How to create reusable templates in Docusign for faster contract generation

If you’re sick of cobbling together contracts from scratch every time, you’re not alone. Anyone who sends out a lot of agreements—sales folks, HR, operations, you name it—knows how repetitive and error-prone that gets. Enter Docusign. With the right templates, you can skip the copy-paste routine, get signatures faster, and stop worrying if you forgot something important. This guide is for anyone who wants to set up reusable Docusign templates that actually save time (and headaches).

Why bother with templates?

Let’s be real: Docusign’s templates aren’t fancy, but they do what you need—help you standardize documents and automate the boring stuff. Here’s what’s actually useful:

  • Consistency: Everyone gets the same contract every time.
  • Speed: Less time prepping, more time doing real work.
  • Fewer mistakes: No more “Oops, I sent last year’s pricing.”
  • Easy updates: Fix a clause in one place; done.

What doesn’t work? Trying to make one template do everything. If you overcomplicate things, you’ll spend more time troubleshooting than sending out docs.

Step 1: Figure out what should be a template

Don’t make a template for every document. Focus on contracts or forms you send over and over, with only minor changes each time. Good candidates:

  • NDAs
  • Sales contracts
  • Offer letters
  • Vendor agreements
  • Policy acknowledgments

Skip anything that’s wildly custom each time. You’ll just end up editing more than you save.

Pro tip: If you’re getting requests to “just tweak this one thing” every time, consider if it’s worth making a separate template for that use case.

Step 2: Prep your base document

Start with a clean Word, PDF, or other supported file. Before uploading:

  • Remove any info that changes per person (names, dates, amounts).
  • Mark spots where info should be filled in—something like “{{ClientName}}” works.
  • Double-check formatting. Weird fonts and spacing will haunt you later.

What not to do: Don’t try to use a scanned document. Docusign can’t read fields off a scan, and mapping fields will be a pain.

Step 3: Create a new template in Docusign

Here’s the meat of the process. Log into Docusign and:

  1. Go to the Templates tab.
  2. Click New, then Create Template.
  3. Give your template a clear name (think “2024 NDA - US” not just “NDA”).
  4. Add a description for your own sanity later.

Pro tip: Use version numbers or years in your template names if you update contracts often.

Step 4: Upload your document

Attach the file you prepped in Step 2. Docusign supports Word, PDF, and a few other formats, but Word and PDF are the least hassle.

Heads up: If your contract has multiple parts (like an exhibit), upload them all now. Adding extra docs later is a pain.

Step 5: Set up roles and recipients

This is where a lot of folks get tripped up. Don’t add specific people—use roles instead. Examples:

  • Signer 1: Client
  • Signer 2: Company Rep
  • CC: Legal

Define roles based on who signs, not their names. You’ll assign real people when you send the template.

Why does this matter? If you hardcode emails, you’ll have to make a new template every time someone changes jobs.

Step 6: Add fields for signatures, initials, and info

This is the nitty-gritty part, but it’s what makes your template actually reusable.

  1. Drag signature, date, and text fields onto the document where needed.
  2. Assign each field to a role (not a person).
  3. For fill-in info (like amounts, job titles, or dates), use text or dropdown fields.
  4. Mark fields as required if they’re critical.

Watch out for: Misaligned fields. Docusign’s drag-and-drop is twitchy. Zoom in and double-check.

Ignore: Fancy conditional fields unless you really need them. They’re easy to break and hard to maintain.

Pro tip: Add helper text to fields if it’s not obvious what belongs there.

Step 7: Set up template custom fields (optional)

If you always need to track certain data (like deal number or region), you can add custom fields to the template. These show up as fillable boxes when sending out the template.

  • Go to Template Settings and add custom fields.
  • Use plain names—“Customer PO” beats “Field_34”.

Honestly, unless you have a lot of reporting needs, you can skip this step.

Step 8: Save and test your template

Before you roll it out to your team:

  1. Save the template.
  2. Use the Send a Test Envelope option.
  3. Fill in dummy info for roles.
  4. Walk through the whole signing process yourself.

What to look for: - Are all fields showing up for the right people? - Is anything missing or misaligned? - Do you have the right required fields?

Tweak as needed. It’s easier now than later, trust me.

Step 9: Share the template with your team (if needed)

If you’re in a bigger org, you might want others to use your template.

  • In template settings, you can share it with groups or make it public within your Docusign account.
  • Make sure to explain what it’s for and how to use it. Otherwise, you’ll get “what’s this?” emails.

Pro tip: Keep a short readme or doc somewhere with usage notes. Especially if you have multiple templates for similar contracts.

Step 10: Use the template—don’t just admire it

To send a contract with your template:

  1. Go to Templates.
  2. Click Use next to your template.
  3. Fill in real people for each role.
  4. Double-check pre-filled info.
  5. Hit Send.

That’s it. You’ve just avoided a dozen copy-paste errors and probably saved yourself 15 minutes.

What to skip, and what to revisit later

  • Advanced automation: Docusign has PowerForms, integrations, and APIs. Useful if you’re dealing with hundreds of docs a week, but overkill for most.
  • Conditional logic: Only bother if your contracts have tons of “if this, then that” sections.
  • Branding: You can add logos and colors, but it won’t wow anyone. Focus on clarity, not cosmetics.

A few honest takes

  • Templates aren’t magic. You’ll still need to review the contract language from time to time.
  • Don’t rely on “template inheritance” (copying templates of templates). It gets messy fast.
  • If you find yourself editing every doc you send, your template probably needs work—or you’re using it for the wrong kind of contract.

Keep it simple, keep improving

Reusable templates in Docusign aren’t hard to set up, but the trick is keeping them simple and reviewing them now and then. Start with your most-used contracts, fix what’s broken, and don’t try to automate the universe in one go. You’ll save time, dodge silly mistakes, and maybe even get contracts signed faster—without losing your mind in the process.