If you have any problems or queries please call the PLC FastDraft Helpline on (+44) (0)20 7202 1220 or email: info@practicallaw.com
The helpline is staffed Monday - Friday between 8.30am and 10.00pm, London-time (excluding public holidays), and during weekends between 9.00am and 5.00pm.
This article is a comprehensive guide to using FastDraft, which will explain how to get started if you are a new user, and will also offer hints and tips for a more experienced user. This guide is supplemented by the following guides:
PLC FastDraft video demonstrations (www.practicallaw.com/3-502-0303): Video guides to help a new user get started, and to help existing users get the most out of FastDraft.
FastDraft FAQ (www.practicallaw.com/8-503-1064): A list of frequently asked questions about FastDraft.
PLC FastDraft Quick Guide (PDF) (www.practicallaw.com/3-380-2072): A PDF guide to help a new user get started, including all the basic steps you will need to create your first document.
PLC FastDraft Employment User Guide (www.practicallaw.com/7-380-2008): A help guide created specifically for PLC Employment users, concentrating on creating an employment contract.
How-To: Create a contacts database (www.practicallaw.com/1-503-1307): A help guide detailing how to create a contacts database in FastDraft.
How-To: Replace one defined term with another (www.practicallaw.com/6-503-1324): A help guide which shows how to change defined terms within a draft document.
How-To: Save your document before you finish it (www.practicallaw.com/0-503-1322): A help guide providing information about how to save your documents, in order to reduce the possibility of losing your work.
How-To: Answer questions through the draft page (www.practicallaw.com/4-503-1283): A detailed help guide which shows how to amend the document through the draft page.
How-To: Print out a copy of the questions (www.practicallaw.com/0-503-2623): A detailed help guide which shows how to print out and view the answers you have made in the question session.
For more information on FastDraft and the benefits it provides, please see the FastDraft home page (www.practicallaw.com/0-386-1261).
Login to the PLC website at www.practicallaw.com using your individual user details. For security reasons, you must be logged in with a unique username and password to use PLC FastDraft. If you do not have one, or would like a reminder, please e-mail: info@practicallaw.com.
Find the FastDraft document you want to draft and click on the link - see PLC FastDraft: Full content list (www.practicallaw.com/0-364-5012) for the full list of all documents which are available.
Click the GO button.
There are three main parts to the FastDraft process:
Answer key questions.
Revise and refine the document.
Export to Word.
After clicking the GO button, you will be directed to a series of question pages. Depending on the nature of the document, these can be anything from 1 page to 8 pages long.
These are the KEY QUESTIONS, which comprise the important data elements in the document (such as buyer and seller details), as well as creating the major changes to the document (for example, whether you want a long-form or short-form version of the document).
Spend a few minutes answering these key questions. Clicking on Next saves any changes.
For more information, see the PLC video,PLC FastDraft — summary and introduction.
As well as the key questions for each document, PLC FastDraft provides you with the capability to make further changes to the document.
These are generally of a less significant nature than the key questions, but will enable you to further refine the document in order to get a better first draft. For example, the fact that an agreement has conditions of sale might be a key question, but the details of what those conditions will actually be would be answered from the draft view.
For further information about how to review the document in the draft view, see How-To: Answer questions through the draft page (www.practicallaw.com/4-503-1283).
Once you have finished answering the key questions, and have added further revisions from the draft page, you can view your document in Word. In the Actions pane, click Export to Word.
Of course, you do not have to answer any questions: you can export your document to Word at any time, but you get the biggest benefit by answering as many questions as you are able. This process creates a more advanced and focused first draft of your document.
Adding the details of all of the parties to your document is quick and easy in FastDraft. Each party is listed in the question session, and the details for that party can be added simply by clicking the button on that page.
When a party has already been added, it appears on the page as blue text. By clicking on the name, you can edit the details of that contact: if the name or address is incorrectly spelt, for example. By clicking on the change button, you can alter the buyer to be a completely different contact.
When you click on the button, you get the choice of creating a new contact, importing details from Companies House, reusing a contact from your project, or reusing a contact from another project.
Click Enter new details. A window opens with default details for the party. You can create either a person, a UK company, or other organisation type (for example, a partnership).
Complete the party details, such as name and address, then click Save.
You can also import contact details from Companies House or from another project from this screen.
Click Get details from Companies House.
The whole of the Companies House database is searchable. You can either enter the name or part of the name of the company, or the registered number of the company.
If you cannot see the name of the company that you searched for on the screen scroll down the page or click Next 20, then click on the name of the company.
The details of the company's directors and secretary are added automatically. If you do not want these details, then untick the Include Appointments box at the bottom of the pop up.
Click Import this Company Record.
This method is particularly useful if you have entered the details of a director for a company, and you also need to create an employment agreement for that same person. It saves you from entering the details a 2nd time.
Click Reuse details from this project.
A pop-up will appear which lists all of the names of people or companies which you have already entered.
Select one of these contacts, and click Save.
This method is particularly useful if you have previously created, for example, an asset purchase agreement, and you now need to create a lease document for the buyer in that previous deal.
Click Use details from another project.
A list of projects appears in a pop-up. Select the project you wish to use.
A list of contacts in that project appear. Select the contact you wish to use, then click Import.
If the party details which you are entering allows for multiple people (e.g. tenants or buyers) you can select more than one contact at a time.
For a more detailed explanation of how to add parties, see the PLC Video, Adding contacts to your document.
PLC FastDraft allows you to search for an address using a postcode search.
Type the postcode into the box next to 'Search for address by postcode'.
Click Search for address by postcode. A window opens with a list of addresses.
Click the address that you want to import.
Click Select and then Confirm to import the address.
Open the Q&A session at the address that you want to copy.
Click on the copy icon next to address.
Move away from that address, and move to where you want to copy it. For example, close the contact's details and open the details for a different contact who will have the same address.
Click on the paste icon next to address.
Save the contact details.
PLC FastDraft enables you to revise and edit your questions from the draft document. Changes are automatically saved to the document, project summary and contacts list. This option provides you with the opportunity to see how answering a specific question will affect the draft document.
The following guidelines apply when working within the draft document.
Any blue text (e.g. a name or address) will open up a screen showing further details relating to that item. You are able to amend these from this screen, then click Save. Once it has saved, you will be directed back to the same place in the draft document.
Clicking on blue text which is part of a clause title will generally open a screen which will have a set of questions relating to the whole clause.
Blue italic text is a referenced hyperlink to a specific clause, schedule or paragraph.
Turquoise text is a referenced hyperlink to the relevant definition section.
As well as being able to alter specific items through the blue text links, you are also able to add or remove whole chunks of text, clauses or sub-clauses. This is done by clicking on the square brackets around any eligible text. This opens a new screen which will have questions which are relevant to that text, which you can amend. By clicking Save, these changes will be incorporated.
Text or clauses that are optional text, and are not yet included in the document are in grey text. When you click on a bracket around this text, it will lead to a question which will add the text to the draft: once the question is answered, the grey text will turn into black and blue text. This can be removed by clicking again on the blue square bracket.
To see a copy of the document without the grey optional text, in the Actions pane, click Hide options. To display them again, click Show options.
For more information about how to work with the document in the draft format, see the PLC Videos, Editing details from the draft (part 1) and Editing details from the draft (part 2).
The draft document has integrated drafting notes throughout the document at a clause level. These provide guidance and know how in order to assist you while you are drafting your document.
The drafting notes are included as green bars underneath the clause title. To see the drafting notes, click on the Show note link. Once you have finished reading the drafting notes, click on Hide note in order to close down the drafting note.
To view drafting notes for the whole document, in the Actions pane, click View drafting notes.
To print questions from the Questions view, click Print in the Actions pane.
A window opens showing all the questions in the Questions view including legal help notes, recommended answers and hidden questions, allowing you to review your answers.
The print dialogue box opens, click Print.
The document prints with whatever view of options you have currently chosen.
To print document with optional text, click the Show options in the Actions pane to display the optional text.
Click Print in the Actions pane, a confirmation dialogue box opens with a choice to print either:
Document with drafting notes
Document only
drafting notes only
Click draft only. The Print dialogue box opens, click Print.
One of the key features of PLC FastDraft is the ability to store and re-use data from one document in other related documents.
This means that if you create, for example, a share purchase agreement, the details about purchase price, target company, buyer and seller, conditions of sale and the date of completion will be entered as part of that document.
These details are all stored, and can be used in all the ancillary documents (confidentiality agreement, board minutes, disclosure letters etc) which are required as part of the deal. This saves time in creating and checking that these simple details are correct in all of these documents.
Documents are organised by projects — so all documents relating to a lease are held in a lease transaction project. Creating and changing details to any of these documents will change the shared data for all of the documents.
You are not, however, limited to creating specific documents in specific projects. PLC FastDraft allows you to create any document in any project - any project summary required for that document will automatically be added to the project. The contacts list will be shared for all documents and checklists in that project.
For example, if you are working on a Share purchase project and want to include a Lease in your project, you can create the Lease from within your Share purchase project.
For more information on projects and shared data, see the PLC Video, Using data across multiple documents.
In the Actions pane, click Create a new Document.
A window opens displaying a list of documents.
Choose the document you want to create a first draft for and click Create document.
A set of questions and answers appears (the Questions view of the document). Click Next if you want to answer questions specific to that document or for links to relevant checklist questions.
Click View draft tab to see a draft of the document.
To access the project summary, Contacts or other documents that you have created, click on the appropriate link in the Project overview pane on the right-hand side of the screen.
The Project entry screen is the front page for your project and allows you to access your project data. It contains:
A Project summary: a comprehensive and structured Q&A for capturing key information for the project.
A Contacts list: Details of all organisations and individuals involved in the project. You can enter contacts details using the contacts list, the checklist or the documents.
A Documents section containing documents you can create in PLC FastDraft. Each document is automatically customised to reflect the checklist and contacts list.
The project summary allows you to capture key information about the project. Documents created in PLC FastDraft are automatically customised to reflect the project summary.
You don't have to complete the project summary before creating documents - you can change project data directly from the document. If you do use the project summary, you answer the questions in the same way that you answer questions in the documents.
The draft view of the project summary is a table of all the relevant and key information for the whole project. This can be used as a quick checklist to ensure that all the details are correct.
To access your previous projects:
Login to PLC website at www.practicallaw.com using your individual user details.
Go to the Resources section and click on My FastDraft projects.
Click on the name of the project to access it.
The ability to import previous project data into your current project. This is useful if you are working on a current project which is similar to one that you have done previously. All you need to do is create a new project and import the project data from the previous project and then change the relevant information.
On the FastDraft Projects screen, in the Actions pane, click Create a new project, a window opens displaying a list of project templates.
Select a template for your project.
Type a name for the project in the box provided, then click Create project.
The Project entry page opens.
In the Actions pane, click Import project data.
Choose the project that you want to import, then click Import.
Click Continue to import the data into your current project.
Note: Importing data into your current deal will overwrite any data currently in your deal.
For more information on importing data into your deal, see the PLC Video, Using existing data to make a new will.
You can import existing project data into a new document when entering the QA session from the website.
Once you have clicked GO, the first question on the first page asks if you want to save the document to an existing project or not. If this is the first document you have created for your project then, choose No and continue to answer questions.
Choose Yes if you want to save the document to an existing project then, choose a project to save the document in and name the document. Remember, your choices will affect all the documents in that project.
Once you have finished answering the key questions, you can view the draft of the document by clicking View draft in the Actions pane. You can now work on the document in draft view.
For more information on importing project data into a new document, see the PLC Video, Saving a new document into an existing project.
