For years I've been doing it this way.
Start with a "blank canvas" and set it up as I usually would, i.e. correct panning, volumes, number of bars (I use 200) and number of choruses (I use 1). I usually set the volumes to 90 & the tempo to 120.

I then save it as "000A Setup" so that it appears at the top of my song list when I open it.

When I'm ready to start on a new song, I open the file, add the song title and save it with the correct name.

From there I continue with the arrangement.

Cheers,
Keith