20 min guideUpdated September 2026App review required

Brand your quotes, invoices, purchase orders and job sheets from one settings page

Brand the Word layout behind each quote, invoice, purchase order, job sheet and other document, then make it the default so every new document your team generates uses it.

Best forOwner / Admin

Before you beginUse a representative record and confirm you have the permissions required for this area.

Step by step

Open Settings, then Templates; the Document templates page opens on the Templates tab with one section per document type.
Find the section you want to brand, such as QUOTE / ESTIMATE, and select the download icon on the SignBas3 row to see the shipped layout and the merge fields it expects.
Select the duplicate icon on that row; SignBas3 creates an organisation copy named after the original with copy added and opens it in the editor.
Under Word file, select Download current, edit the file in Word, add your logo and styling, and keep every merge field in braces exactly as it is.
Select Upload new version and choose the edited .docx file; the status line changes to New Word file ready to save.
Give the template a clear Name, tick Use as the default for this document type, set the Date format and the other options, then select Save changes.
Open a real record and generate the document from its document workspace to confirm the new layout renders correctly.
If a change needs to be undone, open the template again, select Version history, and choose Roll Back on the version you want to restore.

Good practice

Never brand a layout without a test: duplicate the SignBas3 row, upload the branded file, and generate a real quote, invoice or job sheet before ticking Use as the default for this document type. New generations use the saved version and previously issued files stay unchanged, so the only cost of a bad upload is the minute it takes to roll back.

When you are finishedEach document type uses a branded, organisation-owned Word layout, the right layout is the default, and every earlier version can be restored from Version history.

Before you begin

You are signed in as an Owner or Admin.
You have Microsoft Word, or another editor that saves .docx files, on your computer.
Your logo and brand styling are ready to place in the Word file.

Complete workflow

How the workflow moves

01
Find the document type
Open Settings > Templates and find the section for the document you want to brand, such as Quote / estimate or Tax invoice.
02
Duplicate the SignBas3 layout
Duplicate the shipped template so your organisation owns every edit and version.
03
Edit in Word and upload
Download the current file, brand it, keep the merge fields intact, then upload it as a new version.
04
Set the default and generate
Make the template the default for its document type, then generate a real document to prove the layout.

Setup dependency

Settings that change this workflow

The same task can behave differently between organisations. Check these settings before treating a different result as an error.

On switch/documents/delivery

A template switched off is not offered in the document workspace; a document type with no template on reports No active templates are available.

Open in SignBas3 →

Default template/documents/delivery

The document workspace preselects the default template for the document type unless you have used another one before, so the default decides which layout your team sees first.

Open in SignBas3 →

File names/documents/delivery

The organisation file name pattern names every downloaded PDF and emailed attachment for that document type.

Open in SignBas3 →

Email message/documents/delivery

Prefills the subject and message shown in the email section of the document workspace for that template.

Open in SignBas3 →

What this controls

Settings > Templates manages the Word layouts used to generate quotes, invoices, purchase orders, job sheets and other documents, and how each generated file is named. The page has two tabs. Templates groups every template by document type and is where you brand, switch on and set defaults. File names sets the organisation-level naming pattern for each document type.

The document workspace offers only the templates that are on for each document type and preselects the default, so what you set here is what your team sees when they select Document, Email or Job documents.

Before you start

Only Owners and Admins can open Settings > Templates, and templates must be Word .docx files.
SignBas3 ships one layout each for quotes, supplier purchase orders, tax invoices and job sheets. Every other document type reads No template yet until you upload a Word template for it.
Have your logo ready; brand styling lives in the Word file, not in SignBas3.
The Install / WHS module is not listed here. It is managed through the job's Jobsite tab.

Walkthrough

Step 1: Open the Templates tab

The page header reads Document templates, with a Search templates box and an Upload template button above the sections. Each document type section, such as SUPPLIER PURCHASE ORDER or JOB SHEET, has an Upload action and a table with Name, Usage, Origin, Default, On and Actions columns.

Step 2: Read the row and download the shipped layout

Origin shows SignBas3, Organisation or Imported. Default shows a green Default badge or a Set default button. On is a switch that makes the template selectable; the default template's switch stays locked while it is the default. Actions offers download and duplicate, plus archive for organisation templates. The download icon saves the current Word file so you can see the merge fields.

Step 3: Duplicate the row

Duplicate creates an organisation copy and opens the editor with the message Copy created. Download it, edit it in Word, then upload the new version here. SignBas3 rows cannot be edited in place; selecting an organisation row's name opens its editor.

Step 4: Edit in Word

Under Word file, select Download current. Edit the file in Word, add logos and brand styling, and keep every merge field in braces unchanged.

Step 5: Upload the new version

Select Upload new version and choose the edited file. The status line reads New Word file ready to save, or Checked with the number of merge fields and repeating sections found. A file that is not .docx is refused with Templates must be Word .docx files.

Step 6: Set the options and save

Document type and Name are required. Usage is the label shown beside the name when someone picks a template, such as Standard or Pro Forma Invoice. Available when generating documents keeps the template selectable. Date format defaults to 1 October 2026 style with six alternatives. Purchase order templates offer Include the receiving QR code; job templates offer Include the live job QR code. File name pattern and Email message fall back to the organisation default when blank. Tick Use as the default for this document type, then select Save changes; Template changes saved confirms it.

Step 7: Generate a real document

Open a quote, invoice, purchase order or job and generate its document. The workspace preselects the default template; check the logo, dates, tables and totals in the PDF preview.

Step 8: Roll back if needed

Version history lists every uploaded version with its number, author, date and change notes, and marks the active one Current. Roll Back asks you to confirm and makes that version the active one; Download saves any earlier version.

File names tab

Set a pattern for Invoice, Quote / estimate, Purchase order, Job & production documents, Report and Invoice statement. Select a variable chip to insert it, then select Save changes; Document file names saved confirms it.

What changes elsewhere

The document workspace at /documents/delivery lists only templates that are on for the document type and preselects the one you used last, then the default; a type with none on shows No active templates are available.
Quote, invoice and saved-report pages show Document and Email buttons; with more than one template on they gain a template picker.
Downloaded PDFs and emailed attachments are named from the File names pattern, for example Invoice-{DocumentNumber}-{ClientName}-{CurrentDate:YYYYMMDD}.
Previously issued files remain unchanged; only new generations use the saved version.

Common problems

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Save is disabled on a new template	A .docx file has not been chosen, or Name or Document type is empty.	Select Choose Word file, then complete Name and Document type.
Templates must be Word .docx files	The chosen file is a PDF or another format.	Save the layout as .docx in Word and upload again.
No template yet. Upload a Word template to make this document available.	No template exists for that document type.	Select Upload in that section and choose your Word file.
The On switch or archive icon is disabled	The template is the default for its type.	Set another template as the default first.
Document workspace shows No active templates are available	Every template for that type is switched off.	Turn a template on, or upload one.

Check your work

The section lists your organisation row with Origin reading Organisation, the Default badge and the On switch on.
A freshly generated document shows your logo and styling with every merge field populated.
Version history lists the uploaded version marked Current.

Explore sign shop job management software →

If your workspace behaves differently, record the relevant job, client or record number and raise a support ticket so the team can investigate the exact context.