Set up and customise your Terms and Conditions
Your Terms and Conditions (proposal terms) are the engagement wording your clients read and accept when they accept a proposal. OnboardMe keeps them as reusable templates, so you write them once and select them on every proposal, proposal template, or onboarding request.
You can build terms in the online editor, start from an OnboardMe standard template, import an existing Word document, or upload a PDF.
Why it helps
Consistent terms on every proposal. Staff pick an approved template instead of copying wording between documents.
Personalised automatically. Merge fields fill in the client name, your business details, and proposal dates for each client.
Signed in the same place. Clients accept your terms and sign inside the proposal, and the accepted PDF includes the terms with a clickable contents page.
Easy to switch over. Import your existing Word terms (including Ignition / IPA style templates) rather than retyping them.
Before you start
You need the Owner or Admin role. The Templates menu is not shown to other roles.
Decide whether you want text terms (edited in OnboardMe, supports merge fields, signature blocks, and input fields) or PDF terms (a fixed PDF you upload). Text terms are recommended for most practices. See Text terms or PDF terms? below.
Open the Terms page
In the main menu, open Templates.
Open the Proposals submenu.
Select Terms & Documents.
The page is headed Terms & Additional Documents Management and has these tabs:
Tab | What it is for |
|---|---|
Proposal Terms | Your Terms and Conditions. Has two sub-tabs: Text terms and PDF terms. |
Additional documents | Extra documents a client reads and accepts as separate steps, for example a privacy statement or an engagement letter addendum. |
STP Authority | Australian practices only. STP authority wording clients can accept with a proposal. |
Text terms or PDF terms?
Text terms | PDF terms | |
|---|---|---|
How you create them | Online editor, Word upload, or paste from Word | Upload a PDF (max 10 MB) |
Number of templates | As many as you need | One terms PDF per practice |
Merge fields (client name, dates and so on) | Yes | No |
Signature blocks inside the terms | Yes | No |
Input fields the client fills in | Yes | No |
Edit for a single proposal | Yes, with Customise for this proposal | No |
Available on onboarding requests | Yes | No |
Tip: If you have your terms as a Word document, import them as text terms rather than saving them as a PDF. You keep full editing and get merge fields and signatures.
Start from a standard template
OnboardMe includes standard terms templates. They show (Default) after their name in the template list.
Standard templates cannot be edited directly. To use one as a starting point:
On the Text terms sub-tab, select the standard template from Choose a template.
Change the Template name to your own name, for example Engagement Terms 2026.
Make your changes in the editor.
Click Save custom copy.
OnboardMe saves your version as a new template for your practice. The standard template is not changed.
To stop staff using a standard template, select it, untick Active, and click Save custom copy.
Create a new terms template
On the Text terms sub-tab, click New Template.
Enter a Template name (this is what staff see when selecting terms).
Leave Active ticked.
Write or paste your terms in the editor, or import them from Word. See Import your Terms and Conditions from Word.
Click Preview to check how the terms look.
Click Create Template.
To make a variation of an existing template, select it and click Duplicate. OnboardMe opens a copy named (Copy) for you to rename and change before you click Create Template.
Edit a terms template
On the Text terms sub-tab, select the template from Choose a template.
Make your changes.
Click Update Template.
If you try to switch template or leave with changes that are not saved, OnboardMe shows Unsaved changes. Click Keep editing to go back, or Discard changes to continue without saving.
Important: Updating a template affects proposals you create from now on. Proposals that were customised for a single client keep their own wording. See Use Terms and Conditions on proposals and onboarding.
Format your terms
The editor works like a word processor. The toolbar includes:
Text styles: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, colour, highlight, and clear formatting.
Headings: Normal and heading levels H1 to H4.
Font and font size.
Lists: bullet and numbered lists, with indent and outdent (or Tab and Shift+Tab).
Links, alignment (left, centre, justify, right), and horizontal lines.
Table: insert tables, add or delete rows and columns, merge or split cells, and toggle header rows.
Find and replace.
Merge Fields dropdown and Input field.
Insert menu: two-column layouts and Word import.
Two-column layouts
Many engagement letters show terms in two columns. Open Insert and choose Two columns (50/50) or Two columns (60/40). When your cursor is inside a two-column layout you can also rebalance it, Convert to normal table, or Remove layout wrapper (keep content).
Sections, page breaks, and signatures
Type these tags directly into your terms. They are also listed at the bottom of the Merge Fields dropdown.
Tag | What it does |
|---|---|
| Starts a section. In the proposal PDF each section is listed on the contents page as a clickable link. Online, it shows as a large heading. |
| Starts a new page in the proposal PDF. It is hidden when the client reviews the proposal online. |
| Shows a signature block for the client's signatories. If there are several signatories, they all appear at the first tag. |
| Shows your business signature block, with the authorised representative and practice name. |
Tip: Use
[Section:...]for each major heading in long terms. Clients can jump straight to the section they want in the PDF.
Add merge fields
Merge fields are replaced with real details when the proposal is sent. To add one, place your cursor, open the Merge Fields dropdown in the toolbar, and choose a field. You can also start typing a field in square brackets and pick from the suggestions.
Group | Examples |
|---|---|
Business |
|
Staff |
|
Signatories |
|
Client |
|
Proposal |
|
Dates |
|
If a merge field is misspelt or not recognised, the editor shows a warning above the editor so you can fix it before saving.
Add input fields for details that change per proposal
Use input fields for details you cannot merge automatically, such as a commencement date or a fee arrangement. Your team or the client fills them in on each proposal. See Add input fields to proposal terms and documents.
Upload PDF terms
Use PDF terms only if your terms must stay in a fixed, pre-approved PDF layout.
Open the Proposal Terms tab and select the PDF terms sub-tab.
Click Load PDF to see the PDF currently saved for your practice, if any.
Drag your PDF onto the upload area, or click it to browse. PDF only, maximum 10 MB.
Click Preview to check the file.
To change it, click Replace PDF and upload the new file.
Important: Your practice has one terms PDF. Replacing it, either here or from the PDF Terms option on a proposal, replaces it for the whole practice.
Stop using a template
Prefer making a template inactive over deleting it, so you can bring it back later.
Select the template.
Untick Active.
Click Update Template (or Save custom copy for a standard template).
Inactive templates show (Inactive) in the list and are not offered when staff create proposals.
Set your default terms
Choose the terms that are selected automatically on new proposals:
Go to Settings > Business.
Open the System Settings tab and find the Proposals section.
Select a template in Default Proposal Terms Template.
Save your changes.
New proposals start with this template selected. Staff can still change it on the proposal. Proposals created from a proposal template use the terms set on that proposal template instead.
Related
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