Templates

Recurring documents should start from a clean master that nobody edits by accident.

What a template is for

If your team writes the same kind of document more than twice a month (quotes, meeting notes, incident reports, client letters), a template saves time and stops drift. Everyone starts from the same headings, the same styles, the same footer with the right phone number.

A template is just a Google Doc with three qualities:

  1. The structure is complete: title, headings, standard sections, footer.
  2. Placeholder text marks what to fill in, in square brackets: [Client name], [Date of visit].
  3. Nothing specific to one job is left in it.

A template with those three qualities.

A mock Site visit report template with real headings for Findings and Next steps, bracketed placeholders for Client name, Date of visit, what was checked and actions, and a footer naming the owner Ana Ruiz and a review date of 2027-05-01, with four checks beside it: structure complete, bracketed placeholders, nothing job-specific, owner and review date
Headings, bracketed placeholders and a footer with an owner and review date; nothing about any one client.

Making one

Start from the best recent example of that document. Make a copy. Strip out anything about that particular client or date and replace it with bracketed placeholders. Check the styles (lesson 1) so headings are real headings. Name it clearly: “TEMPLATE - Site visit report”.

Then decide where it lives. Two good options:

Where Best for
Your organization’s template gallery Company-wide documents everyone should find without asking
A “Templates” folder in a shared drive Team templates; quick to set up, easy to update

Avoid keeping templates in someone’s My Drive. When that person leaves, the template goes with them.

A quick demonstration of creating and reusing a template.

Video: How to Create and Use Google Docs Templates · Workspace Tips · 2 minNote the difference between opening the template and making a copy of it; only the copy should ever be filled in.Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Using one without wrecking it

The commonest template mistake is opening the master and typing the client’s name into it. Now the template has a client’s name in it and the next person copies that.

Always make a copy first, rename the copy, then fill it in. If your team keeps doing this by accident, set the template to Viewer access for everyone except one or two owners. Viewers can still make a copy; they just cannot damage the master.

The workflow, and the mistake it prevents.

A flow from a master template named TEMPLATE Site visit report with Viewer access for the team, through Make a copy, to a copy that is renamed 2026-11-05_Bayside_SiteVisit_v1 and filled in, with a warning box explaining that typing the client name into the master means the next person copies it too, and that Viewer access for everyone but the owners prevents this
Copy, rename, fill in. Viewer access on the master means nobody can type a client name into it by mistake.

Keeping it current

Templates rot. Phone numbers change, a section becomes irrelevant, a legal line gets added. Give each template an owner and a review date in its footer or a comment. When it changes, name a version (lesson 6) so you can see what the template looked like when an old document was created.

Try it now

Pick one document type your team writes often. Take the best recent example, make a copy, replace specifics with [bracketed placeholders], and save it in a shared drive folder called Templates with Viewer access for the team. Make a copy from it to confirm the workflow.

Remember: copy the template, never edit it. If people keep editing it, lock it to Viewer.

Checking your progress…