Templates & the editor

A template is the organizer you send to a client — built from sections, each holding questions and document requests. Every template is tied to one return type (1040, 1120-S, …) and one tax year.

Open Intake → Templates to see your firm’s templates. Click any template to open the editor.

The template list

Across the top:

• Search input — by template name.
• Return type multi-select pill.
• Tax year multi-select pill — defaults to the current tax year.
• Show archived switch.
• Clear filters button (visible when any filter is active).
• Count caption: “N templates · TY 2025 selected”.
• + New template button (top right).

Templates appear as cards in a 3-column grid (1 on mobile, 2 on tablet, 3 on desktop). Each card shows:

• Name (linked to the editor).
• Return type code.
• Tax year.
• Default badge when this is your firm’s default for that return type and tax year.
• Item counts (sections, questions, documents).
• Kebab menu: Set as default, Duplicate, Archive / Unarchive, Delete.

If you’ve never created a template, the page shows a single empty state with a + New template action. If filters return zero rows, you get “No templates match your filters” and a Clear filters button.

Creating a template

Click + New template. The Starter gallery opens with two paths:

Either way, the editor opens with the new template loaded.

[Screenshot: Starter gallery]

The editor — two-pane layout

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Template name   Return type   TY 2025   Saved   Send        │  ← top bar
├──────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                  │                                           │
│  Pack library    │   Canvas                                  │
│  (left aside)    │   (main, scrolls)                         │
│                  │                                           │
│  Generate AI     │   Suggested scenarios strip               │
│  Search          │                                           │
│  Income (8)      │   Personal info       From pack   Req     │
│   W-2 wages      │      Text   First name           Edit Del │
│   1099 income    │      Text   Last name            Edit Del │
│  Deductions      │      SSN    SSN                  Edit Del │
│  Credits         │     + Add question   + Add document       │
│  Life events     │                                           │
│  Special         │   Documents         From library pack     │
│  Custom packs    │      Doc    W-2  (required, conditional)  │
│   + Create pack  │     + Add question   + Add document       │
│                  │                                           │
│                  │   + Add section                           │
└──────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────┘

The top bar

The pack library pane

Header:

• Generate with AI button — coming in a future release.
• Search packs… input.

Body — packs grouped by scenario category (collapsible):

Each group shows a count badge and starts open. Inside, each pack has a name and an add action — if it’s already in this template, the row shows an “Added” indicator.

Below the universal categories, a Custom packs group lists your firm’s own packs, with a + Create pack link at the bottom.

Typing in the search box flattens both groups into a single result list.

The canvas

Top: the Suggested scenarios strip — recommendations based on return type and the current template. Click a suggestion to add the matching pack.

Below: a vertical stack of section cards in order.

Each section card

Header row:

• Drag handle — drag to reorder sections.
• Chevron — collapse or expand the section body. Sections start expanded.
• Title (click to rename).
• Meta line:
  • Item count and estimated fill time. The estimate is roughly 20 seconds per question and 45 seconds per document, rounded to the nearest minute.
  • Source badge: Custom, From pack, From custom pack, or From scenario. Tells you where the section came from.
  • Conditional badge (only when the section has a conditional rule) — hover to see the rule.
  • Repeatable badge (only when the section is repeatable).
• Disabled badge if the section is disabled (lock icon).
• Settings button (gear icon) — opens the config drawer for this section.
• Kebab menu — Enable section / Disable section, Delete section.

Body (when expanded):

• Each item shows: drag handle, type chip, label (click to rename), Required badge, Conditional badge, Settings, and Trash actions.
• Type chips: Text, Number, Date, Email, Yes / No, Single choice, Multi-select, Dropdown, Long text, SSN, EIN, Document.
• A question that triggers a conditional document shows a sub-row: “Triggers: {document label}”.
• An item with a conditional rule shows a sub-row describing the rule.
• Footer: + Add question and + Add document buttons.

At the bottom of the canvas: a single + Add section button that creates “New section N” and opens its config drawer.

If the template has no sections yet, the canvas shows an empty card: “No sections yet — Click Add section below to begin, or pick a pack from the library on the left.”

The config drawer

Clicking the gear on a section, or on an item, opens a slide-out drawer from the right. Three forms:

Drawer footer has two buttons:

• Delete question / document / section (outline, destructive).
• Done (primary).

The drawer saves each field as you change it. The top-bar save indicator reflects the state. You never click an explicit save button.

For full detail on question types and rules, see Question types & conditional logic.

Preview mode

Click Preview in the top bar.

The preview is a sticky-header view above a centered phone-like frame:

• Persona dropdown (top-left). Pick a persona to test conditional logic.
• Stats line (top-right): “N of M questions visible · K documents requested”.
• Below: the rendered template — section headers and every visible question shown as the actual input.
• Document items render as a dotted dropzone: “Drop {doc type} or click to upload”.

The inputs are interactive — you can answer them. Answering a question that other items depend on shows or hides them live, so you see the conditional logic at work.

Personas pre-fill a starting set of answers — for example, married filing jointly with dependents. Changing personas resets your local answers.

If a section is disabled, preview skips it. If no sections are enabled, preview shows: “This template has no enabled sections yet.”

Auto-save and versioning

The editor saves on every change:

• Name change — saves shortly after you stop typing.
• Return-type change — saves immediately.
• Adding or removing a pack — saves immediately.
• Adding a section, question, or document — saves immediately.
• Renaming an item — saves on blur.
• Reordering sections or items — saves immediately.
• Drawer field edits — saves on each field.
• Delete — saves immediately.

There’s no manual Save button. The state is one of Idle, Saving, Saved, or Error in the top bar. On error, the indicator turns red with a message.

Versioning — templates don’t version. Edits affect the next organizer sent. Already-sent organizers snapshot the template at the moment of send, so changes never break a client’s in-progress organizer.

Setting default, duplicating, archiving

From the template list card kebab (or the editor’s name area context menu):

Rolling forward to next year

Tax-year rollover is manual today:

1. Open Intake → Templates and filter to last year’s templates.
2. From each card’s kebab, click Duplicate.
3. Open the duplicate and change the tax year to the new year.
4. Walk through and update any year-specific items.
5. Set the new templates as defaults for the new tax year.

A “copy to next year” bulk action is on the roadmap.

Permissions

Next

• Question types & conditional logic — the 11 question types and rule operators.
• Custom packs & library — what packs are and how to build your own.
• Sending organizers — sending the finished template.