Add templates for yourself (or your entire office)

SmartMLS Sign provides access to many default templates (forms that have been pre-configured with the participants, fields and signature/initial blocks that are typically used) to help simplify and streamline the signing creation process. 

But what can you do if your office has its own specific set of proprietary forms that don't currently exist in the Sign platform? Wouldn't it be great if you could leverage the power and flexibility of SmartMLS Sign and apply it to your own forms?

Thankfully, as long as you have the correct permissions, you have the ability to upload any of your office's forms and convert them to templates that are available for anyone within your office.

This article applies to creating templates for yourself (personal) or for your office/firm. The options you have when you save the template are determined by your MLS permissions. All users can upload and save templates for their own personal use. However, if you have managerial-level permissions (or are setup within connectMLS to impersonate someone with those elevated permissions), you'll also have the option to save templates for your entire office/firm.

Here's how:

There are two ways you can access SmartMLS Sign with the permissions required to create templates: 

MLS User Type: Permissions within SmartMLS Sign are based directly on your user type on the MLS. If you are a Manager, Admin or the designated Broker for your office within SmartMLS membership records, you automatically have the permission required to add templates for your office. However, if your MLS user type is that of an agent, you do not have the ability to create templates for your office. 

If you need to adjust your MLS user type, please contact the SmartMLS membership department and they will guide you through the steps that are necessary to make this change. 
 

Impersonation: Another option that does not involve changing your MLS user type is to have a manager/admin/designated broker in your office grant you assistant permissions within connectMLS. When you impersonate someone in the MLS, you are accessing the system as them and operating with the same permissions they possess. 

After you've been granted permission to impersonate a manager/admin/designated broker within the MLS system, their inherited additional permissions carry over to SmartMLS Sign. Among those permissions is the ability to create and save a template for your entire office instead of creating it only for your own personal use. And it is all done from your own login.
 

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Once you're logged into SmartMLS Sign as yourself, go to the Templates (Forms) tab at the top center of the screen and click Manage Templates:
 

Click the New Template button in the top right:

You will then see the following screen:

1. Give the new template a descriptive name that will be meaningful for your office.
    
2. Use Add Document(s) to select the document(s) you'd like to include in the new template. You are not restricted to using just one document in the template. It can include as many documents as necessary. 
   For example, you may want to create a template that includes all of the documents your office requires for a new listing (listing agreement, disclosures, Delayed Listing Addendum, etc.).
    
3. Use the drop-down menu to attach tags to the template. Tags (addendum, single family, etc.) will make it easier for your office mates to locate the template (Tags is an optional field).
    
4. Template Description is an optional field that allows you to include a description to help users identify what is in the template.
    

5. Use the Change button to switch from your own personal account to the manager/admin/broker you want to impersonate. Select the desired user (with the check box on the right) and click Save:

   

   
   
   This is what changes your permission level and allows you to save the template for your entire office rather than just for your own personal use. 
   
   The Owner field at the bottom will change from your personal account to that of the manager/admin/broker you're impersonating:

   

   
    

Put a dot in front of Save to My Office (this makes the template available for all users within your office) and click Continue.

That brings you into the template editor, where you can proceed to add the necessary participants, fields, signature/initial blocks, etc. to the document(s) that comprise your template.

Click here for instructions on setting up documents for a signing.

Remember to click Save when you're finished.

When you're on the Templates (Forms) tab, you can easily locate your office's templates through the Directory on the left side of the screen:

The Branch Agency directory contains all templates saved using the Save to My Office option. They are available to all users within the office.