Letter Templates
Letter Templates allow the creation of reusable Microsoft Word Letters / Documents such as a Tenancy Agreements, Section 21 etc with personalized content via MS Word Merge Fields. A number of Templates are pre-installed that can be modified or used as the basis for creating new Templates using the Copy Existing function.
Step 1 - Create the Letter Template
Step 2 - Insert the Merge Fields
Letter Templates can be accessed via File → Configuration → Templates → Letters
Configuration and Administration tab of the ribbon menu or directly from the Contacts and Properties screens when sending a Letter.
New Templates can be created at any time and there is no limit to the number of Templates defined.
Create a New Letter Template
Step 1 Create the Letter Template
Add the details for the Template in the following fields:
Under General Details tab
Description
Group - the Template Group this Template is associated with e.g. General, Sales, Lettings etc
Content Type - specify whether it is a Transactional or Marketing type letter for GDPR purposes
Save copy for each Contact - will create an entry in the Correspondence tab for each Contact sent to if select
Follow-up Task Interval - if set, a Task will be created for the User who created the Letter for the Contact which will appear x days in the future based on the Follow-up Task Interval
Follow-up Task Priority - this will be set to Normal by default but optionally the Priority can be change to High or Low
Letter Options tab
Word File Name - the file name of a Microsoft Word Document (.DOC) or Template (.DOT) to use. If a file name is not specified then Acquaint will create a file with a named based on the Description
Save Copy For Each Contact - if ticked a copy of the generated Word Document will be saved against the Contact in the Documents Path as specified in System Configuration. Note that a sub directory (folder) will be created for each Contact with a name based on their ID. Also note that saving all documents created may result in a large use of hard disk space
Letter Type - choose from Standard, Tenancy Agreement, Section 21 or Section 8.
Letterhead Template - this allows a different letterhead to be specified per Branch. This can be set to None, Default, or Custom. If set to Default the letter will use the General Letterhead assigned to the default Company for the currently logged in Branch. If set to Custom the user will be able to select a specific Letterhead Template to use for the Letter.
Letterhead Pages - whether the Letterhead appears on All Pages or First Page Only.
Show On Client Login - When a letter using a Template with 'Show On Client Login' option switched on is converted to a .PDF Acquaint will automatically mark the PDF to show on Client Login.
Step 2 Insert the Merge Fields
Click Setup to insert the merge fields. Before the document opens in Word you will be presented with the type of letter you want to create, this will auto generate some of the merge fields for you.
Add your required Merge Fields
Once the Merge Fields have been inserted and the MS Word Template has been saved click Save on the Letter Template.
The Template is now ready to use.
Editing Existing Letter Templates
Access Templates via File → Configuration → Templates → Letters
Select the Template to edit and make the changes as necessary. If you want to edit the Merge Fields click the Setup button which will load the Word template and from here you can edit the document and add/remove merge fields as required. Remember to save the template in MS Word.
Click Save on the Letter Template screen to save the Letter Template in Acquaint.
The Template is now ready to use.
When creating a new Template a Copy Existing button is displayed that allows an existing Microsoft Word Document (.DOC / .DOCX) or Template (.DOT / .DOTX) to be used as a starting point for the new Word file.
If a Section 8 or Section 21 is run for a Contact with a Current Tenancy the status of the Tenancy will be updated to Notice Served, providing the Template has Tenancy Merge fields