We apologize for the inconvenience, but our dictation line is currently down. Our phone service is provided by a major carrier who is currently experiencing an outage. We are working closely with them to monitor their repair progress and from what we are hearing, they are close to a resolution. In the meantime, if you’re able to use one of our alternate dictation methods we are still processing dictation at our normal turn around time. You can download our free app from the app store and use that to dictate and submit your work. Or, you can create your audio dictations that way and submit them by email or through our webpage. We are very sorry for the inconvenience- but we will keep you posted as we get updates from our phone service provider
Streamline your business with templates for transcription
Templates for transcription save valuable time by ensuring that documents come back the same every time without the need for dictating the same instructions repeatedly.
Why templates matter for your business?
Let’s use law firms as an example. Most attorneys are trying to move through cases as fast as they can while still serving their clients. Perhaps their firm mandates how many cases they handle each month, or simple economics requires them to be working on a number of cases at one time to cover overhead costs. Either way, producing work fast is a must for the modern law practice. Plus, who wants to work late if they don’t have to?
For attorneys, using templates is a great way to streamline your practice by leveraging your best work over multiple cases. Templates can be used to quickly format documents so they appear uniform in style, or they can incorporate standard language or letterhead that commonly appears across documents. Your firm can even share templates among multiple accounts.
Using templates for your dictations
Here at SpeakWrite, accuracy, and speed are at the DNA of our transcription operations. That is the reason why we made available the use templates for your dictated transcriptions.
Do you like size 13 font? Or maybe you want your headings to always be centered and in bold font. Simply upload a template pre-set with these preferences and save time for you and the transcriptionist.
You can easily control these templates by uploading them to your account. In your dictation, make sure to request the template by name to avoid any confusion. If you upload multiple templates, it’s best to give them unique names to ensure the typist knows exactly which one you want.
Using a template is a great way to easily customize your document with elements such as spacing, preferred indentation styles, margins or fonts. Your template can include letterheads, headers, footers, page numbers and other elements to personalize your documents exactly to your liking. See some downloadable examples below.
Not sure exactly what you want? SpeakWrite’s template experts can assist you in creating a template that meets your needs. Just reach out to your account manager to discuss the options. They are available via chat during business hours. Chat with Us
Templates are extremely versatile and useful for many of the industries SpeakWrite serves. A police report, for example, can include headings for necessary sections, or headers with room for a report number or officer’s name. Similarly, a template used for a social worker’s case notes can include information that is needed for every intake.
Tips to better use templates using SpeakWrite transcription services
- Although templates don’t have to contain much, they must include text in the body of the document. You can use headers and footers, but the template must also have at least one word in the body of the document itself in order to upload properly.
- They must not be locked for editing or password protected. Our typists have to be able to edit the document in order for it to work correctly.
- The template cannot use form fields or checkboxes.
- Templates must be Microsoft Word documents, not PDFs or other file formats.
There are a few things you need to know before uploading a template to your account, to make sure it works properly with SpeakWrite’s system:
- Keep your template relatively simple. Avoid complicated forms and ambiguous formatting.
- You can use simple placeholder language to show the typist where you want various elements placed. Feel free to reach out to your account manager or the SpeakWrite Help Desk to get assistance in creating a template that will work best for you.
- Try to dictate according to the template. If the template has pre-entered headings or sections, dictate in the same order and with the same wording. Keep in mind, typists will alter the template to match your dictation, so feel free to direct them to make changes to the template within your audio if you need to.
- Avoid using too much extra sample text that the typist will have to remove. You will pay for the final word count of the job, including any words in the template, so less is usually better.
Additionally, templates can be shared among different accounts in the same organization. If your entire office uses common set-up templates, make sure all of the users are aware that they’re available, and how to request each one. It is also encouraged to have one admin who is responsible for managing the templates and keeping them up to date. That way, if it’s necessary to make changes to a template, there is just one person who makes those changes with SpeakWrite. We’re happy to help you update and tweak your templates as needed.
Start here with a few template examples
Here are a few template examples you can use as inspiration:
Attorney Time Entry
Time entry is a tedious but necessary task for most lawyers in law firms. With a template for your time entries, you can dictate the Date, Case Name, Time, and a Description of the work performed and any other info you need to quickly prepare and submit your time billing.
Interview with numbered lines
Adding line numbers to an interview or group conversation can help you point others to exact positions within it, especially in documents with multiple pages. This template helps you do that.
Letter
Probably the most commonly used template. You can include your letterhead, mailing instructions as well as use contact information directly from our Address Book tool.
Pleading template
Produce pleadings faster by only dictating the plaintiff and defendant’s information, civil action no. and the statement itself. The headings and formatting will be taken care of by the template.
Memo
Perfect for recording the terms of a transaction or contract, briefing notes, reports, letters, binders and others.
Summary of records
Tackle the intimidating task of reviewing stacks of documents, such as medical records, to prepare a case chronology. While reviewing the records, you could use this template to dictate key information such as record type, page number and summary, eliminating the need for extensive manual notes that will later have to be typed electronically.
Interview with page numbers
Easily locate and reference parts of an interview using this template with page numbers.
Interview with numbered lines
Adding line numbers to an interview or group conversation can help you point others to exact positions within it, especially in documents with multiple pages. This template helps you do that.
Police report template
Making a well-written report is crucial in solving cases. Save time and effort by using a police report template that will lay out the incident narrative in a clear and consistent format.
Interview with page numbers
Easily locate and reference parts of an interview using this template with page numbers.
Interview with numbered lines
Adding line numbers to an interview or group conversation can help you point others to exact positions within it, especially in documents with multiple pages. This template helps you do that.
Interview with page numbers
Easily locate and reference parts of an interview using this template with page numbers.
Home visit notes
Having a template for home visit notes will allow you to spend more time with the families under your care.
Protective services assessment
The accuracy and thoroughness of a protective services case assessment can make a difference in its outcome and the safety of the child. Using a template like this can help preserve the crucial information that needs to be captured while helping the workload a caseworker might have.
Interview with numbered lines
Adding line numbers to an interview or group conversation can help you point others to exact positions within it, especially in documents with multiple pages. This template helps you do that.
Letter
Probably the most commonly used template. You can include your letterhead, mailing instructions as well as use contact information directly from our Address Book tool.
Interview with page numbers
Easily locate and reference parts of an interview using this template with page numbers.
By taking advantage of SpeakWrite’s custom templates, you can receive more accurate work that is completed in a more efficient manner. It makes things easier for everyone, and saves time for both typists and clients alike.
Ready to be more productive with fast and accurate transcriptions done by our professionals? Try SpeakWrite today for free! Click the button below to sign up for your free account and receive a $10 credit towards your first job.
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6 responses to “Streamline your business with templates for transcription”
Need examplses of use
Hi Mina, we will update the article with more examples of use. Thank you for your feedback!
A youtube video on this would be great. (Not for a letter, but for a template form). I am not sure what you mean by “Try to dictate according to the template”. I would love to give you more “templates”to get it out of my hands.
Hi Mr. Portlock. Thank you for your suggestion on the YouTube video. We will work on it and let you know when done. “Try to dictate according to the template” means that, if you have a form template, for example, instead of saying “Full Name, semicolon, John Hancock. New line, Occupation, semicolon, Insurance Agent.” you would simply dictate according to the fields on the form. Eg. “Full name, John Hancock. Occupation, Insurance Agent.” This will reduce your dictation time and still get the desired formatting. We will update this article with more real-life examples like this. Thank you!
Good morning, I like to try templates. Sounds quite helpful.
Good morning Saira, I have forwarded your request to your account manager to help you set this up. Thanks for your feedback!