Cubby provides the ability to set up templates for messaging and documentation purposes; this allows automation for workflows and communications that happen regularly! Both messages and documents are built via the "Template Editor", which is outlined below.
Document Templates
These are your key documents sent and received for each customer. They include:
Lease - your standard lease
Coverage Policy - if you offer coverage / insurance / tenant protection
Lien Notice - the lien notice sent out when a customer becomes eligible
Invoice - standard invoice set up by default in Cubby
Receipt - standard receipt set up by default in Cubby
Addendums - Military or Parking addendums that can be added to a lease
Document Templates are located under Settings and then the "Document templates" section of Communications.
From here, a new document template can be created, or existing ones can be edited by clicking into them. Additionally, there are other options under the "..." on the righthand side, including deleting, duplicating and renaming the template selected.
A few key sections are called out below that apply to any template editor:
1) Variables — The template editor is simply a text form, similar to Google Docs or Microsoft Word. The key difference is the ability to place "variables" in, which are auto-populated data linked to a customer, facility, or other parts of Cubby. As an example, the blue variable pictured as "${facility.name}" will automatically drop in the name of the facility that the document is assigned to.
A list of all possible variables are located on the righthand side of the editor under the "Standard values" section.
All variables must follow the same format, which is ${variable.name} — you'll know it's done right if the variable turns blue!
Custom variables can also be placed and leveraged in the Lease and Coverage templates, which are indicated by a yellow color. When a custom variable is made, it will require the renter to fill out additional information so it is memorialized in the document.
${Recipient.MailingAddress2} is now available as a second address line variable. Use it in lease agreements and lien notices where a mailing address line 2 is needed (e.g. apartment number, suite, PO Box).
Trailing zeros are now stripped from numeric variables — for example,
${Invoice.Amount}will output50instead of50.00when the value has no cents. Update any template text that referenced formatted amounts like "$50.00" to use the variable directly.- Use Dropdown Menus: When adding dynamic variables like${Tenant}or${Facility}, start typing the variable name and select it from the dropdown menu. Avoid copying text from other sources to prevent errors.Ensure Data Availability: Variables such as Tenant Name or Facility Phone will only populate if the corresponding data is included in the lease. Verify that all required information is present.
Automatic Updates: If you update a dynamic facility URL (e.g.,
${Facility.CustomUrl}) in Facility Details, it will automatically reflect in all templates using that variable for future messages.
2) Assignment — Once the template is in a format to your liking, you can save and then assign it. Different template categories are assigned in different ways, covered in the next section.
3) Addenda — There are currently two types of addenda available to add to a Lease Template:
Vehicle Addendum — if a renter is storing a vehicle and you require additional information.
Military Addendum — if a renter is active military and you require additional information.
These are both created leveraging the same template editor concepts outlined above and then assigned to a lease. If a customer confirms that they are either storing a vehicle or are active military, the relevant addendum will automatically apply to the lease and require the customer to fill out. More is covered on this topic in the Addendum help article.
Assigning document templates
Where a document template applies depends on its category. Most document templates (invoices, receipts, lien notices, coverage policies, addendums) are assigned at the facility level from the template's Assigned facilities tab.
Lease agreement templates are different. As of the latest release, lease agreement templates are assigned at the pricing group level, not the facility level. This means a single facility can have multiple lease agreement templates in use — one per pricing group — to support mixed lease types (e.g. a vehicle/RV lease agreement alongside a standard storage lease agreement).
To assign a lease agreement template to pricing groups:
Open the pricing group you want to configure (Facilities → Pricing groups).
In the pricing group's settings, locate the Lease agreement field.
Select the desired lease agreement template from the dropdown. You can preview the template directly from the pricing group form.
Click Save.
Required field: Every pricing group must have a Lease agreement template assigned. You won't be able to save a new pricing group without selecting one. See How to create and manage pricing groups and Lease Configurations for more.
Best Practice — if you have multiple leases that are similar, but slightly different based on state or unit type, duplicate a Lease template, tweak the fields needed, and then assign it to the relevant pricing groups.
For all other document template categories (invoice, receipt, lien notice, coverage policy, addendum), open the template's Assigned facilities tab and pick the facilities where it applies — exactly as before.