> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rubica.au/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rubica.au/workflow/client-requests/building-a-client-request-template.md).
# Building a Client Request Template
Set up a reusable client request: the client's steps, your team's steps, the email and page, colours, reminders, and what happens when the client finishes.
A client request template is a checklist template with steps for the client. Open the **Checklist Templates** builder, then click a template or **New template**.
The builder has five tabs: **Steps**, **Client email & page**, **Reminders**, **When it comes back** and **Settings**. Click **Save template** when you're done.
{% hint style="info" %}
**AI Draft** can build the steps for you from a short description, such as *"New client onboarding: fact find, payslips, super statements, will, book first meeting"*. Check the result before saving.
{% endhint %}
## Steps
All names shown are examples.
Each step is either for your **Team** or for the **Client**. Team steps never appear on the client's page; they stay on your checklist, such as *Check the fact find against our file*. Under **Assigned to**, a team step can go to **Anyone**, **A role** on the household (such as the **Broker**) or **A specific person**. See [Checklist Templates](/workflow/checklist-templates.md#team-steps).
For a **Client** step, choose what the client does:
| Type | Options |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Form** | Choose the form. **Fill in what we know** pre-fills it from the client's record. **ID upload first** asks for ID before the form. |
| **Document** | The client uploads files. |
| **Text answer** | The client types an answer. |
| **Choice** | Enter one option per line. |
| **Link** | The client opens a link, such as a booking page. See [Link steps](#link-steps). |
| **Acknowledgement** | The client reads something and ticks a box to agree, such as your privacy policy. See [Acknowledgement steps](#acknowledgement-steps). |
Every client step also has:
* **What the client sees under this step**: click it to write instructions for their page. You can use bold, bullet points, links and headings.
* **Required**: reminders keep going until required steps are in.
* **One per client**: in a couple, each person gets their own copy, such as one payslip each.
Use the arrows to reorder steps and **×** to remove one.
### Link steps
Choose where the link comes from:
| Option | What's sent |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Paste a URL** | The same link for everyone. |
| **A person's booking link** | The booking link of the **Record owner**, the **Job owner**, someone in a team role, or **A specific person…**. Choose which of their links under **Which link**. |
| **From a field** | A link stored in a field on the household, contact, lead, opportunity or job. |
| **Conditional** | A different link depending on a field, such as the client's service model. See below. |
Links are filled in when the request is sent. If a link is empty, the send stops and tells you why.
#### Conditional links
Use **Conditional** when the link depends on the client: for example, ongoing clients book a review meeting and project clients book an advice meeting.
1. Under **Check**, choose whose field to look at: **The household**, **Any client in the household** or **The main client**.
2. Under **Field**, search for the field, such as *service model* or *category*.
3. Click **+ Add a link for a value**. Choose the value (or type it; use `a;b` for several), give the link a name, and paste the link. Repeat for each value.
4. Under **Otherwise**, paste the link for everyone else. Leave it blank to stop the send when nothing matches.
The first link whose value matches is sent. With **Any client in the household**, it matches if any of them has that value. The link is picked when the checklist is added to a job, and again when it's sent. On the job you can still choose another link or paste one: see [Sending a Client Request](/workflow/client-requests/sending-a-client-request.md#changing-a-request-on-the-job).
### Acknowledgement steps
An acknowledgement step asks the client to read something and agree to it, such as a privacy policy or a consent. rubica keeps a record of exactly what they agreed to and when.
| Setting | What it does |
| ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Tick box** | The words next to the tick box, such as *I have read and accept the Privacy Policy*. |
| **Record date on** | Also stamp the date on a field on the person, such as *Privacy Policy Accepted*. **Only on this checklist** keeps the record on the request alone. |
| **Full terms** | Optional. The whole policy, which the client reads in a pop-up before they can agree. See below. |
| **What the client sees under this step** | A short statement shown above the tick box, with a link to the policy if you like. |
Tick **One per client** so every applicant agrees for themselves.
When the client agrees, rubica records the wording they saw, the time, their IP address and their browser. See [Proving What the Client Agreed To](/workflow/client-requests/proving-what-the-client-agreed-to.md).
#### Full terms in a pop-up
If the client should read the whole policy, not just a link to it, add it as **Full terms**:
1. Click **Add full terms**.
2. Paste the policy into the editor. Headings, bold and lists are kept.
3. Click **Done**. The step shows how long the terms are, with **Edit** and **Remove**.
4. Click **Save template**.
The client then sees a **Read and agree** button. The terms open in a pop-up, and the tick box and **I agree** only unlock once they've scrolled to the end. Every time they open the terms is recorded, and they can't agree without opening them first. See [What Your Client Sees](/workflow/client-requests/what-your-client-sees.md#agreeing-to-terms).
{% hint style="info" %}
The terms are read from the template each time the client opens them. If you change them, clients with an open request see the new wording, and each agreement keeps a copy of the wording that was shown at the time.
{% endhint %}
## Client email & page
| Setting | What it does |
| ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Due (days after sending)** | Sets the due date shown to the client. |
| **Steps you mark not needed** | **Hide from the client**, or **Show greyed out** so they can see it's been handled. |
| **Intro on the page** | The welcome text at the top of the client's page. |
| **Email subject** and **Email body** | The email that carries the link. Use the merge field search under the body to add details: see [Merge fields](#merge-fields). |
| **Sent from** | Who the email comes from: the **Job owner**, a team role such as **Adviser** or **Broker**, or a **Shared inbox**. See [Sending from a shared inbox](#sending-from-a-shared-inbox). |
| **Cc and Bcc** | Copy someone from the client's team on every email, such as the client service officer. |
If you leave the email blank, your firm's standard client request email is used.
### Merge fields
Under the email body, type in **Merge fields** to find one, then click it to add it to the email. You can search for words such as *link*, *first name*, *due date* or a team role.
| Merge field | Becomes |
| ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| `{{RequestButton}}` | A button the client clicks to open their page. |
| `{{RequestLink}}` | The page's address as text. |
| `{{ItemList}}` | A bulleted list of what's still needed. |
| `{{ClientTitle}}` | The request's name. |
| `{{DueDate}}` | The due date, such as *12 November 2026*. |
| `{{FirstName}}`, `{{FullName}}` | Each person's own name. |
| `{{SenderName}}`, `{{SenderEmail}}` | Who the email comes from. |
| `{{CcNames}}` | The names of everyone copied in. |
#### Team roles
Anyone in a team role on the household can be named in the email, such as the broker or the client service manager. Type the role's name into the search to see its fields:
* `{{Role:Broker.FirstName}}`, and likewise `FullName`, `Email`, `Phone`, `Mobile` and `Title`.
* `{{Role:Broker.Calendly:Finance Meeting}}`: that person's booking link for a meeting type.
* `{{Role:Broker.Link:Credit Guide}}`: that person's own named link. See below.
To add a sentence only when the household has someone in that role, wrap it like this:
```
{{#Role:Broker}}I've copied in {{Role:Broker.FirstName}}, who will be in touch.{{/Role:Broker}}
```
If nobody holds the role, the whole sentence is left out. `{{#CcNames}}…{{/CcNames}}` works the same way for people copied in.
#### Named links, such as each broker's Credit Guide
When each person has their own version of a document or page, such as their own Credit Guide, save it as a named link and the email picks the right one for each client.
1. Go to **Settings → Scheduling Links** and click **New**.
2. Choose the person under **Team Member (Scheduler)**, set **Scheduling Tool** to **Link**, set **Link Name** to the name you'll use in emails (for example *Credit Guide*), and paste the address into **Booking Link**.
3. Repeat for each person. To set a firm-wide link for anyone who doesn't have their own, leave **Team Member (Scheduler)** blank.
Then use it in the email:
| Merge field | Uses |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `{{Link:Credit Guide}}` | The household adviser's link, or the firm's if they don't have one. |
| `{{Role:Broker.Link:Credit Guide}}` | The link of whoever is the household's **Broker**. |
In the email, the link appears as its name, such as **Credit Guide**, and opens the address you saved. To include a sentence only when there's a link to show:
```
{{#Role:Broker.Link:Credit Guide}}Before we get started, please read my {{Role:Broker.Link:Credit Guide}}.{{/Role:Broker.Link:Credit Guide}}
```
Named links work in client request emails, reminders, ask-again emails and workflow emails. The email is kept on the request, so you have a record of which link went to the client and when: see [Proving What the Client Agreed To](/workflow/client-requests/proving-what-the-client-agreed-to.md#emails-sent).
### Ask again email
When you review what came back and ask the client for more, everything you send back goes in **one email per person**, as dot points saying what to change. See [Reviewing What Comes Back](/workflow/client-requests/reviewing-what-comes-back.md#ask-again).
To use your own wording, fill in **Ask again subject** and **Ask again body**. Use `{{AskAgainList}}` for the dot points and `{{RequestButton}}` for the link. Leave both blank for the standard wording.
### Sending from a shared inbox
To send the request from a shared mailbox, such as **, instead of a person:
1. Under **Sent from**, choose **Shared inbox**.
2. Type the inbox's email address.
3. Optionally, type the name the client sees in **Shows as**, such as *Client Services*.
4. Click **Save template**.
When you send the request from a job, the shared inbox is the first choice under **From**, and it's already selected. You can still pick someone from the team instead. Reminders and **Ask again** emails also come from the shared inbox.
{% hint style="warning" %}
The shared inbox must be a mailbox in your firm's Microsoft 365. Emails from a shared inbox don't add a personal signature.
{% endhint %}
### Colours on the client's page
Each template can use its own colours on the client's page instead of your firm's:
* **Main colour** is used for buttons, links, the progress bar and the outline of a chosen answer.
* **Highlight shade** fills the open step, the due date and progress labels, and a chosen answer. It must be very light; a darker colour is ignored.
The sample shows how it will look. **Use the firm's colours** clears both.
## Reminders
Turn on **On** and fill in the sentence:
> Remind the client every **\[3]** days, starting **\[5]** days **\[after it is sent]**, up to **\[3]** times.
* Instead of *after it is sent*, you can count **before** or **after a date on the record**, such as a meeting date.
* The **Reads back** line confirms what you've set in plain words.
* Reminders stop on their own once everything required is in, or when the client presses **I'm finished**.
## When it comes back
Actions that run when the client presses **I'm finished**. These are the same actions forms use. See [When a Form Comes Back](/households/forms/when-a-form-comes-back.md).
Click **+ Add action** and choose:
* **Create a task**: give it a subject, who it's for (**Record owner**, **Who sent the request**, someone in the client's team by role, or **A specific person…**, which can be your agent user), when it's due, and **Instructions**. The instructions become the task's description, or the agent's prompt, and a link to the request is added for them.
* **Notify someone**: **In Salesforce (the bell)**, **Email** or **Slack**.
* **Start a workflow job**.
* **Send to a webhook**.
Click the pencil to edit an action and **×** to remove it.
## Settings
| Setting | What it does |
| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** and **Description** | What your team sees when choosing a template. |
| **Status** | Active templates can be sent. Inactive ones are kept but hidden. |
| **Category** | Groups templates in the list, such as *Onboarding*. |
| **Can be added to** | Which records the template can be used on, such as households, jobs, opportunities or leads. |
| **If a task closes with steps open** | Whether a task can close while its team steps are still open: warn and log a reason, or block until complete. |
## Preview
Click **Preview**, then choose a record under **Preview as**. The client's page opens with that client's details and links filled in, just as they'll see it, with a **Preview** banner across the top. Nothing is sent and nothing on it is saved. The link stops working after an hour.
