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This guide walks you through building your first Gavel workflow from start to finish. By the end, you will have a working questionnaire connected to an output document — ready to test and share. The entire process takes no coding and typically under an hour for a simple document.
Gavel offers a free trial so you can build and test before committing to a plan. Visit gavel.io to sign up.

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Before you start

Have a document you want to automate ready. Ideally, choose something you draft frequently with repeating information — names, dates, addresses, and so on. A one-page letter or short agreement is a good starting point.

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Build your first workflow

1

Sign up or log in

Go to app.gavel.io and create your account or log in. After signing in, you land on your Dashboard, where all your workflows live.
2

Create a new workflow

Click New Workflow from the Dashboard. Give it a name that reflects the document you are automating (for example, “Client Engagement Letter”). Gavel opens the Builder — the no-code editor where you design the questionnaire and connect documents.
3

Add your questions

In the Builder, add questions that correspond to every piece of variable information in your document. For each question:
  1. Click + Question (bottom right) or + New → Question in the left sidebar.
  2. Select the appropriate question type (Text, Date, Yes/No, etc.).
  3. Give the question a label your respondent will see.
  4. Note the variable name Gavel generates — you will use this to tag your document template.
Repeat until you have a question for every field that varies from document to document.
Use descriptive variable names like ClientFullName or EffectiveDate rather than generic names. You will type these into your document template, so clarity matters.
4

Organize questions into pages

Long questionnaires are easier to complete when grouped into logical pages. Click + New → Page in the sidebar to add a page. Drag questions between pages to arrange them. Each page becomes one screen in the questionnaire experience.You can also add sections to group pages under a heading, which gives respondents a visual sense of progress.
5

Connect a Word or PDF template

Navigate to the Document Templates tab of your workflow.
  1. Install the free Gavel Word Add-in from the Microsoft AppSource if you haven’t already.
  2. Open your Word document and use the Add-in to insert variable tags — for example, {{ ClientFullName }} — wherever variable content should appear.
  3. Save the document and upload it to the Document Templates tab in Gavel.
You can attach multiple output documents to a single workflow. All connected templates are generated simultaneously when the questionnaire is submitted.
6

Test the workflow

Click Preview or Test in the Builder to run through the questionnaire as a respondent would. Fill in sample answers and proceed to the output page to confirm that the generated documents look correct.Check that:
  • All variable fields populate with the correct answers
  • Conditional clauses show and hide as expected
  • Formatting in the output document matches your template
Always test before sharing with clients. A quick test run catches missing variables and formatting issues before they reach a real respondent.
7

Share the workflow

Once you are satisfied with the test output, go to the Share or Access settings of your workflow. Depending on how you want to use it, you can:
  • Share a direct link with specific colleagues or clients
  • Embed the workflow on your website or client portal
  • Restrict access to specific users or require login
  • Set it to public so anyone with the link can complete it
Respondents follow the link, complete the questionnaire, and receive the generated documents on the output page.

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Next steps

Now that you have a working workflow, explore more advanced features to make it smarter and more polished.

Question types

Learn about all available question types, including repeating items, file uploads, and integrations.

Pages and sections

Organize your questionnaire into a clean, navigable structure.

Repeating items

Collect variable-length lists like children, assets, or parties to a contract.

What can you build?

Get inspired by use cases and examples from real legal workflows.