Understanding templates

As you configure Pulley and begin issuing equity, you'll encounter templates at almost every step. Option grants, Shares, SAFEs, and RSAs all require signed legal documents, and templates are how Pulley knows what those documents should look like and what data to put in them.

Understanding what templates are, how they work conceptually, and when the different template types apply is important groundwork before you start formatting documents or creating your first template bundle.

A template is a .docx file that you upload to Pulley with special template fields inserted where you want Pulley to fill in grant-specific data. When you issue equity, Pulley reads those fields, pulls the corresponding values from the grant record and stakeholder profile, and generates a completed document ready for e-signature.

A template field looks like this: {{stakeholder_name}}. When Pulley generates a document, that placeholder is replaced with the actual stakeholder's name. Fields can pull in share quantities, exercise prices, grant dates, vesting schedules, and more.

Pulley provides standard templates out of the box for Stock Options, RSAs, and SAFEs, and generates documents automatically for equity plans created in Pulley. For other document types, including Share Issuances/RSPAs, RSUs, Warrants, Profit Interests, Convertible Notes, and Notices of Exercise, you bring your own legal documents, formatted by your counsel, and configure them to work with Pulley's data.

One thing to note: Pulley's option grant templates are designed to work with equity plans created directly in Pulley. If your equity plan was recorded from an outside document, review the templates with your legal team before using them to ensure consistency.

In all cases, Pulley handles the data population and document generation. Your legal language stays exactly as your counsel wrote it.

Ready to set one up? See Create templates for more detailed instructions →

Templates serve three functions in equity administration:

Most templates are managed under Company → Templates, organized by security type (Options, RSAs, shares, etc.). This is where you create and manage the bundles used during equity issuance.

Two template types have different locations. Placing them in the wrong location is a common source of errors.

Notice of exercise templates must be uploaded to Hire and Retain → Exercise Requests → Edit Settings, not to the main templates page. This is because notices of exercise are triggered by a stakeholder submitting an exercise request, which is a separate workflow from admin-initiated grant issuance. If you upload a notice of exercise to the standard templates area, it will not appear in the exercise request workflow. See Configure exercise requests for the full setup.

Employment contract templates are uploaded under the Employment Contracts section on the templates page. These use candidate-specific field codes (such as {{candidate_name}} and {{candidate_signature}}) rather than the stakeholder fields used in equity documents. They're used in the offer letter tool, not in the equity issuance workflow.

Template fields are the bridge between your legal document and Pulley's data. Each field is a placeholder wrapped in double curly braces: {{field_name}}.

When you issue a security, Pulley executes a rendering process that transforms your template into a completed document. First, it identifies which template bundle is assigned to that security type and opens the template file. It then scans the document for every {{field_name}} placeholder, replacing each one with the corresponding value from the grant record or stakeholder profile. Finally, it generates the completed document and queues it for e-signature.

The font styling applied to the placeholder in your .docx file carries through to the generated document. If you want a stakeholder signature to render in a cursive font, you apply that font to the {{stakeholder_signature}} field in your template and it will appear that way in the final document.

A full list of available template fields, including which fields are valid for each security type, is available at pulley.com/template-fields.

Pulley supports two categories of template fields: standard fields and custom fields:

Most equity documents can be fully populated using standard fields alone. Custom fields become necessary when your equity program includes non-standard terms specific to your industry or business model, when you need to capture company-specific conditions that Pulley doesn't track by default, or when your legal counsel has drafted language that references data points outside Pulley's core data model. For example, a gaming company might need {{custom_field_token_lockup_period}}, or a company with performance-based vesting might need {{custom_field_performance_milestone}}.

When issuing the security in form view, you enter each custom field value in the custom fields section at the bottom of the issuance form. Pulley maps your input to the matching field code and populates it in the document.

A few things to know about custom fields:

In-place terms is the standard approach for configuring templates in Pulley. It means inserting Pulley's field codes directly into your legal document in the exact positions where you want the data to appear. The generated document looks seamless: Pulley's data appears inline with your legal language, as if it had always been there.

This produces a professional result, gives you precise control over data placement, and integrates naturally with documents drafted by legal counsel. The trade-off is that it requires formatting work upfront. Someone needs to open the document, locate every instance of data that should be dynamic, and replace that text with the appropriate field code. If you're working with outside counsel, this step is usually completed during document preparation.

For instructions on formatting a document using in-place terms, see Create templates →

In Pulley, templates are organized into bundles. A bundle is a collection of related documents grouped together for a specific security type. When you issue a security, you select a bundle, and Pulley generates all the documents in that bundle at once. In practice, when people refer to "a template" in Pulley, they're usually referring to a bundle.

Bundles exist because a single equity issuance often requires more than one document. An option grant might require an option agreement, a copy of the equity plan, and a notice of grant. An RSA issuance might require a restricted stock agreement and an assignment document. A bundle keeps these together so nothing is accidentally omitted.

You can create multiple bundles for the same security type. For example, you might have one option bundle for US-based employees and another for international employees, or one for standard grants and one for an accelerated vesting schedule. During issuance, you choose which bundle applies to the current grant.