The basic premise behind all document assembly of any kind is you have some combination of boiler plate content and some combination of variable data that customizes that boiler plate content. Even in their earliest days almost all word processors supported some form of merge functionality to address simple assembly needs. With the addition of templates and macros these same word processors increased their ability to handle more and more complexity in the assembly process.There is little doubt the basic assembly functionality you find in Word or WordPerfect meet at least 80% of the assembly needs of most users and companies.

With very few exceptions all of the mass marketed solutions and in-house built systems out there target the easy 80% of the assembly process. RediDraft can certainly handle this type of simple assembly but it’s like using a Bugatti to go to Walmart.

RediDraft exists to solve the 20% of document assembly that is hard to get right but reaps huge benefits when you do!

For example, consider what you need to do with a simple template and macro system to make sure when you include some content other conflicting content can’t be accidentally or intentionally included. Think about what you have to do to make sure additional content is included based on what you have already included. Sure, it can be done but you are going to have to program that into every template and you are probably going to have to learn the ins and outs of whatever macro or scripting language the word processor uses. With RediDraft it is trivially easy for the content matter expert to make sure the right additional content is included in the primary document or any combination of secondary documents. It’s also trivially easy for them to make sure conflicting content stays out. No programming is needed no matter what form you choose for the draft output.

If your needs go beyond simple text replacement for variables the template and macro systems fall short very quickly. RediDraft users are accustomed to extremely complex variable completion during assembly. RediDraft focuses on collecting the absolute minimum amount of information from the user at draft time. While more basic systems make you choose variations of pronouns and data formatting, RediDraft knows how to do all of that based on the rules defined by the content experts.

Today, a lot of discussion happens around gender and pronoun use. RediDraft takes what could be a complex and time consuming issue for a user drafting documents and reduces it down to a non-event. Once configured correctly … CONFIGURED … not programmed … RediDraft knows what pronouns to used based on the gender the drafter attached to variable such as a name. RediDraft 2024 completely rethought the way gender and pronouns are handled and makes this whole process easier and more reliable.

Another area where RediDraft shines is with reciprocal documents. Take for example someone specializing in estate planning. When they have a couple as a client they almost always have to generate specific documents for each person separately. Things like wills, medical and financial powers of attorney, funeral instructions, etc. Often these documents are the same except for the variable data. The spouse defined in one is the primary in the other, for example. RediDraft is the only system I know about where you enter the variable data once and with a simple mouse click generate the appropriate reciprocal documents.

RediDraft and FastDraft before it has addressed these and many other complex use cases for over 30 years! Just like Farmer’s Insurance, we’ve seen a thing or two.

This post isn’t intended to disparage simpler systems and solutions. RediDraft is a niche product addressing the very specific needs of its users. Not everyone needs RediDraft and honestly I have turned potential clients away because I knew RediDraft would not be a good fit for them.