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A proposal template holds everything a proposal on Upwork needs: the profile the client sees, your rate, how the AI writes the cover letter, and the files to attach. Set it up once and every proposal starts from it. Three places use a template:
  • The Chrome extension. On an Upwork job, pick a template in the sidebar. The extension fills the proposal form, and you review it before you submit.
  • A filter. A filter can carry a template for its jobs. With the Redirect & Autofill bidding mode, Vollna opens the Upwork proposal page and fills the form for you to review.
  • An auto-bidding setup. The setup applies to jobs with its template. Auto-bidding needs a template with an agency as the Proposal sender. See Auto-bidding.
One template per kind of job works best. A template for Shopify jobs and one for fintech jobs each carry the right rate, prompt and samples.

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The steps

  1. Proposal sender: the Upwork profile the client sees. The AI also writes the letter from this profile.
  2. Job terms: your hourly rate and your fixed-price bid.
  3. AI Writer: how the AI writes the letter and answers screening questions. Test it here on real jobs.
  4. Attachments: files sent with every proposal, or only with the jobs they fit.
  5. Activity: every saved version, preview letter and sent proposal of the template. See Activity.
  6. Advanced: the AI model that writes your letters. Most templates keep the default. See Choose the model.
A template opened from a filter starts with a Bidding settings step for that filter.

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Save a template

A new template needs three things before it can be saved: a Proposal sender, an Hourly rate on Job terms, and a Prompt on AI Writer. Every other field has a default you can keep. Until these are filled, a new template shows Next in place of Save. The AI Writer step always shows Save. When something is missing, Save stops with “Please complete the following steps:” and the names of the steps to fix. The step then marks the field. Next stops with “Please fix the validation errors on this step before proceeding.” Before it saves, Vollna can ask three questions:
  • Blanks left in your prompt. Your prompt or letter still holds a blank from an example, like [YOUR NICHE]. Click Fill them in unless you wrote it for the AI on purpose. Left in place, a blank can reach the client.
  • Check external links. Your prompt or letter holds a link, and it can reach every cover letter. Check that it holds no contact details, then click Continue anyway.
  • Keep the new AI model? You tried another model in the preview. Keep it for the template, or go back to the model you had.
A new template then asks for a name. Each save that changes the template adds a version to Activity.

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When a change takes effect

The editor’s preview always uses your current settings, saved or not. Everything else uses the saved template:
  • The Chrome extension loads your templates when the sidebar opens. After a save, reopen the sidebar or click Sync.
  • Auto-bidding writes the cover letter and the screening answers soon after it schedules a job. It sets a Smart or Flexible hourly bid at the same time. A change applies to jobs scheduled after you save. A job already scheduled keeps the letter written for it.

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Share a template with your team

A new template starts as Shared (admins only): only you, the team owner and admins see it. Change it under Manage access:
  • Full access: everyone on the team can view and edit.
  • Shared (team): team members can view. The team owner and admins can edit.
  • Shared (admins only): only the creator, the team owner and admins see it.
  • Private: only you see it.
A teammate with view access sees “View-only access” above the editor. They can test the template in the preview and duplicate it, and their copy is theirs to edit. Duplicate copies every setting and every attachment into a new template. The copy starts as Shared (admins only), with no filters, auto-bidders or activity.

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The templates list

The Proposal sender filter appears when your templates use more than one profile. Created by appears when your team has more than one member.
  • Last 30 days: proposals sent, the view rate, and replies with the reply rate. A template with nothing sent shows “No proposals sent”.
  • Auto-bidding / Filters: where the template is in use. A green dot marks a running auto-bidder, a gray dot one that is not running. A filter icon marks a filter. Check this column before you edit a template: a change reaches every place listed.
A row with an Upgrade button has an agency as its Proposal sender, and your plan does not include agencies. Upgrade to open the template again.

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Activity

The Activity step records three things:
  • New version: a save that changed the template. A save with no change adds nothing. Click View changes to see each field before and after.
  • Preview generated: a letter written in the preview, with the version it ran on.
  • Proposal sent: a proposal that went out on Upwork with this template.
Each entry names who made it. “(Vollna)” after a name marks a change our support team made in your account. Use Compare with current settings to judge an edit. It shows the letter for the same job with your current settings next to the old one, and writes that letter if there is none yet. To go back to an older version, copy its text from View changes.

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Delete a template

Delete is permanent. It also removes the template from its filters. Vollna refuses to delete a template still in use, and names what blocks it:
  • “This proposal template is used in the auto-bidding setup(s) …” Delete those setups or give them another template first.
  • “This proposal template is part of the running A/B test of the auto-bidding setup …” Stop or edit the test first.
  • “This proposal template is the primary template of an auto-accept invite setup.” Change the setup’s template first.