Working with Engagement Templates
Create and manage engagement letter templates that you can send to prospective clients.
What Are Engagement Templates?
Engagement templates are reusable letter frameworks that define the terms of your professional engagement with a client. They typically cover the scope of work, fees, cancellation rights, and other key terms that both parties agree to before work begins.
Templates save time by letting you draft a standard letter once, then personalise it for each client using merge variables. You can maintain multiple templates for different service types or jurisdictions.
Platform Templates vs Custom Templates
Platform Templates
Platform templates are curated by Expat183 and follow established best practices for engagement letters. They are read-only, so you cannot edit them directly.
- Pre-built sections covering standard engagement terms
- Kept up to date by Expat183 when regulations change
- Available to all professionals in our marketplace
- Can be duplicated to create your own customisable copy
Custom Templates
Custom templates are ones you create or duplicate from a platform template. You have full control over their content.
- Edit any section: title, body text, and ordering
- Add or remove sections as needed
- Set jurisdiction and service category for easy filtering
- Delete templates you no longer need
Creating and Editing Templates
Creating a New Template
- Open Engagement Templates from the Templates group in the sidebar
- Click Create template
- Give the template a name (e.g. “Standard Will Writing Engagement”)
- Optionally set a jurisdiction and service category
- Add sections for each part of your engagement letter
- Write the section content, including merge variables where needed
Duplicating a Platform Template
If you want to start from a platform template rather than a blank document:
- Switch to the Platform Templates tab
- Find the template you want to use as a starting point
- Click the Duplicate template icon on the template card, or open the template and click Duplicate
- A new custom copy will be created, which you can edit freely
Editing Sections
Within a custom template, each section has a title and body. You can:
- Click the Edit section icon to change a section’s title or body
- Use the Up/Down arrows to reorder sections
- Click Add Section to insert a new section at the end
- Click the Delete icon to remove a section (a confirmation dialog will appear)
Setting a Default Template
You can mark any template, platform or custom, as your default for a specific jurisdiction. When you accept an Approach from a client in that jurisdiction, the default template is automatically preselected, saving you a step.
How to Set a Default
- Open Engagement Templates from the Templates group in the sidebar
- Find the template you want to use as your default
- Click the star icon on the template card (or on the template detail page)
- The star fills in and a “Default” badge appears, indicating it is now your default for that template’s jurisdiction
Jurisdiction-Based Defaults
Defaults are set per jurisdiction. For example, you might set one default template for United Kingdom clients and a different one for clients in Australia. When accepting an Approach, the system looks for a default matching the client’s jurisdiction.
- Exact jurisdiction match is tried first (e.g. “Australia - New South Wales”)
- If no exact match, a country-level default is used (e.g. “Australia”)
- If no country match, a catch-all default is used (if you have set one)
Using Merge Variables
Merge variables are placeholders written in double curly braces that are replaced with actual values when a letter is generated for a specific client.
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