If you’re in sales, you know contracts are a necessary evil. They’re repetitive, they slow you down, and if you mess them up, things get expensive. This guide is for sales teams who want to spend less time fussing with documents and more time closing deals. We’ll walk through the nuts and bolts of setting up reusable contract templates in Oneflow, why it matters, and what to avoid so you don’t waste your time.
Why bother with reusable templates?
If you send the same contract over and over—just tweaking names, numbers, and maybe a clause or two—doing it by hand is an invitation for mistakes. Reusable templates in Oneflow let you:
- Cut down on busywork.
- Stay consistent (no more “Oops, I sent the wrong version”).
- Speed up reviews and approvals.
- Make onboarding new reps less painful.
That said, templates aren’t magic. If your contracts are wildly different every time, templates only get you so far. But for most sales teams, 90% of a contract is boilerplate. Let’s automate that.
Step 1: Map out what you actually need
Don’t just jump into Oneflow and start building templates. First, get clear about:
- Which contracts get reused the most? (E.g., NDAs, standard sales agreements, renewals)
- What parts change? (Company name, pricing, terms)
- What’s always the same? (Legal language, cancellation policy)
Pro tip: Grab a highlighter and mark up a few recent contracts. Highlight what changes and what doesn’t. This is your “template skeleton.”
What to ignore: Don’t try to template contracts that are one-offs or require heavy legal review every time. Focus on your bread-and-butter deals.
Step 2: Get your Oneflow workspace ready
Before you build templates, make sure your Oneflow setup isn’t a mess:
- Permissions: Decide who can create, edit, and send templates. Too many cooks = chaos.
- Folders: Organize by contract type (e.g., “Master Agreements,” “NDAs,” “SaaS Subscriptions”). Don’t dump everything in one place.
- Branding: Upload your logo and check if there are company-wide styles or language you must use.
Gotcha to watch for: If you have multiple sales teams, clarify now if you need separate templates or just different sections.
Step 3: Create your first template
In Oneflow, templates are built from sections and fields. Here’s how to get started:
- Go to Templates: In the left menu, click “Templates.”
- Create New Template: Hit the “New Template” button.
- Name it something you’ll actually recognize. “Standard Sales Contract” beats “Template #3.”
- Add Sections: Most contracts break down into things like Introduction, Terms, Pricing, and Signatures. Add a section for each.
- Insert Variables: Anywhere you’d normally type in a name, date, or number, add a variable (Oneflow calls these “text fields” or “data fields”). For example:
- {{Client Name}}
- {{Start Date}}
- {{Total Price}}
- Add Conditional Sections (Optional): If sometimes a clause is included and sometimes not, set up rules so it only appears when needed.
Pro tip: Don’t go wild with variables. Too many, and you’ll confuse your team or invite errors.
What doesn’t work: Don’t try to recreate your entire contract as one giant text field. Use sections for readability and easier editing.
Step 4: Set roles and responsibilities
Templates are only useful if people use them right. Set some ground rules:
- Who can edit templates? (Usually just a few admins or legal.)
- Who can fill in fields and send contracts? (Sales reps, probably.)
- Who reviews changes? If you change a template, does legal need to sign off?
Pro tip: Lock down sections with critical language so reps can’t accidentally (or “accidentally”) change legal terms.
Step 5: Test your template—don’t skip this
Before rolling out a template, run through a “dummy” contract:
- Fill in every field with test data.
- Send it to a colleague as if they’re the customer.
- Have someone else check:
- Did all the variables populate?
- Is the formatting clean?
- Anything missing or weird?
What to ignore: Don’t just preview it yourself. Fresh eyes catch more mistakes.
Step 6: Roll out to the sales team
Now, make it easy for your team to actually use the template:
- Training: A short walkthrough (screen share or video) showing how to use the template beats a 20-page PDF.
- Quick links: Pin templates to the top of the Oneflow dashboard or share direct links.
- Checklist: Give reps a simple pre-send checklist—did you update the right fields? Did you pick the right template?
Pro tip: Set up template “favorites” for the most used contracts to save clicks.
Step 7: Keep templates updated (but don’t overdo it)
Contracts change—pricing, terms, or legal boilerplate gets updated. Build a process for:
- Regular reviews: Quarterly is usually enough unless your business changes fast.
- Feedback loop: Let reps flag when templates are missing something or causing confusion.
- Version control: Don’t just overwrite old templates. Keep a copy of each version in case you need to refer back.
What doesn’t work: Changing templates every week. It confuses everyone and leads to mistakes. Stability > constant tweaking.
Step 8: Make the most of Oneflow’s features (but don’t overcomplicate)
Oneflow has bells and whistles: e-signatures, audit trails, integrations, reminders. By all means, use what saves time, but don’t get sucked into fancy features you don’t need.
- E-signatures: Saves you from printing, scanning, and chasing signatures.
- Integrations: If you use a CRM (like HubSpot or Salesforce), connect it so deal info auto-fills in contracts.
- Reminders and notifications: Use them to nudge clients who haven’t signed—but don’t spam.
What to ignore: Don’t automate away all human touch. Sometimes a quick call does more than a dozen email reminders.
A few honest lessons learned
- Templates won’t fix a messy contract process. Clean up your legal language first.
- If your team ignores templates, ask why. Usually, they’re too complex or don’t fit real deals.
- The more you lock down, the fewer mistakes—but also, the less flexibility. Find your own balance.
Keep it simple and iterate
Reusable templates in Oneflow can save your sales team hours every week—if you keep them simple and actually use them. Don’t try to build the “perfect” template out of the gate. Start small, see what works, and improve as you go. The simpler your process, the more your team will actually use it. And that’s really the point: less paperwork, more selling.