Create a Playbook in August

Create a Playbook in August

What Is a Playbook

A Playbook in August is a structured, firm wide guide that captures your standard contract language, review rules, risk positions, and fallback options. Playbooks help teams review and negotiate documents consistently by automatically flagging clauses as acceptable, needing review, or not acceptable.

Once created, a Playbook can be applied across matters to support faster, more consistent contract review.

How Playbooks Work in August

• Playbook managers create or upload Playbooks in August
• Users can run Playbooks on contracts through the platform or add ins
• August reviews each clause against the Playbook rules and labels them
• The system can also propose suggested edits or fallback clause language based on your standards

This provides structure, speeds up review, and improves consistency across documents and teams.

How to Create a Playbook

Playbooks can be created in three ways:

1. Build from scratch

Define rules manually and add preferred clause language.

2. Import an existing Playbook

Upload a Word document or template and convert it into structured Playbook rules.

3. Generate from precedent contracts

Use the Create a Playbook workflow to extract rules from one or more model contracts.

Using the Create a Playbook Workflow

1. Go to Workflows → Create a Playbook
2. Select Create a New Playbook from Contract
3. Upload your firm’s model agreement or template

   The first uploaded file should be your preferred standard form

4. Review the rules and clause names extracted by August
5. Confirm or edit rules, then submit
6. Optionally upload negotiated contracts to detect clause variations and fallback positions
7. Save the Playbook under Settings → Playbooks

Once saved, the Playbook is available for all authorized users to run on contracts.

Sharing and Permissions

• Only users with Playbook Manager or similar permissions can create, edit, delete, or export Playbooks
• Playbooks can be shared with users or teams with view or edit access
• Firms often maintain separate Playbooks for different practice areas to reflect unique risk standards

Exporting a Playbook

To export a Playbook:

1. Go to Settings → Playbooks
2. Select Review on the Playbook
3. Choose Export and select a file format such as Excel, CSV, or Word

Only Playbook Managers can export Playbooks.

Tips and Best Practices

• Use a clean, up to date precedent as your model agreement
• Include a variety of negotiated agreements when generating fallback language
• Review extracted rules manually to ensure accuracy and proper interpretation
• Maintain separate Playbooks for different contract types or practice groups
• Implement governance practices such as version control, permission checks, and audit logs

Why Playbooks Matter

Playbooks convert your firm’s model language and standards into a live review system. They help teams deliver consistent, high quality contract reviews with less manual effort and reduce the risk of oversight or inconsistent negotiation positions.