Frequently Asked Questions

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What is Boilerplate?

Boilerplate is a secure platform for managing document request workflows using digital checklists and organized portals. Think of a CRM designed specifically to collect form and file requests. It commonly replaces email-based documentation requests and tracking spreadsheets. It can function as a standalone tool, or operate alongside existing systems.

General

What is it used for?

Collecting checklists of documentation, like onboarding clients, employees, contractors, vendors, and more.

General

How does it work?

Share re-usable digital checklists to collect requests like forms, files and e-signatures. 

These digital checklists can be shared using a postable link, or sent to a specific person from within our system using an emailed link. 

The other party (client, new employee, contractor, vendor, etc) clicks the link, logs in, sees a list of form and file requests, and works their way through the list. They can fill and sign PDFs, complete digital forms, upload files, and mark tasks completed. 

The requester gets notified once the checklist has been submitted. They can track submissions on an automated, visual dashboard. Submissions can be returned through the system for updates. Reminders can be sent for open items. Submitted files can be stored on Boilerplate, or downloaded/ exported.

General

Can I collect forms and files directly from my website?

Yes. Create a checklist with form and file requests. In the checklist hamburger menu (=), choose create shareable link. Copy the link and paste it into your website. You’ll be notified when people submit.

General

Does it replace other systems?

Boilerplate combines the core functionality of emails, cloud storage, project management, and e-signature tools when managing documentation requests. For most document-request type processes, it will likely replace these disparate tools. However, it is unlikely to completely eliminate the need for cloud storage or project management software across your entire organization.

General

What makes Boilerplate unique?

Boilerplate combines the ability to manage forms and e-signatures, plus file requests and assigned tasks through a single system with built-in tracking and storage capabilities. It commonly fills manual gaps in existing processes where files are being requested via email and tracked in a spreadsheet, or collected via a file selector button on a website.

General

Can I add my logo?

Yes. Through the Admin settings you can add your logo. It will appear at the top of the client portal so that it appears to be part of your own system.

General

Who is using Boilerplate?

We help almost anywhere there are lots of repetitive file requests – especially human capital and financial services. Examples of client uses include hiring coordinators, insurance brokers collecting data and documents from their clients, tax preparers, payroll companies, tax credit consultants, mortgage brokers, lenders, property managers, real estate agent onboardings, non-profits, government contractors, event venues, transportation companies, school therapist agencies, healthcare staffing organizations and more.

General

What are the benefits?

Efficiency, organization, transparency, client experience, and compliance. Most of our clients see a drastic reduction in back and forth communication around the status of open requests. They can hire faster since the new hire documentation requests are now streamlined. Their clients are happier with an easy onboarding process. Everyone knows what’s going on. Compliance risks are reduced by having complete records in a single system.

General

How much time does Boilerplate save?

One 8-person HR team is saving over 40 hours per week ( one full time employee) in admin time by using Boilerplate. They’re hiring almost 20 employees per week, with about 20 required documents per employee. That’s 20x20 = 400 items that need to be requested and chased down each week before the employee starts their job. This equates to approximately 2 hours directly saved per new employee. This doesn’t count the time saved by the new hire themselves, or supervisors and other team members who would be spending time inquiring about open document statuses.

General

What if I wanted to build a system like this myself?

While the basic premise of collecting file requests seems straightforward, the necessary functionality to efficiently handle the nuances of documentation requests turn it into a multi-year, capital-intensive project. There are substantial risks around cost overruns, scope creep, and long term maintenance that make a third party solution like Boilerplate a faster, lower risk, more cost effective solution.

General

What are digital checklists in Boilerplate?

In Boilerplate, digital checklists are a list of requests that can be shared via link or assigned to a specific person. They that can contain:

  • File requests
  • Digital forms 
  • Generic PDF templates to be filled and signed in the system (W-4s, waivers, NDAs, etc).
  • Personalized documents pre-filed in Boilerplate or imported before sending (contacts, offer letters, etc)
  • Informational documents that don’t require any action
  • Tasks to be marked completed, including file confirmation uploads

Reusable Digital Checklists

Can I collect forms, fillable PDFs, and checklists directly from my website?

Yes. As long as a checklist does not contain any personalized documents, you can place a link on your website to have a visitor submit files, complete digital forms, and/or fill and e-sign generic PDF templates within the system. You’ll be notified as soon as they are submitted.

Reusable Digital Checklists

Are checklists re-usable, or do I need to set them up from scratch each time?

Checklists are reusable. Set them up once, and send them to hundreds of contacts.

Reusable Digital Checklists

What if every checklist I need to send isn’t the same?

For commonly used checklists, we recommended creating separate versions by duplicating and customizing, for example a New York new hire checklist vs a Florida new hire. One of our clients hires employees in over 15 states. They started with one base checklist for all new hires, then customized and saved a unique checklist for each state. You can create different checklists for any reason you like.

Reusable Digital Checklists

Can I add and remove requests before sending a checklist?

Yes. If you are sending a checklist to a specific individual, you’ll have the opportunity to add and remove requests, import and/ or prefill documents, add a custom message, and set due dates.

Reusable Digital Checklists

Can I have multiple checklists in workflow?

Absolutely. We have clients that use one checklist to collect materials from job applicants, a second checklist to send their contract or offer letter, and a third checklist to collect all their new hire onboarding documents. After a submitted checklist has been reviewed, the admin user will see a pop up asking if they’d like to send the next checklist.

Reusable Digital Checklists

What’s the difference between generic and recipient-specific PDF templates?

Recipient specific templates can be pre-filled (fill in the blanks) or swapped in before sending to a specific recipient.

Reusable Digital Checklists

How do I set up a re-usable PDF template in Boilerplate?

Through the Templates screen, you can import a PDF document with blanks to be filled in the system. You’ll be able to add fields to be filled and signed before sending, by the client, or after they’ve submitted.

Reusable Digital Checklists

Can I bring in an outside document each time before sending, like preparing a contract in Word?

Yes. If you have a standard document with just a few blanks to be filled, it’s easiest to set it up as a reusable template directly in our system. However, for more complex documents, you may want to prepare them offline in Google Docs or Word, print to a PDF, and then Swap In/ Import before sending a checklist. When you import that outside PDFs, you’ll be able to add fields for filling and signatures, designating who is to take action.

Reusable Digital Checklists

Can checklists be sent more than once to the same person?

Yes. A checklist can be sent to the same person more than once. The requester will be given the option to add a unique identifier to tell them apart (i.e. Q2 vs Q3). 

Reusable Digital Checklists

Can a person submit a checklist more than once?

A client can submit more than once if that’s enabled in the checklist setup on the admin side. They can use the ‘Create new submission’ button on the client portal. For example, contractors submitting monthly invoices, expense reports and timesheets.

Reusable Digital Checklists

Does Boilerplate do electronic signatures?

Yes. Boilerplate has a proprietary ESIGN compliant e-signature tool built into the system.

Electronic Signatures and Online Form Filling

Can I set who signs what and when?

When setting up PDFs for signature, fields can be designated for signature before sending, by the client, or after the client has submitted.

Electronic Signatures and Online Form Filling

If the requester signs after the client, does the client get a copy?

Yes, the client receives an email with a link to retrieve the completed document with all signatures.

Electronic Signatures and Online Form Filling

How does a person sign?

The signer must first consent to the use of legally binding electronic signatures by typing their full name before moving to the signature screen. On the signature screen, they can choose between generating a stylized signature based on their typed name, or drawing a signature with their mouse, or finger on mobile.

Electronic Signatures and Online Form Filling

How do they know what to fill?

Bold red boxes appear around any fields to be filled, checked, or signed. The system will ask if they’re sure they want to proceed if they leave any fields blank.

Electronic Signatures and Online Form Filling

What data is captured with signatures?

When a document is electronically signed in Boilerplate, the user must be logged in through their email and password. An unchangeable signature is applied with an audit log that records the person’s name, date/ time, and IP address of their device used to sign the document. The audit log is appended to the end of any signed PDFs.

Electronic Signatures and Online Form Filling

How do Digital Forms work in Boilerplate?

Digital forms do not require a physical PDF to be loaded into the system. The digital form can contain short and long answer questions, multiple choice, and multi-select. The data can then be exported once submitted. As a user works through the list, completed items turn green and the status automatically updates so they know what is completed and what is left to do.

Digital Forms and Data

Can a digital form be connected to a PDF template if I don’t want a client to see a full PDF?

Yes. In some cases, you don’t want a client to see a long, complex PDF document like an insurance application. Instead, you can send a simplified digital form asking them the questions they do know, then export that data onto PDF templates and fill the rest for them.

Digital Forms and Data

What happens to the data?

The data collected on digital forms can be saved to the contact’s profile, which is accessible via the admin panel. The data is your property, Boilerplate does not sell it.

Digital Forms and Data

What are tasks in Boilerplate?

Sometimes you need to ask someone to do something that doesn’t require a form to be filled or a file immediately uploaded. For example, watching a training video and affirming that you completed it. These can be included within the requests portion of a checklist.

Tasks

Can we have links to complete tasks outside of Boilerplate?

Yes, through our Task request type, you can include a link within a checklist for the client to follow and mark as completed. For example, the link to obtain a background check, watch a training video, or enroll in benefits.

Tasks

Can they upload task completion confirmations?

Yes, they can upload a confirmation file like a background check certification.

Tasks

Does Boilerplate process payments?

Not at the moment, however you can give clients task links to your own third party payment processing site to make payments.

Tasks

Are there due dates and reminders?

Yes, when sending a checklist you can set a due date based on a specific date or a set number of days after sending. The other person will get reminder emails with links to complete the request as the due date approaches or if the submission is overdue.

Reminders

What about manual reminders?

What about manual reminders?

Reminders

What’s the difference between an admin and a client?

Admin is the term for the person or people making requests. There can be multiple users on the admin team. The other party who submits the requests may be a client, vendor, contractor, employee, or someone else – for simplicity, we refer to all of them all as clients.

Client Portal

What’s the client experience like?

A client will first click an assignment link. These links may be posted on a website, shared in a mass email through a tool like MailChimp, or arrive in a system-generated email through Boilerplate. They’ll be asked to create or enter an email address and password for security purposes. Once inside the Boilerplate system, the client sees a list of all assigned items. They can upload files, mark tasks completed, populate digital forms, and/ or fill and sign PDFs.

Client Portal

Does the other person need to download anything?

No. Forms can be filled and signed in the system without downloading. The application is web-based, so they don’t need to download an app.

Client Portal

Is there confirmation after submitting a checklist?

After finishing all requests in a checklist, the request will turn green and display ‘Submitted’ status with the date. The client will see a completion confirmation pop up that can be downloaded or printed. The system will automatically send a confirmation email to both parties. This cuts out some unnecessary emails and phone calls.

Client Portal

Can the client portal be white-labeled with my logo?

Absolutely. Your logo will appear at the top of the client portal. This can be done through your admin settings. The colors used in the platform– blacks, whites, grays – were intended to make it feel like it could be part of anyone’s site.

Client Portal

What if the client doesn’t have a requested file?

Boilerplate lets clients mark files unavailable and then prompts them to select a reason. For example, a person does not have a passport.

Client Portal

Can multiple clients/ recipients collaborate on the same checklist?

Right now Boilerplate is set up for just one client/ recipient to be working on a checklist. This doesn’t mean they can’t collaborate behind the scenes, but only one person is uploading the documents.

Client Portal

Do I get notified when items are submitted?

Yes, when a checklist is completed, you’ll receive an email notification. In your Boilerplate admin account, the submitted items will be identified as ‘Ready for Review’ on the Dashboard. An indicator button will appear to show there are items in your review queue.

After Submission

What if a submitted item needs to be returned?

There are all sorts of reasons submitted files need to be returned… wrong file, cutoff, out of date, etc. Before being saved in the system, all submissions appear in a review queue where an admin user can accept or reject each item. If they reject an item, they can send a custom message to the other party through the system on what they need to fix or resubmit. The other party gets an email with that message and a link to log in and fix the issue.

After Submission

What if I don’t want to review every single submission?

That is your decision. There’s an Accept All button on the review screen.

After Submission

How does Boilerplate help reduce the number of incorrect or incomplete submissions?

We figured out the most common reason files were getting returned. Client users can preview and replace file uploads and pictures in Boilerplate before they submit them. Fillable forms provide warnings before submitting with blank fields.

After Submission

How can my team and I track what’s open and closed?

A visual dashboard shows all assignments, sorted by contact, with a status column and colors to indicate where each item stands. You can drill down to see each checklist, and further expand to see the status of each individual item. This status information can also be found in the Contact Details section of each individual client/ contact.

After Submission

Can I sort and filter on the dashboard?

Yes. You can sort by contact, contact organization, submission status, and more.

After Submission

How long are files stored on Boilerplate?

By default, all submitted files are stored for 60 days before being automatically removed. After the retention period, a record of the request still exists, but the files are inaccessible for security purposes. The retention periods can be shortened or extended indefinitely.

Storage and Expiration Tracking

Can files that have expirations, like a professional certification, be tracked in Boilerplate?

Yes. Expiration dates on file submissions can be tracked. The client will be asked to add a date when they upload it. You’ll be able to review and edit that date when the submission is reviewed.

Storage and Expiration Tracking

Can files be downloaded?

Yes. When you download files from Boilerplate, we even automatically rename them to include the submitter’s name, file name and date to reduce version control issues and ensure that you don’t end up with 500 files saved as ‘Resume’ or ‘License’.

Storage and Expiration Tracking

Can I export files and data to other systems?

This can be done via an API. Tell us where you need it to go and we’ll determine the level of effort.

Storage and Expiration Tracking

Can I add files to Boilerplate that weren’t requested or collected in a checklist?

Yes, through our Internal Filing Cabinet feature files can be manually added to any contact. Simply open a contact, and you can manually add files that will be saved to their profile.

Storage and Expiration Tracking

Is it secure?

All files and data are encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256). Files and data are hosted and backed up on AWS servers in the United States, leveraging numerous AWS security capabilities. Multi-factor authentication is available for admin users. Each week, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) conducts a cyber hygiene scan on our system (not an endorsement). We utilize accredited third party penetration testers to identify vulnerabilities. We actively monitor for threats and suspicious activity.

Security & Technical

Are passwords required?

Yes, for the security of everyone’s data and documents, passwords are required for both admin and client users. We have processed requests for thousands of users and have not had any complaints about requiring a password that can be easily saved to a password manager.

Security & Technical

Is Single Sign On (SSO) available?

Our technical team can work with you to set this up.

Security & Technical

Is there an API?

Yes, we have an open API that can be set up.

API

How quick can Boilerplate be operational?

Setup can range from 20 minutes for simple use cases, to months, depending on the complexity of the checklists, templates, and any data mapping.

Setup and Support

How does the Boilerplate team help?

Our client success team can help structure checklists to meet your process workflows.

Setup and Support

What does setup look like?

There are three steps: 

1 Defining your process workflow and checklist needs

2. Setting up checklists, forms, and templates.

3. Walkthrough/ review with the Boilerplate team, then go

We’ll do regular follow-ups to ensure everything is going well.

Setup and Support

How are PDF templates set up?

You’ll need to add your PDF templates and create your request checklist(s). Our system can detect fillable fields in some PDFs, but in other cases each field will need to be manually added to the PDF. You’ll also need to select who and when a field will be filled (before sending to client, client fills, requester after submission, anyone). This is something our client success team can help with.

Setup and Support

Can I set up a Boilerplate account myself?

Yes, depending on the complexity of what you’re trying to do. In many cases, our customer success team will help with templates, forms, and checklists to save them time. We’ll then do a walkthrough over Zoom.

Setup and Support

Can you help train my team?

Yes, after setup we’ll do a Zoom walkthrough to ensure everyone on your team is comfortable using the software.

Setup and Support

What if I need help? Is there a chat bot?

There’s a chat bot in the bottom right corner of the application, on both the admin and client side. The messages go directly to our team via Slack, and we reply as quickly as possible. We respond to emails, phone calls, texts, and more. We can also hop on a Zoom with you and your team to walk through any questions or issues.

Setup and Support

What if it’s not a good fit?

We’ll work with you to try and make it work, or worst case arrange a refund. We want you to love using our product and have no doubt about the value you are receiving from it.

Setup and Support

Will my team and clients love Boilerplate?

We think so. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re always listening to our customers and their clients, then incorporating that feedback into our product roadmap to continually improve the product.

Setup and Support

I still have questions, how can I learn more?

You can email hello@boilerplate.co, schedule a 15 minute introductory meeting here, or fill out the contact us form. Let’s chat and see if we can save you some time and money.

Setup and Support

How do I add contacts?

Contacts can be added using their email address. This can be done on the contacts screen or when sending a request. You can add first and last name, email, company or organization, phone number, and a start date.

Managing Contacts

Can I bulk import contacts?

Yes. On the Contacts screen, you can use the Bulk Import button to upload a CSV file of new contacts. You’re able to download the CSV template, add your list of contacts, re-upload, and then bulk send to those contacts.

Managing Contacts

How does bulk send work?

For checklists that don’t contain personalized documents (ilke offer letters, contracts, etc), you can select multiple recipients using the Send button the Checklists screen or the Bulk Send button on the Contacts screen.

Managing Contacts

Can I store documents in my contact’s profile without sending them a request?

We call this feature the Internal Filing Cabinet. To use it, go to Contacts > Contact Details > Documentation tab and there’s a button to upload files to their internal filing cabinet. The contact will not have access to these files, but they are stored in their profile.

Managing Contacts

Increase file security of your documents in transit and at rest.

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