What is it?
A Contract Template is similar to a regular Contract, with the primary difference being that variables are used in the template in place of any normally changing values (such as your client's name). Contract Templates can be used and re-used as many times as you'd like for creating new contracts.
You can access and create contract templates through the Studio & Clients » Contracts » Contract Templates option in the main menu.
Getting Started
To create a contract template you'll want to start with a pre-existing contract and work from there. You can either copy/paste the text from a contract you already use into a blank template, or you can start with one of the samples we provide on the templates page; either way it's best to start with the text from an existing contract of some type. (Theoretically, you could start from a blank page and write your own contracts from scratch, but that's not a very common way of doing things.)
Once you're ready to start working on a template, head into the Contract Templates page and click on either the Create New Custom Template button found at the top of the page, or click on the name of the template or the Options box found next to an existing sample template to edit that template. Also, in the Options box you can copy a template and delete an existing template. You will also find an option to create a contract from that Options box.
Create New Custom Template
If you're creating a template using the Create New Custom Template button, paste your copied contract text into the area reserved for the body of the contract. Then, make your way through the document and replace any values that would normally contain information that's specific to a individual client or photo session with a variable (see below for more information on variables). Variables are what makes a template different than a contract.
Copy & Customize
If you're creating a template using the Copy & Customize button found next to one of the sample templates, the sample template's contract body will be provided for you. From there, you can adjust the template wording and make it as unique and custom as you'd like for your business.
Variables
A variable is created any time a word or phrase is placed inside a set of double square brackets, [[like this]], within a contract template. For example, if your contract normally says something along the lines of "This contract constitutes an agreement between Ranger Photography and Elise Romera.", you could use variables to make the contract reusable by saying the following instead: "This contract constitutes an agreement between [[COMPANY NAME]] and [[CLIENT NAME]]."
Something like this:
When a contract is eventually created from one of your templates, you will be prompted to provide a value for each of the variables found within the selected template. The values you provide in the contract creation process will automatically replace the variables within the selected contract template.
You can create and use as many variables within your contract templates as you'd like.
Pre-defined Variables
Within the Contract Template creation page there is a button labeled Dynamic Content. Clicking the Dynamic Content button will reveal a set of predefined variables that you can use within your templates. These options include miscellaneous information about your company, such as your company address, and information about your client, such as your client's name. These options are available for convenience sake, and you are not required to use them.
Default Values for Variables
If you have a variable in your contract that often requires the same value from client to client, you can use a default value for the variable to eliminate the need to fill in the same value on every contract. A default value is created by adding the value inside your variable surrounded by curly brackets, like this: [[Variable Name {Default Value}]]
For example, if your standard session fee is normally $600, you might use [[Session Fee {$600}]] within the template to create a Session Fee variable that defaults to $600 in the finished contract. Since this is a variable, you can always change the value on any of your contracts if your session fee is going to be anything other than the default value.
Creating a Contract from a Contract Template
Once you've created your contract templates, you can then use them to create actual contracts by doing the following:
- Navigate to Studio & Clients » Contracts » Digital Contracts within the main menu.
- Click the Create New Contract button at the top of the page.
- Select the template you'd like to use for the contract, and follow the prompts to complete the contract creation process. (Your custom templates will be listed under the Custom Contracts section within the template droplist.)
or
- Navigate to Contracts > Contract Templates.
- Click on Options next to your desired Custom Contract Template.
- Click on Create a Contract.
For more information about creating a contract, see our other article, here: Creating a Contract