Templates can be set up to ensure documents are always presented with the text, format and layout required and approved by your practice. Templates are available for different types of document types, such as standard letters in Word, standard images and text in Excel spreadsheets or PowerPoint presentations and also for PDFs. This improves productivity and quality controls with standardised content that can only be maintained by FYI Admins, or a user in a User Group with Permissions enabled for Templates. Refer also to Creating Documents from Templates and Stationery.
For Word documents, you can also set up Templates which are used as Stationery. This holds the information that is used in documents such as letters and commonly adds anything at the top and the bottom of the document. It is used to add any headers, footers, date, addressee, address, reference number, and also the sign-off and sender details.
Using the Knowledge - Templates List
Templates, Word Stationery and Email Signatures are displayed, created and edited from the Knowledge - Templates view (refer to Using Knowledge Cabinets).
They can only be set up and maintained by an FYI Admin, or a user in a User Group that has Permissions enabled for Templates (refer to Managing User Groups).
Templates and Stationery hold Filing details to organise and categorise them in the Knowledge - Templates list. They are all held in a Templates Cabinet as the top-level of the filing.
Note: The Templates Cabinet cannot be removed.
An FYI Admin can add any Categories to the Templates Cabinet as relevant for your practice to further categorise the Templates and Stationery. For example, you could add a Category such as "Team" (to indicate who would use them) and the Category "Work Type" (to indicate when they would be used). Refer to Managing Cabinets. The Category is added to a Template or Stationery in the Filing section.
Creating and Editing Templates and Word Stationery
You can create Templates in FYI in the following ways:
- Create Templates directly in FYI in the same way as you would create Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation documents in FYI.
- Create or locate existing Word, Excel or PowerPoint files outside of FYI. Then copy and paste all or part of the images and text from these into the Template that you create in FYI. You can make any modifications directly in FYI.
- Where you have an existing Word, Excel or PowerPoint file (such as .docx, .xlsx or pptx) you can create the Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation template and then upload the file in the Upload section of the drawer.
Note: Legacy versions of Microsoft documents (.xls, .doc etc.) should be upgraded to newer formats. Refer to How can I work with old (legacy) Microsoft files such as .xls and .doc?
- Drag and drop an existing Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF file onto the Knowledge - Templates list to import the file.
- When creating PDF Templates, you can choose the existing PDF file from Windows Explorer or drag it onto the drawer.
Templates can optionally hold AutoFile Defaults for the Cabinet and Categories that will be set when the email or document is created with that template selected, providing the user has access to the relevant Cabinet. The AutoFile Defaults Cabinet and Categories from the selected Template will override the Client, User or Practice Filing Defaults. These are optional and can be left blank in a Template. You can also select, for example, just the Cabinet so that any categories are selected as relevant for the email or document that is created. When the email or document is created, the AutoFile Defaults Cabinet and Category from the Template can be changed if the user wants to.
You can incorporate Merge Fields within Templates and Stationery used for Word documents. Merge Fields bring in content such as Client details, and information about the user creating the document. Refer below to Merge Fields and to Including Merge Fields in Word Templates and Stationery
Merge Names can also be used in Templates for Spreadsheets (refer to Including Merge Names in Excel Templates).
This article is an overview of the FYI Templates, Stationery and Merge Fields for documents. It uses an example of setting up a Word Template and Stationery with Merge Fields. It is important to understand the relationship between Templates, Stationery and Merge Fields and how they are used in combination in FYI and how they can be best utilised within your practice.
- Templates can be set up for Word documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations and PDFs.
- Stationery can be set up for Word documents.
Stationery is created in the same way as a template and by flagging it as Stationery. - Merge Fields can be included in Templates for Word and Spreadsheets and in Word Stationery.
Templates
Templates hold the standard text for the body of documents.
- For a Word document, the Template would commonly hold the text in the middle of the Word document, for example, for a letter, an engagement letter or a notice of tax assessment (see also Word Stationery below).
- For Spreadsheet, the Template could hold any images, text, pre-set formatting or formulas, for example, a checklist that you send to your clients.
- For a Presentation document, the Template could be the standard layout you use for PowerPoint presentations with your logo and to set any formatting such as fonts.
- For a PDF document, the Template can hold images, text and editable fields. When creating PDF documents in FYI, a Template must be selected.
Word Stationery
When creating a Word document in FYI, users can select a Stationery as well as a Template.
The Stationery holds the information that is used in documents such as letters and commonly adds anything at the top and the bottom of the document. It is used to add any headers, footers, date, addressee, address, reference number, and also the sign-off and sender details.
You may need more than one format for Stationery, for example:
- A format where the letterhead includes the header and footer with the company logo, company address etc. so these are added for a letter that is emailed.
- A format that does not include the company logo, company address etc. so it is ready to be printed on pre-printed stationery for a letter that is printed and sent out.
Important Note: Body Bookmark in Stationery
The Stationery must include a "Body" bookmark in the content of the Word document. When creating a Word Document in FYI, and a Template is selected as well as the Stationery, the bookmark indicates where to include the text and any merge fields from the Template.
If the Stationery does not include the Body bookmark, when used with a template any of the information in the Stationery will not come through to the Word document.
Benefits of Separating Templates and Stationery for Word
Defining the elements included in Templates and Stationery separately (with the common information in Stationery and the text for the body of the Word documents in Templates) offers not only ease of use but also flexibility.
For Word documents, it allows you to have potentially just two Stationery documents for letters (one for sending via email and one for printing on pre-printed letterhead). There will then be a number of Templates that hold the standard text for the body of the letters.
The main benefit is when you want to make changes to how standard letters are produced. It is very clear if changes are needed to the Stationery (for common, repeated elements) or to the Templates (for specific text). For example, if you decide in the future you want to add a reference number to all letters, you could add this just to the Stationery instead of having to update many Template documents.
For a multi-disciplinary practice (for example, which includes financial planning along with accounting practice) you can simply set up different Stationery that includes any licence requirements for financial planning and specific disclaimers. By clearly naming the FYI Word Stationery, users can easily identify which letterhead they need to use.
Using Office Functionality for Document Templates and Stationery
When creating or editing document Templates, and Stationery for Word, you can use the features of Office. For example, for Word you can use functions such as formatting, margins, adding text and images to headers and footers with different headers/footers for the first and subsequent pages.
Templates and Stationery are created and edited in the same way as creating any other Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation document in FYI.
You may have Office documents already set up for the layouts and text and these can be copied and pasted into the FYI Templates or Word Stationery. You can also drag and drop existing Office documents to import these directly as Templates or Word Stationery.
Note: If you need to incorporate Merge Fields and Bookmarks in a Word Template or Stationery this needs to be done via Word desktop and then copied and pasted into the FYI Template or Stationery.
Adding the Body Bookmark to Word Stationery
Users would commonly create Word documents where both an FYI Stationery and an FYI Template is selected.
The Word Stationery must include a Word bookmark with the name Body to indicate where to include the text and any merge codes from the Template. If the Stationery is used without a Template, the bookmark has no effect.
Adding the Signature Bookmark to a Word Template or Stationery
You can add a Word Bookmark to a Word Template or Stationery to indicate where the user's Signature will be positioned if the user adds their digital signature to the document. Refer to Adding a Signature Bookmark to a Word Template in Creating Templates for Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation and to
Adding a Signature Bookmark to Word Stationery in Creating Stationery for Word.
Adding Headers and Footers
When creating documents with both Templates and Stationery, if you are using headers and/or footers, these need to be added to either Templates or to the Stationery, not both. If these are in both, this can cause the Stationery to not work as expected.
Merge Fields
You can incorporate Merge Fields within Templates and Stationery used for Word documents. Refer to Including Merge Fields in Word Templates and Stationery.
In Templates for Spreadsheets, Merge Names can be used (refer to Including Merge Names in Excel Templates).
Merge Fields are used to bring in the following content:
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Client information from your practice management software, for example, the First Name and Last Name of the addressee, and the Postal Address.
Information such as the client's Contact Name, Addressee, and Salutation is retrieved from your practice management software for the primary contact of the client, as displayed on the Client - Summary tab (refer to Client Summary).
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User information from your practice management software, for example, the Owner (creator of the document) Name, Owner Phone.
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Information from FYI - for example, the Role of the Owner, a unique Reference Number for the FYI document and the date the document was created.
- Results from a Word function - for example, "today's date" automatically generated.
- If you have set up Custom Fields in your practice management software or in FYI, you can include Merge Fields for these in Templates and Stationery. For users of Xero Practice Manager, please note that Custom Merge Fields will only retrieve data from the Client, and not the Job.
When Merge Fields are added to the Word Template or Stationery, they are added in a specific format, for example, «ContactName» for the Contact Name, or «PostalAddress» for the address.
Click here to download the FYI Merge Fields Comprehensive Guide for a list of Merge Fields that you can copy and paste into your Templates and Stationery (or download the file from the bottom of this article).
Note: If you are using Chrome as your browser, the link may not automatically download the document. You need to right-click on the download link above, select Copy link address and paste it into a new browser tab in the browser's URL field.
Example of Word Templates and Stationery and Using Merge Fields
The following examples demonstrate how you can structure Templates and Stationery for Word documents, how these are combined and how the Merge Fields and Word Body bookmarks are added.
Stationery with Letterhead (for emailing)
Note: These examples show the Date added as the FYI Merge Field Created Date which adds the current 'today's date' when a document is created from the template/stationery and this original creation date is retained whenever the document is opened or downloaded. Refer also to Today's Date in Including Merge Fields in Word Templates and Stationery.
Stationery without Letterhead (for printing on pre-printed letterhead)
Explanations of the Example Stationery Structures
The following includes explanations in red for some of the different components that can be included in the Stationery.
Example of a Word Document for Templates
The following example of a Template holds only text. If you wish to, Templates can include Merge Fields or the text for the signature but we recommend these are included in the Stationery.
Example of Creating the Document
When creating the document in FYI, the Stationery and Template are selected.
The following shows how the examples above for Stationery and Template are brought together, in this example using the Stationery with letterhead. In the example, the additional information is then entered as relevant for the letter being created and any other changes if needed, and the Word document saved and filed in FYI.
For information on how users can insert their digital signature into a Word document, refer to Inserting your Signature into a Document.
