Uploading Template Documents

Template Documents allow institutions to prepare reusable forms in Museum Exchange so they do not need to upload the same document from scratch for each donation.

This article explains what Template Documents are, how they work, and what institutions should expect when preparing documents for embedded signing.

What are Template Documents?

Template Documents are reusable versions of institution-provided forms used in donation processing on Museum Exchange:

• Loan Agreement
• Deeds of Gift
• Delivery Receipt

Instead of uploading these documents individually during each donation, institutions can share them in advance as templates that are saved to their institution account.

Once a template is configured, Museum Exchange can use it to generate donation-specific documents during the donation process that are pre-filled with all relevant fields.

Why use Template Documents?

Template Documents help institutions:

• reduce repetitive document uploads
• prevent institutions from manually adding donation information to each form
• allow Museum Exchange to populate known information automatically
• required for documents to use embedded signing 
• create a more seamless signing experience for donors and institution staff

How Template Documents work

Template Documents are designed to support an embedded signing workflow inside Museum Exchange.

In general, the process works like this:

• The institution uploads a reusable template document.
• The required fields in that document are mapped to Museum Exchange fields.
• During donation processing, Museum Exchange uses the template to generate a donation-specific version of the document.
• Known information is populated automatically where possible.
• The institution reviews the generated document, adds any missing details, and assigns the signer or signers.

Uploading a template document

• On the Template Documents page, institutions can upload reusable document forms to be used in Museum Exchange.
• These are typically uploaded as blank forms that will later be used to generate donation-specific documents.
• This allows institutions to prepare documents once, rather than re-uploading the same form during each donation.

Mapping fields

After a template document is uploaded, its fields must be assigned to the document so Museum Exchange knows how to use the document during donation processing. After your template documents are uploaded, Museum Exchange maps the fields to the right places in the uploaded forms. Field mapping connects parts of the institution’s document to information used in Museum Exchange, such as:

• donor name
• donor address
• listing title
• object information
• signature fields
• institution-specific fields such as loan number or loan period

This mapping allows Museum Exchange to place the right information in the correct locations when a document is generated for a specific donation. When fields are mapped, a green check mark.

Auto-filled vs manually completed fields

When a document is generated from a template, some fields may be completed automatically using information already available in Museum Exchange.

These may include fields tied to:

• the donor
• the object or listing
• the institution
• the donation record

Some fields may still need to be completed manually during donation processing. These are usually option fields that are unique to the specific donation and were not collected earlier in the workflow (i.e. loan number).

Reviewing a completed Template Document

Documents can be reviewed once a template document has donation specific information added to it during donation processing. Ensure all of the information added and the field mapping looks correct prior to assigning a signer.

Assigning signers

Once a match has occurred and the donation is processing the institution can assign the required signer or signers. Museum Exchange supports cases where more than one donor signature is needed, such as spouses or both a business and an individual.

Depending on the document, this may include:

• one donor signer
• multiple donor signers
• one institution signer
• multiple institution signers

Manual upload option

If a template-based workflow is not appropriate for a specific donation, the institution may choose to upload a document manually instead. When this happens, the manual document replaces the template-generated version for that donation, and the standard document workflow continues from there.