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Use this page to build the shared Standards catalog: the categories and standards your MSP expects clients to have. It is for MSP staff. Company users should read Understand Standards items in Planner.

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Before you start

  • You need Standards settings Read permission to view the catalog. Creating, editing, deleting and syncing need Manage permission and an account in good billing standing. Company administrator access does not grant these MSP settings.
  • The page is at Settings > MSP Tools > Standards. The older /settings/tool-stack address redirects here.
  • Settings defines the shared catalog. The company deployment matrix is a separate page at MSP Tools > Standards.
  • The page has four tabs. Setup is the guided setup described below. Standards is the catalog on this page. Plans is covered in Standards tiers and deployment options. Company Standards applicability is covered in Choose which Standards apply.

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Guided setup and discovery

Open Settings > Standards > Setup, or the Standards phase in Launch Center. Both use the same discovery and setup workflow.
  1. In Standards, choose Yes, look to read available agreement billing, software and product evidence. Nothing is created until you review the suggestions and choose Apply selected. You can also choose I’ll add them myself.
  2. Review suggested names, categories and whether each standard is required. Select only the standards you want to create, then wait for the saved result.
  3. Under Anything else?, select Chat about my standards when the assistant is available. Tell it about tools, services or standards that were missed. Use the product choices and review steps below before saving proposed changes.
  4. In Plans and Add-ons, describe your service packages, or answer that you do not use them.
  5. In Billing, choose whether a plan is identified by one billed SKU, several SKUs or no billing match. Map the relevant products.
  6. Review Plan contents, choose Detection evidence for each standard, and link plans to Company types when applicable.
  7. In Review, compare what clients should have with what they have. Correct the underlying plan or detection settings before finishing.
Launch Center discovery showing editable suggested standards and Apply selected on MSPortal Demo

Review suggested standards before applying them.

Phone layout of Launch Center standards discovery, with a suggested Datto RMM standard
A saved standard, a deployment detected for a company and an item on the roadmap are separate results. Review Standards sync before distributing roadmap work. Discovery does not automatically run that sync.

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Choose products in the standards chat

For a broad statement such as “we use the Fortinet stack” or “we use Sophos products,” the assistant asks which product families you want to include. The cards start unchecked and briefly explain each product’s purpose.
  1. Select the products you use and want to include. The choices are suggestions; name any missing products in chat. You do not need pricing to select products.
  2. Select Review selected products to send your choices to the conversation. This answers the assistant’s question and does not save standards.
  3. Tell the assistant whether each selected product is required for every client or optional. If you have not already confirmed this, it asks before preparing changes.
  4. Review the separate proposal, including product names and required status. Select Apply only when it contains the standards you want to save.
Launch Center assistant with unchecked Fortinet product cards and Review selected products disabled until a selection is made

Choose Fortinet product families before reviewing proposed standards.

Phone layout of the assistant showing unchecked Sophos product cards with descriptions and a chat field for other products

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Manage a plan’s standards and billing bundles

Open the Plans tab and select a plan’s standards count to open Manage [plan name].
  1. Open Assigned standards and select the standards the plan includes. Shared standards are already selected because they apply to every base plan. Removing one from this plan keeps it assigned to the other existing plans.
  2. Select Apply, or close the picker to apply your selection. Wait for the saved result before closing the dialog. Removing a standard from its final plan is blocked with an explanation; an empty plan assignment would make it shared across all plans again.
  3. Under Billing bundles, choose a Product or agreement SKU, then open Standards covered by this SKU. Standards included in this plan are available. For add-ons, shared standards are also available for billing coverage even when unchecked under Assigned standards; linking a SKU does not assign the shared standard specifically to the add-on.
  4. A selected standard means the SKU covers every required billing group. A partial-coverage message identifies standards where the SKU covers only some groups; these remain unchecked. Select one and apply to link the SKU to every required group.
Billing links are shared with the Standards tab and apply wherever those standards are expected. Review the standard’s Answered by billing groups when checking the result.
Manage plan dialog showing assigned standards, a selected Managed Services billing SKU and a partial-coverage explanation

A test plan where the selected SKU covers only some of a standard's required billing groups.

Phone layout of the plan dialog with shared standards, a billing SKU and the partial-coverage message visible above Close
Manage add-on dialog showing no specifically assigned standards and a shared standard covered by the selected billing SKU

A test add-on where billing covers a shared standard while Assigned standards remains empty.

Phone layout showing the add-on assignment explanation and a shared standard selected for billing coverage

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Create a category

1

Open the catalog

Go to Settings > MSP Tools > Standards and stay on the Standards tab.
2

Add the category

Click Add Category. A category named New Category is saved right away. If that name is taken, the new one is named New Category 2, and so on.
3

Rename it

Click the category name, type a name, then press Enter or click outside the field. Press Escape to cancel. Category names must be different from each other.
4

Add a description and icon

Click the pencil (Edit category details). Enter a Description, then pick an Icon. The description saves when you click out of the box.
5

Choose a Planner type

In the category header, open the dropdown that reads No planner type and pick a type. On a phone, this dropdown is inside the pencil popover under Planner Type.
The Planner type sets the type of the Planner items that Sync All Companies creates for the category. Choosing it does not create any work by itself. A category with No planner type can still get Planner items on sync.

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Add and edit a standard

1

Add the standard

Click the plus (Add item) in the category header. In an empty category you can also click Add one. An item named New Item is created and opens for editing. If the category already has an item with that name, the new one is named New Item 2, then New Item 3, and so on.
2

Name it

Type a name in Name. Names must be different within a category. Replace the placeholder name with the real one.
3

Fill in the details

Complete the fields in the table below. Every field saves on its own shortly after you stop typing. There is no Save button.
4

Reopen it later

Click the item row to open its editor again. Only one item is open at a time.
The editor is one form. Each row has its label and a short hint on the left and its controls on the right.
Standards item editor showing the Details fields, an empty Deployment options row, a Standards applicability row with Add condition, and an Answered by billing row with Link a product.

The item editor: Details, Deployment options, Standards applicability and Answered by billing rows.

New items are Required in an ordinary category and optional in a Require one of group category. An optional standard still gets company tracking records and Planner items on sync.

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Apply a Planner template

Pick a template on a standard to set up its Planner items from the start, instead of applying a template to each item after sync creates it.
1

Create the template

If you have none yet, create one in Planner templates.
2

Choose it on the standard

Open the standard’s row and pick the template under Planner template. The choice saves automatically. None is the default. If the list is empty, click the Create one in Planner templates link in the row.
Standards item editor row labeled Planner template with a None selection.

The Planner template row in the standard's editor. Choose None to stop applying a template.

3

Sync

Click Sync All Companies. Choosing a template changes no Planner item until you sync.
On sync, each open Planner item for the standard gets the template: The standard’s name stays the item title, and the Standards matrix still sets the status. Completed, Cancelled and archived items are not changed. If one is reopened, a later sync applies the template.

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Change or remove a template

  • Switch templates. On the next sync, open items drop the old template’s cost rows and get the new template. Cost rows added by hand stay. The new template’s compliance links are added; the old links stay.
  • Choose None. On the next sync, the old template’s cost rows are removed. When no rows remain, the standard’s Default Price comes back. The description and type return to the standard’s; the other fields stay.
  • Delete the template. The standard’s choice returns to None, but its items keep what the template gave them.
  • Edit the template. Changes to a template’s contents are not re-applied to items that already have it. Only choosing a different template updates them.
Editing a template cost row on a Planner item turns it into a row the sync no longer replaces. Returning the row to its original values keeps it a template row.

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Require one of a group

Use this for a category of alternatives, such as a company needing one suitable backup product from a group.
1

Open the category details

Click the pencil (Edit category details) in the category header.
2

Turn on the rule

Turn on Require one of group.
3

Check the result

The category header shows 1 of N required. Items show Group instead of Required or Optional, and their Required switches are disabled.
The category counts as one required check, and any deployed item in it satisfies the check. Turning the rule on changes every existing item in the category to optional. Turning the rule off does not bring back the earlier Required choices. Open the items and turn Required back on where you need it. For scoring and exclusions, see Read the Standards matrix.

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Organize the list

1

Collapse or expand categories

Click a category’s chevron, or use the Collapse all / Expand all button at the top. This hides rows only. It does not delete or disable anything.
2

Reorder

Drag the grip handle on a category to reorder categories. Drag the grip handle on an item to reorder items inside its category. Reordering saves right away, and a failed save puts the old order back. You cannot drag an item into a different category.

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Delete a category or standard

Click the trash icon on the category (Delete category) or the item (Delete item) and confirm. Deleting a category deletes its items. Deleting an item removes it from every company. If the item has linked Planner items, you must type its name to confirm, and those Planner items are deleted too. See Retire Standards definitions before you delete anything that companies already track.

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Understand automatic saving

There is no overall Save or Cancel button. Adding a category or item saves it immediately. Item fields save about half a second after you stop typing. Category names save when you press Enter or click out of the field, and category descriptions save when you click out of the box. An empty item name is never saved. Wait a moment before you leave the page. If a red error message appears, the change did not save, so reload the page and check the value. Closing the pencil popover or an item editor does not undo anything already saved. Saving the catalog does not change company Planner items. Review Sync Standards to companies before you click Sync All Companies.

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Detect standards from domain checks

This feature is off by default. An internal administrator enables Email domain security checks in Features for a tenant or a personal pilot. Until enabled, the email-security column, Check now, report block and Domain check choice are hidden. Turning it off stops new checks and hides stored DNS results without deleting them. Turning it off also hides stored domain signal rules, evidence and automatic answers immediately. Saving other detection rules preserves those hidden signal rules for when the feature is reenabled. In setup’s Detection step, choose Domain check and select the DMARC-enforced or safe-SPF signal. A company satisfies the rule when at least the configured minimum number of checked domains pass and no domain receiving mail fails that signal. A parked domain without MX records does not block the rule. One passing domain cannot hide another unprotected mail domain. A successful DNS measurement can prove a standard for 48 hours. Failed checks retain the historical result, but do not extend that window. Expired mail-domain evidence blocks the signal even if another domain passes. On its next read, the matrix hides expired proof, including after checks are reenabled; a successful recheck can restore it. DMARC enforcement means a quarantine or reject policy. Safe SPF requires one SPF record without a pass-all mechanism and with no more than ten DNS-lookup terms in that record. Billing evidence takes precedence over domain detection; integration evidence also takes precedence when both match. The matrix identifies an answer detected from domain checks. Request fresh DNS checks from the domain row menu (Check now) or, for several domains, Actions (N) > Check email security on Documentation > Domains or Cloud > Domains; Standards reevaluates the stored evidence on its scheduled run.

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Troubleshooting

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Frequently asked questions

Go to Settings > MSP Tools > Standards, open the category, and click the item row.
No. This is an MSP setting. It needs Standards settings Manage permission.
No. It saves a New Category right away. If New Category already exists, the new one is named New Category 2, and so on. Rename it.
Not in the same category. The same name can be used in different categories.
There is none. Fields save as you type or when you click out of them.
No. Anything already saved stays.
No. The type applies when you run Sync All Companies. A category with no Planner type can still get Planner items on sync.
No. Optional standards still get company tracking records and Planner items. Optional only affects scoring.
No. It sets the Planner item’s cost estimate. Check the amount and recurrence on the Planner item.
The category counts as one required check, and any deployed item satisfies it. It changes the items to optional and disables their Required switches.
No. Turn Required back on for each item that should count.
No. You can reorder items only inside their own category.
Click the pencil (Edit category details) and look under Planner Type.
No. The template is applied to open Planner items on the next Sync All Companies.
No. Completed, Cancelled and archived items keep what they have. Only open items are updated.
Your MSP has no Planner templates yet. Use the link in the row to create one.
No. Standards settings Manage permission is enough.
No. Vendor is only a label.

Standards tiers and deployment options

Define plans and rank each way a standard can be deployed.

Sync Standards to companies

Create tracking records and Planner items for every company.

Choose which Standards apply

Limit a standard to the companies it fits.

Retire Standards definitions

Remove categories and standards safely.