Availability: Free eSign (up to 5 templates), Starter (up to 5 templates*), Business, and Enterprise plans
​*There should be a maximum of 5 templates in total across all workspaces within an account.

A template is a reusable master copy of a document. If you frequently send similar proposals, quotes, or contracts, you can create a template once and reuse it – changing only the details that differ per customer.

Access your templates by selecting Templates on the left navigation panel.

Go to Templates in the left navigation panel. Your Templates hub now includes:

Select +Template at the top right to start a new one.
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You will have a few options:

Alternatively, you can convert a .docx file into an editable PandaDoc.

Click on Select files or drag and drop your file to the upload area.

Supported file formats for upload: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .jpeg, .jpg, .png.

You may run into an error uploading your document if it meets any of the following criteria:

Learn more about common upload issues here.

If you’d like to replace uploaded content while keeping blocks and fields in place, there is an option to use Replacing a source file feature.

There are several ways you can bundle your documents on the template level.

Recommended: Select several templates to create a batch. To do this, first select +Template from your template list. Next, select the templates you’d like to include, then select Continue.

You can also start by creating a single template, then add documents to it. Use several templates you already have, add templates from our template gallery, or upload files.
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If you have PDFs or Word files you'd like to use – upload several documents to create a batch you can sequence yourself. To do this, select Create from your template list, then either select Upload file to choose files from your desktop or simply drag and drop several files into the upload area.

Learn more about document bundling here.

Each template now includes a built-in workflow that defines the steps your team follows when creating documents from it.

On the right panel, by default, you'll see the options to:

In the Define roles step, you can create, delete, or rename roles, pre-assign them to recipients, or set up signing order.

Roles are placeholders for future recipients, like Client, Accounting, Signer, etc. By default all new templates you create from scratch have a Client role added automatically. In our pre-made templates you'll see both Client and Sender role created. The Sender role has Document sender recipient automatically pre-assigned.

Select Send document step in the workflow builder to customize settings and permissions to apply after sending your document:

You can add optional steps like:

Select Use this template to proceed to document creation. Select Edit document to update the template’s content, fields, or variables.

When you add a role (like "Client" or "Signer"), PandaDoc automatically creates variables for that role's information - such as their name, email, company, and address.

Instead of manually typing recipient details into your template each time, you can insert role variables as placeholders. When you create a document and assign a recipient to that role, their information automatically fills in everywhere you've used those variables.

Example: Add ##{{Client.FullName}} in your template > assign "John Smith" as the Client when creating a document > "John Smith" appears automatically throughout the entire document.

You can manage the roles in the template editing mode by clicking the Manage roles button.

Here you can add new roles, rename or delete existing ones, pre-assign them to recipients, or customize signing order.

To add a new role, type in a role name and click Create Role.
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To rename, delete, or pre-assign a person to a role, select the vertical ellipses menu and choose the desired action from the dropdown.
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Select View > All variables to copy a variable from the list and then paste it into the template's content.

Alternatively, start typing a square bracket [ in a text block and choose the variable you need from the dropdown menu.

Add content through content blocks and fields for the recipients to submit information. Assign the fields to the template roles. You can assign fields using one of the following methods:

Now that you have set up your template you can generate a document. You can start a document from:

Then assign actual recipients to the template roles and proceed to the next steps –editing and sending the document.

Your variables have been filled out with the recipient’s info, and fields have been automatically assigned to the recipients. It’s that easy! Set up a template once and save time generating professional-looking documents in a couple of clicks!

Access your templates by selecting Templates in the Documents app.

Go to Templates in the left navigation panel. Your Templates hub now includes:

Select +Template at the top right to start a new one.
​

You will have a few options:

Alternatively, you can convert a .docx file into an editable PandaDoc.

Note: The template/document title shouldn't exceed 250 characters.

Click on Select files or drag and drop your file to the upload area.

Supported file formats for upload: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .jpeg, .jpg, .png.

You may run into an error uploading your document if it meets any of the following criteria:

Learn more about common upload issues here.

Tip: If you need to change content on an uploaded PDF file, you can add a text block over the text that needs some edits, then hide the original content with a background color and type the needed text over it.

If you’d like to replace uploaded content while keeping blocks and fields in place, there is an option to use Replacing a source file feature.

There are several ways you can bundle your documents on the template level.

Alternatively, select the templates/documents you'd like to bundle in the template/document list and click Bundle at the top of the page.

Learn more here.

Alright, you have started your template. The very first thing to do is to add your roles. Roles are placeholders for future recipients, like Client, Accounting, Signer, etc.

Each role generates role variables. Variables are used as placeholders for dynamic information about your recipients that will change from document to document - Name, Address, Company name.

Add content through content blocks and fields for the recipients to submit information. Assign the fields to the template roles.

Now that you have set up your template you can generate a document. You can start a document from:

Then assign actual recipients to the template roles and click Continue. And that’s it!

Your variables have been filled out with the recipient’s info, and fields have been automatically assigned to the recipients. It’s that easy! Set up a template once and save time generating professional-looking documents in a couple of clicks!

Learn how to create a reusable template in PandaDoc, making it easy to customize documents for each recipient and improve efficiency.