How to Create a Document Template in Planfix
To create a document template in Planfix, you build the file once in Word or Google Docs, mark the places where the data changes, and let the system fill in the rest. Document templates in Planfix pull values from tasks, contacts and data tags into a finished contract, invoice or certificate, so drafting one no longer starts with copying customer details out of an old file. This 1.5-minute video walks through the whole setup, from the first placeholder to the numbering of the documents the template produces.
What you’ll learn: how to create a document template in Planfix
- Why repetitive details — customer data, terms and conditions, dates — take up most of the time spent drafting a contract.
- Prepare the source file in Word or Google Docs and leave placeholders for everything that changes from one customer to the next.
- Open the variables window, pick the object that holds the data you need and copy the variable into your document.
- Upload the finished file to Planfix and give the template a name the whole team will recognize.
- Set the starting document number, build the file name from variables and choose the default format.
How to create a document template in Planfix, step by step
Step 1. Write the standard text and leave placeholders
Start from the document your team already sends most often: a service agreement, an invoice, an acceptance certificate. Create it in Word or Google Docs, write out everything that never changes — legal wording, terms and conditions, signature blocks, your own company details — and leave placeholders where the customer, the dates and the amounts belong. Planfix templates are Microsoft Word or Excel files, so a draft written in Google Docs needs to be saved in one of those formats before it goes into the system. The structure stays approved and identical for everyone; only the data moves.
Step 2. Copy the variables for the data that changes
A variable is a placeholder that Planfix replaces with a real value at the moment the document is generated. Open Documents → Document templates and follow the link that opens the variables window. The objects that can supply data are listed on the left and their variables on the right: choose the Document object to take the document’s own number, or the Task object to take the counterparty’s name from the task where the deal is being handled. Copy the variable you need, paste it into the file where the value should appear, and repeat for every detail.
Two things are worth knowing before you start pasting. Some variables can be formatted, so dates and numbers come out the way your documents require, and some add rows to the finished file on their own — those are the ones that expand a data tag into a table of products, services or hours. Both groups are described in the Help Center article on variables in document templates. Save the file once all the variables are in place.
Step 3. Upload the template and name it
Go back to Documents → Document templates and upload the saved file. Give the template a name the whole team will recognize, such as Service Agreement, Commercial Proposal or Customer Invoice; this is the name people will pick from when they create a document. From that point the template is available wherever files are added to a task, and to scripts that generate documents without anyone clicking at all. The complete list of settings and limitations lives in the Help Center article on document templates.
Step 4. Set numbering, the file name and the format
Three settings finish the template off. Set a starting number, and every document created from the template gets a unique ID that increases by one each time; you can still skip to a different number, or change the document date, at the moment the document is created. Build the file name from variables as well, so that instead of another file called document_final_2 the task receives one named after the counterparty and the number — the icon beside the file name field opens the same list of variables. Finally, choose the default format the file comes out in, and the template is ready to use.
What the finished template fills in
- the document number and date, assigned by the template itself;
- the counterparty’s name and details, taken from the task where the customer conversation is happening;
- amounts, terms and other field values from that same task;
- rows of products, services or hours expanded from a data tag;
- a file name assembled from the same variables, in the format you set as the default.
Who it’s for
- Sales managers: send the contract while the terms are still fresh, instead of rebuilding it from the last customer’s file.
- Finance and accounting: invoices and certificates come out numbered in sequence, with no gaps to reconstruct later.
- Service teams: acceptance certificates and work orders are generated from the task that already holds the details.
- Operations and office managers: one approved wording for the company, rather than a dozen versions saved on different computers.
- Small teams with no document specialist: a template set up once replaces the manual check of every line before sending.
FAQ
How do I create a document template in Planfix?
Write the standard text in a Word or Excel file, paste Planfix variables where the data changes, then upload the file under Documents → Document templates and set its name, starting number and default format.
Where do I find the list of variables for document templates?
In Documents → Document templates. The window lists the objects that can supply data on the left and their variables on the right, ready to copy into your file.
Can documents created from a template be numbered automatically?
Yes. Set a starting number on the template and each new document gets a unique ID, increasing by one. You can still enter a different number or change the document date when you create it.
Turn your next contract into a template
Take the document your team retypes most often, rebuild it once with variables and upload it — the next copy takes a click, and the finished file is stored with the task like every other document in Planfix. For the same approach applied end to end, see how to automate commercial proposals and deal numbering, or read a longer worked example of fast contract automation in Planfix CRM. New to Planfix? Sign up to try it.
