Using Templates for Contracts and Forms in DocuSign

Sending out a single document for electronic signature is fairly simple. You upload the form, “tag” the fields where the recipient needs to add their name, address, date and signature, and designate any approvers the form should be routed to.

But most often, it’s not just a single form. In today’s remote landscape, digital forms, contracts and documents abound, and many businesses are drowning in the volume. According to a commissioned study by Forrester, 75% of organizations process more than 500 agreements every month—and that’s just one department. 

With teams repeatedly sending the same forms to multiple people, starting from scratch each time to tag the same fields and add the same approvers gets cumbersome and time-consuming quickly.

That’s where templates come in. 

What are templates?

Templates allow you to save and reuse the repeatable information for every form, and simply put a “placeholder” for the recipient. This way, all you have to do to share a document is add the approvers and press send. 

From loan applications to non-disclosure agreements and rental agreements to purchase orders, anyone dealing with day-to-day form and contract sharing can feel the burden. With templates, every budget approval, statement of work or employee onboarding request is made easier.

Details vary depending on specific document needs. The bottom line is this: templates allow you to save standard messages, fields, routing order and other aspects of a form that remain the same regardless of who you’re sending it to. You can still add, delete and revise text, subject and recipient information from there. 

Where can you find templates?

DocuSign offers pre-built templates for most common contracts and forms. You can also create your own templates for common forms that your organization frequently sends out for signature.This means along with boosting signing speed, you gain a built-in solution to processing and sharing documents faster—streamlining efficiency before you even hit send. 

DocuSign eSignature customers, DocuSign CLM customers and anyone with a DocuSign trial account can access DocuSign’s extensive Template Library. If you’re not an existing DocuSign customer, learn more about the Template Library in the DocuSign Community.

DocuSign pre-built templates

DocuSign has created templates for many commonly used contract forms to help speed up the sending process and reduce your risk of errors. Here are some examples:

• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Account Change Request
• Budget Approval
• Event Registration
• Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement
• New Badge Request
• Purchase Order
• Sales Contract

Human Resources

• Employee Tuition Reimbursement 
• COVID-19 FMLA Leave Request
• Employee Status Change Request
• Employee Offboarding Request 
• Employment Offer Letter
• W4 and I-9
• W-9

Real Estate

• Realtor Listing
• Residential Rental Application
• Inspection Contingency Addendum
• Seller's Property Disclosure Statement

Financial Services and Insurance

• Proof of Auto Insurance Verification
• Selection / Rejection of Underinsured Motorist Coverage
• Automobile Claims Inspection Report
• Joint Credit Application

Accounting

• State Tax Form:  VA
• Form 4506-C: Request of Transcript of Tax Return

Healthcare and Life Sciences

• Medical Records Release 
• COVID-19 Declaration of Symptoms
• Statement of Investigator, FDA 1572
• Telemedicine Patient Consent

Of course, your options don’t start and end here. If you gain access to templates shared with you by other users, you may be able to edit and use those as well. Additionally, you can always create templates of your own.

How do I create a fillable template in DocuSign?

To begin creating a new template, navigate to the Templates page and click New. Follow along with the video below for the full process of creating a template.

How do you use templates?

Templates are reusable and repeatable, without being rigid. You can customize, use and edit as many templates as you like, seamlessly adding additional files or recipients and adding and modifying message or signing fields as you go. 

Using templates is simple, but may take you some time to get up to speed. The basic steps are as follows:

1. Log in to your DocuSign account, and head over to the Templates page.
2. Select the template collection you want to choose from (multiple collection categories help organize all of the templates you have access to).
3. Search, filter or scan the collection to find the template you want to use. 
4. Use the template to start a new document.
5. Input the email addresses and name values for any recipients—populating from a premade list if necessary.
6. Enter or modify your messages to all recipients, and create a custom subject line to differentiate your envelopes. 
7. Review the recipient fields.
8. Send your envelope.

For a more detailed description of these steps, support visuals, and additional tips, head to DocuSign’s template support page. 

If your envelope is complete with at least one file, one recipient and one field, then follow the steps for how to use a complete template.

DocuSign offers templates for common forms, but for step-by-step instructions on tailoring unique form templates, visit the create a template page. 

Get started with templates to reduce agreement preparation time and streamline your sending processes today!