see on your board.

Build a custom request form

Start by building a custom request form to collect all of the information needed to start your project. These details will differ depending on your organization, the request, your audience, and other factors. Try to maintain a balance between keeping the form brief enough that people will actually use it and comprehensive enough that your team gets all of the details they need. A few questions the form should answer are:

• What is being asked for?
• Why is this being asked?
• Who is the target audience?
• What is the objective?
• What is the format?
• What is the tone and message?
• What is the final deliverable?
• What is the budget and timeline?
• Who are the stakeholders?
• Who gives the final OK?

To build a new request form:

1. Click on your name in the top-right corner, go to Account Management, and click on the Request Forms tab on the left.
2. Click + New form and give it a name.
3. Click Select folder to specify where tasks associated with this request should be added.
4. Click Select user and choose who the task should be assigned to.

Add fields to your form by selecting + Question. There are a number of field types available including:

• Short answer
• Paragraph
• Dropdown
• Checkboxes
• Date field
• File attachments

Hovering over any question brings up the Add conditional branching or assignment button. Click this button to direct users to new pages or to assign requests to specific team members.

After you've finalized your request form, click Publish to save the request and make it available to your team in the workspace. All users can then see it and use it to submit requests.

Create a custom item type

1. Click your profile image in the upper-right corner of the workspace.
2. Select Settings.
3. Click Custom item types in the panel on the left. You may need to scroll down to see it.
4. Click the Create custom type button.
5. In the pop-up that appears:
   • Select if you want to create a Task type or a Project type
   • Enter the type name
   • Click Create and edit
6. The custom item type editor will open. Here, you can:
   • Change the icon of the item type.
   • Add the custom item type description.
   • Select the default workflow for your item type.
   • Determine the subitems list. Here you restrict what other tasks/projects or custom item types users can add as subitems after they create work out of the current item type.
   • Select which sections should be visible on the item type view. The eye icon next to any section allows you to hide or unhide it.
     • Reorder the system and custom fields: Hover over them, click the three-dot menu button, and select Move up/down. Or click the dotted icon to the left of the field and drag it to the relevant position.
     • Set up automation for this item type.

Your changes to the custom item type are saved automatically while you edit it, so once you are done with the setup, you can just leave the view. Alternatively, click Custom item types in the breadcrumbs to return to the template gallery.