Managing contract templates

Your contract templates live in Manage → Contracts. This is where you write the wording once, decide how the template behaves, and keep future bookings pulling from the right version.

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What can I do here?

• Create a template - give it a title and write the contract content in the markdown editor.
• Turn a template on or off - use Enable template to control whether it is available for new bookings.
• Set default attach behaviour - use Attach by default when booking is created if the template should auto-attach on new bookings.
• Preview the final content - Barkway renders a live preview so you can spot layout issues before saving.
• Use merge tags - pull in booking, client, pet, and business details with System tags.

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What happens when I edit a template?

When you change the contract content, Barkway creates a new version of that template.

• New bookings use the latest saved version.
• Older booking contracts keep their own saved snapshot.
• Signed contracts do not change just because the template was updated later.

That is the whole point: no moving goalposts after the client has already signed.

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What do the template settings do?

• Enable template
  Controls whether the template is available to attach on bookings.

• Attach by default when booking is created
  Automatically adds the template to new bookings when contracts are enabled.

note

Automatic attach only applies when the booking is created. Turning it on later does not go back and attach contracts to older bookings.

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Merge tags and preview warnings

Use tags like {{ client.first_name }} or {{ booking.date }} to personalise the content.

• Known tags with missing data resolve to a blank value.
• Unknown tags stay visible in the output and are flagged in preview.
• The current supported tags are listed on the System tags page.

tip

If a tag still shows with curly braces in preview, Barkway does not recognise it yet.

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What happens if I archive a template?

Archived templates are taken out of the normal active workflow, but Barkway still keeps the history.

• Existing attached contracts stay exactly where they are.
• Signed records still open as normal.
• Older versions are still part of the audit trail.

So yes, you can tidy the cupboard without shredding the paperwork.

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🐾 Good templates save time twice: once when you build them, and again every time a booking needs the same policy.