Design Templates allow you to save your visual and structural preferences for proposals. You can create as many design templates as you need, giving you a quick set-up process for all types of proposals you send or clients you serve.
While Pricing Templates handle what you are selling, Design Templates handle how it is presented and delivered to the client.
This guide shows you how to standardise the look, feel, and delivery of your proposals using Design Templates.
Setting Up a New Design Template
Navigate to Practice Settings > Design Templates and click + New. You can start with a Blank Template or copy the design elements from an Existing Proposal.
Customisation: Inclusion vs. Exclusion
Design Templates are flexible to your requirements. You can choose to include detailed brand elements, or keep things minimalist by leaving sections blank or turning them off.
Turn Off: Use the toggles to remove entire sections (like testimonials or brochures) from the proposal if they aren't relevant to that specific template.
Minimalist Builds: If you leave a section blank (like the Video Introduction), Socket simply excludes that element, ensuring your proposal looks polished and professional without any gaps.
Key Customisation Options
In the template editor, you can pre-configure the following:
Approval Flow: Choose between Email + Summary or No Email.
Proposal Introduction: Select from your library of pre-written intro text.
Video Introduction: Embed a Loom, YouTube, or Vimeo link.
Proposal Approved: Define the "Next Steps" or content shown immediately after a client or prospect signs.
Practice Brochure: Select specific promotional brochures from your content to be included.
Testimonials: Pick which client success stories to highlight.
Proposal Reminders: Set up automated chasing. You can define if and when Socket should send follow-up emails to the client if the proposal remains unsigned.
Additional Customisation: Toggle on/off the display of line-item prices, GoCardless instructions, and Title Images.
Ad-hoc Customisation
It is important to remember that using a template does not "lock" the proposal design. Even after applying a Design Template, you can still manually customise or change any element on the Customise screen during the proposal build.
This allows you to use a template for 90% of the work while still making ad-hoc adjustments (such as adding a specific video walkthrough for the client or adjusting the reminder frequency for one specific lead) without changing the master template.
Applying Design Templates
Design Templates are selected on the General screen during proposal creation.
They do not affect your services; they simply "skin" the proposal and set delivery rules.
You can use a Design Template on its own, or combine it with a Pricing Template for a completely automated setup.
Pro-Tip: Industry-Specific Branding
Consider creating different Design Templates for different types of work. You might want a "Formal" design with full brochures and an intensive reminder email cadence for high-value Audit proposals, and a "Minimalist" design with less frequent reminders for basic bookkeeping tasks.