Template_Contract_Flow_Complete_Guide

CONTRACT CREATION  ›  TEMPLATE CONTRACT FLOW

Template Contract Flow

Complete Admin Guide — Setup, Configuration & Template Building

Audience: Workspace Admins  |  Collection: Configuring Template Workflow

This guide covers everything an admin needs to set up, configure, and build a Template Contract Flow in SpotDraft — from creating the workflow in Workflow Manager to building the template document in DraftMate.

PART 1

Setting Up and Managing Template Workflows

Configure your workflow structure, contract types, approvals, and settings in SpotDraft Workflow Manager

1. What is Workflow Manager?

Workflow Manager is SpotDraft's no-code system for building and managing contract workflows. Use it to define how contracts are created, reviewed, approved, and signed — all without writing any code.

It gives you control over every step of the contract lifecycle:

• Automate repetitive tasks and reduce manual handoffs

• Define clear roles — who creates, reviews, approves, and signs

• Standardise processes to reduce errors across contract types

• Monitor contract progress in real time

• Organise contracts by type, team, and workflow

Two types of workflows

How to open Workflow Manager

1. In the left sidebar click Manage

2. Select Workflow Manager

3. You'll see all existing workflows — published and draft

2. Creating a Template Workflow

A Template Workflow defines the questionnaire, approvals, signatories, and template document used every time someone creates a contract of this type.

Step 1 — Start a new workflow

1. In Workflow Manager click Set up new workflow

2. Select Template Workflow

3. Enter a Workflow Name that reflects the contract type (e.g. "NDA – Mutual", "MSA – Outbound")

4. Optionally add a Description

Step 2 — Link a contract type

1. In the Linked Contract Type dropdown select an existing contract type or create one inline (see Section 3)

2. Click Start Setup

Step 3 — Upload your template document

1. Upload the MS Word (.docx) template coded with DraftMate variables

2. SpotDraft parses the document and maps variables to questionnaire questions

Step 4 — Configure parties

1. Define your Company party and the Counterparty

2. Specify whether the counterparty is an Organisation, Individual, or both

Step 5 — Set up the questionnaire

1. Add questions for all variables in your template

2. Set required vs. optional fields

3. Configure conditional logic to show or hide questions based on answers

4. Add computations for fields that should auto-calculate (e.g. Bonus = 20% of Annual Salary)

Step 6 — Configure approvals, signatures, and reminders

1. Add approval steps under Approvals and Reviews

2. Configure signatories under Signature Setup

3. Set signature reminders under Additional Options → Reminders

Step 7 — Configure workflow settings

Under Workflow Settings configure:

• Skip redlining — allow contracts to skip the counterparty redlining stage

• Contract title format — define how contracts are named when created

• Default currencies — fixed or conditional defaults per workflow

• Email attachment format — link, MS Word, or PDF

• Approval watermark — automatically stamp contracts at the signing stage

• Auto-extract metadata — run Smart Data Capture on contract execution

Step 8 — Publish the workflow

1. Click Publish Workflow

2. The workflow goes live — business users can now create contracts from it

3. A Published badge appears on the workflow card

3. Creating a New Contract Type from Workflow Manager

You can create a contract type inline while setting up a workflow — no need to leave Workflow Manager.

While creating a new workflow

1. Reach the Linked Contract Type step

2. Click the dropdown — if your contract type doesn't exist, click Add "[your name]" at the bottom

3. Enter the contract type name

4. Set Access Controls — Creators, Viewers, Suggestors, Editors, and Signatories

5. Set Default Signatories

6. Click Save — the new type is created and linked automatically

4. Duplicating a Workflow

Duplicating creates a new workflow based on an existing one — ideal for regional variants, new tiers, or testing changes before rolling out to a live workflow.

Method 1 — From the workflow list

1. Go to Manage → Workflow Manager

2. Click the three-dot (⋮) menu on the workflow card

3. Select Duplicate Workflow

Method 2 — From inside a workflow

1. Open the workflow

2. Click the three-dot (⋮) menu in the top right header

3. Select Duplicate Workflow

After selecting Duplicate

1. Update the Workflow Name, Description, and Linked Contract Type in the dialog

2. Click Start Setup

3. The new workflow opens in draft — update and publish when ready

5. Viewing the Published Version of a Workflow

Edits to a workflow are saved as drafts. The published version — what business users see — stays unchanged until you explicitly publish. Use this view to confirm what's live before making changes.

What the published version shows

• Questions and questionnaire logic currently active

• Approval steps and conditions in effect

• Signature settings and signatory configuration

• Template document version being used

How to view it

1. Go to Manage → Workflow Manager

2. Select a published workflow

3. Click the three-dot (⋮) menu → View Published Version

6. Discarding Unpublished Changes

Revert a workflow to its last published state in one step — useful when edits were made in error or need to be undone before team review.

When to use this

• Edits were made in error and you need to start fresh from the last published version

• You're waiting for sign-off and want to undo exploratory changes

• A workflow was partially edited by someone else and needs to be reset

Steps

1. Go to Manage → Workflow Manager

2. Open the workflow with draft changes

3. Click the three-dot (⋮) menu → Discard Changes

4. Click Discard in the confirmation dialog

5. "Workflow changes have been discarded successfully" confirmation appears

7. Recent Updates to Workflow Manager

PART 2

Building Your Template Document with DraftMate

Add variables, conditional logic, and signature blocks in Microsoft Word using the DraftMate plugin

DraftMate is SpotDraft's Microsoft Word plugin. Use it to build smart contract templates — add variables, conditional logic, and signature blocks directly in Word, without switching tabs or toggling between windows.

8. Before You Start

Before building a template make sure:

• You have an Admin or Template Builder role in SpotDraft

• You're using Microsoft Word for desktop — not Word Online

• A workflow exists in Workflow Manager — or you're ready to create one (Part 1 above)

• You have the DraftMate plugin installed (see Section 9)

9. Installing DraftMate

1. Open Microsoft Word on your desktop

2. Go to Insert → Add-ins → Get Add-ins

3. Search for "SpotDraft DraftMate" and click Add

4. The DraftMate panel appears in your Word ribbon

5. Click Sign in and log in with your SpotDraft credentials

10. Setting Up Your Template in DraftMate

Since DraftMate 2.0, you can set up a new template workflow entirely within DraftMate — without opening SpotDraft in your browser.

1. In the DraftMate panel click Create new template

2. Name the template and select the contract type

3. Define the parties involved (e.g. Company, Counterparty)

4. Set access permissions — who can request contracts using this template

5. Click Start building to open your Word document in template mode

11. Adding Variables

Variables are placeholders that auto-fill with contract-specific data at the time of contract creation — such as party names, dates, or custom fields.

To insert a variable

1. Place your cursor where the variable should appear in the document

2. In the DraftMate panel click the Variables icon

3. Search for or browse the variable you need

4. Click Insert — the variable appears as {{ variable_name }}

Creating a new variable from DraftMate

1. Click + New variable in the Variables panel

2. Name the variable and select a data type (text, date, number, dropdown, etc.)

3. Click Save — it is added to the workflow questionnaire automatically

12. Adding Conditional Logic

Conditional logic shows or hides sections of a contract based on questionnaire answers.

Basic conditional — wrap text in DraftMate

1. Highlight the text or clause you want to make conditional

2. Click the Conditions icon in the DraftMate panel

3. Select the question that will trigger the condition

4. Set the rule (e.g. "If Governing Law = India, show this clause")

5. Click Apply

Using the Condition Library in DraftMate

If your workspace has a Condition Library set up, you can insert and create conditions directly from DraftMate — without opening SpotDraft in your browser.

1. Click the Condition Library icon in the DraftMate panel

2. Browse or search existing conditions from your workspace library

3. Select a condition and click Insert to apply it to highlighted text

4. To create a new condition: click + New condition, define the rule, and Save — it's added to the library and applied simultaneously

13. Inserting Signature Blocks

Signature blocks define where each party signs on the final contract. Blocks inserted in DraftMate appear identically on the signed contract — what you see in the template is what signatories will see.

To insert a signature block

1. Place your cursor where the signature block should appear

2. Click the Signature Block icon in the DraftMate panel

3. Select the signing party (e.g. Company, Counterparty)

4. Choose the fields to include for that party:

1. Click Insert — the block is placed at your cursor position

Adding signatory location fields

Add location fields to any signature block — self-serve, no need to contact SpotDraft support.

Available location fields: Street address, City / Town, State / Region, Zip / Postal code, Country, Full address (auto-combines all fields above)

1. Click the signature block in your template to select it

2. In the DraftMate panel click Edit fields

3. Under Location toggle on the fields you need

4. Click Update block

How signature blocks behave when signatories change

Signature blocks in DraftMate are party-based — not tied to individual signatories. This means:

• Replacing, updating, or removing a signatory leaves the block intact

• The block automatically maps to whoever is assigned to that party at signing

• No need to re-insert blocks when the signing lineup changes

14. Working with Dynamic Tables

Dynamic tables let you add rows at contract creation time — useful for line items, deliverables, or repeated data blocks.

To insert a dynamic table

1. Place your cursor where the table should go

2. Click the Dynamic Table icon in the DraftMate panel

3. Define your column headers using variables

4. Click Insert table

Managing columns

• Add a column: hover between existing columns → click the + icon that appears

• Reorder columns: drag and drop column headers to rearrange

• Remove a column: click the column header → select Delete column

15. Known Limitations