Documents

Understanding document templates

Document templates in Tallyfy help you create policies, reference materials, and guides where people don’t need to follow a strict sequence. Think of them as smart forms¹ - they keep your documents looking perfect while saving hours of formatting time.

Here’s how they work. Document templates lock down your standard text and formatting, but include editable fields where users add their specific details. Perfect consistency meets real-world flexibility.

Unlike procedure templates designed for sequential step-by-step workflows (such as employee onboarding processes), document templates excel for information sharing that doesn’t need strict task sequencing or workflow dependencies.

Advantages of document templates

• Brand Consistency: Every document looks exactly the same - same fonts, same layout, same professional appearance across all teams
• Operational Efficiency: What used to take hours now takes minutes. Users just fill in the blanks instead of starting from scratch
• Quality Assurance: Nobody can accidentally mess up your standard content. The important stuff stays locked while users customize what they need
• Centralized Updates: Change the template once, and all future documents get the update. No more hunting down outdated versions
• Universal Accessibility: Works on any device - phone, tablet, computer. No downloads, no special software

Three customer case studies show these changes cut document creation time by 70%. That’s real time back in your day.

Document template structure

Document templates have two parts:

1. Fixed Content Sections: The stuff that never changes - your standard text, formatting, headers, footers. Users can’t touch these parts, which keeps everything consistent
2. Dynamic Editable Fields: The blanks users fill in. Name fields, dates, specific details - whatever makes each document unique

Simple. Your documents stay on-brand while users add what they need.

Working with document templates

Types of document templates you can create

You can build templates for pretty much any document your organization uses:

• Corporate Policies (social media guidelines, remote work rules, code of conduct)
• Procedural Guidance (how to talk to clients, meeting protocols, escalation paths)
• Reference Materials (vendor contacts, security codes, resource lists)
• Legal Documents (contracts, agreements, compliance forms, terms of service)
• Business Proposals (sales decks, project proposals, partnership agreements)
• Intake Forms (client info sheets, vendor onboarding, assessment questionnaires)
• Standard Operating Instructions (equipment guides, safety procedures, tech manuals)

We’ve seen companies use these templates for 95% of their documents. Hours of work become minutes.

Deploying document templates

When you launch a document template, here’s what happens:

1. Instance Creation: Tallyfy creates a fresh copy of your template as an active process. You can track who’s working on it and when
2. Controlled Editing: Users can only change the fields you’ve marked as editable. Everything else stays locked
3. Consistent Output: Every completed document looks exactly like your template intended

Launch, fill in, done. Each document meets your standards without the hassle.

Digital documents vs. traditional files

Remember wrestling with Word documents? Tallyfy online documents fix those headaches:

• Automated Formatting: No more fiddling with fonts and margins. Your templates handle all the formatting automatically
• Clear Edit Boundaries: You can instantly see what’s editable (highlighted fields) and what’s locked. No accidents
• Version Control: One document, one location. No more “Final_v3_REALLY_final.docx” chaos
• Content Reusability: Use snippets² to drop in standard text blocks. Write once, use everywhere
• Multilingual Support: Built-in translation for global teams (yes, really)
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Works the same on phones, tablets, computers. No weird formatting issues

Bottom line? You spend 90% less time managing documents and more time getting actual work done.

Tallyfy Documents vs. Microsoft Word

Here’s how Tallyfy documents compare to programs like Microsoft Word:

Feature	Tallyfy Documents	Microsoft Word
Main Use	Reading and working together online	Mostly for printing, but can be used online
Formatting	Consistent style set for the whole company; text is cleaned up	Manual formatting for each document
Navigation (TOC)	Table of contents made automatically from headings	Table of contents needs to be created and updated manually
Version Control	One main version; changes are tracked	Often results in many different file versions
Working Together	Real-time access based on roles; connects to workflows	Sharing files; fewer options for working together live
Images	Optimized for web viewing; sizing options	More formatting options for print and screen

Moving from Word to Tallyfy

When copying text from Word into Tallyfy, focus on bringing over the words first. Then, use Tallyfy headings (H1, H2, H3) to structure the content. Tallyfy removes Word’s formatting when you paste, ensuring your documents look clean and consistent with your company’s style.

• Add fields to documents
• Create a table of contents
• Digital signatures
• Generate documents
• Launch document templates

Related articles

Pro > Essentials

Tallyfy transforms static business documentation into live workflows through three template types - Procedure Templates for sequential processes Document Templates for reusable formatted content and Form Templates for data collection - ensuring consistent execution with real-time tracking and continuous improvement capabilities.

Documents > Add fields to documents

Tallyfy document templates allow you to create smart forms with editable fields for names dates and text that maintain consistent formatting while letting users customize specific content areas through a simple interface that prevents formatting issues and ensures professional standardized documents every time.

Documenting > Templates

Templates are reusable blueprints that transform business processes into self-driving workflows by capturing every step and decision point while automatically assigning tasks sending reminders and tracking progress to eliminate process variations and reduce completion time by 40%.

Features > Fill in the blanks

Tallyfy enables users to replace document cloning with smart templates that combine unchangeable standard text with customizable fill-in-the-blank fields snippets for reusable content blocks and variables that automatically pull in previously collected data to streamline document creation and reduce errors.

Footnotes

1. Dynamic forms with locked standard content and editable fields for user input ↩

2. Reusable text blocks in Tallyfy that can be inserted across multiple documents ↩