Reinventing your documents is both tedious and unnecessary. Use Google Docs templates to be able to systematize your business workflows and process. This increases productivity and collaboration for your team as well as drives predictability.
Creating a Google Docs template for Google Spreadsheets, Docs and Presentations is done within the respective Google Doc. Lay it out and simply save it as a template file. It will be stored within your template library and users within your organization can then use it after you share it out with them.
Make It Easy And Predictable
Your Google Docs templates should do the following:
- Preserve brand consistency
- Present your work professionally
- Make getting things done faster
- Build an information asset
Each template provides an item in your library which is accessible for your team wherever they may be. Furthermore, it provides a suggestive database of the kinds of documents to push forward sales, service and marketing.
Some Google Docs Template Ideas
In our Google Apps consulting work, here are some template ideas which you can develop in the course of doing business:
- Sales proposals. Lay out the flow of the document. Who you are, terms and conditions and a scope of work can all be included as part of the template and sections can be left blank for filling in later for each proposal your sales team generates.
- Spreadsheet invoices. With calculated field values, you can enter in line items for your products and services. Send the invoices as a PDF straight from Google Docs or share them securely for your recipients.
- Training presentations. Provide a format within a Google Presentation document and allow your team to create multiple training documents. Store these within a Google site for a specific customer to help them have a living resource of information.
- Marketing product brochures. These can be laid out in a Google Doc or Presentation. Provide updated and fresh information which is shared with a folder for the sales team to use and share with prospects.
- Project management schedule. For planning and resource management, create a Google spreadsheet with calculated values to set up a project and schedule out milestones and deliverables.
Keep your Google Docs organized within folders and monitor the sharing to ensure there is full sharing with the right groups in your organization. As your library of templates grow, customizations and automation can be further implemented for more specific types of documents.
What are some templates that you have benefitted from?
