Especially since the Summer 2011 release, Workbooks supports separate 'template' technologies which have their own advantages and disadvantages.  Which should you use and when?

From its earliest versions Workbooks has supported the generation of PDF documents using 'PDF Templates'.  These are print-ready so that you get complete control over the format of the output you generate; PDF is also a format which is suitable for reading but not for subsequent modification.  They're particularly great for Order and Invoice documents where you have finalised a transaction with your customer.  A newly-enrolled Workbooks account comes pre-configured with a set of templates such that each type of transaction in Workbooks can be generated as a PDF document, and sent to the customer. 

Plain 'Templates' are based on web technology: HTML. As such "HTML templates" are not suitable for generating output which must be precisely formatted. They are however very flexible: you can share them with your customer who can edit them as you negotiate a transaction. Thus they are particularly useful at earlier stages in the sales process. Again, we have provided predefined templates which you can use as a starting point.  

The main trade-offs are:

• PDF templates define document layout very precisely; HTML templates are more flexible.
• PDF templates use a technology known as 'XSL formatting objects' which will be unfamiliar to many web developers; HTML templates are much more intuitive to such IT staff.

When you start to use Workbooks predefined templates of both types are available.

It's particularly straightforward to modify the HTML templates to meet your requirements; we suggest that you initially work with these as your business process implementation crystallises.  Further through the project you may also choose to create customised PDF documents for finalised output documents, by modifying the supplied PDF templates.