Precedents, merge codes and macros: your document bank in a new system

Merge codes belong to the old system

Every merge code points at a field in your current system. In a new system, each one has to be mapped to the equivalent field, and if the data was not migrated to that field, the document comes out blank or wrong. Precedents and custom data are one problem, not two: design the data first, then convert the documents to use it.

Macros and VBA

Many older precedents use VBA macros to ask questions, choose wording or calculate figures. That has consequences when moving to a modern, browser-based system:

• VBA does not run in Word for the web or on mobile devices, so macro-based precedents tie users to desktop Word.
• There is no automatic conversion from VBA to Microsoft's web add-ins, which use a different technology. Macro logic has to be rebuilt.
• Microsoft blocks macros by default in files that come from the internet, and many firms restrict macros further for security reasons.

Some systems support macros or their own desktop add-ins in Word; true software as a service generally will not. Decide which you need before you choose.

Where should the logic live?

When the same rule lives in a workflow, a macro and a precedent, every change has to be made three times, and they drift apart. The cleaner design is for decisions (which letter, which clause, which next step) to sit in the system's workflow and data, using its document assembly for conditional wording, so precedents only present the answers. A change is then made once.

Updating the precedent bank

1. Inventory and prune: list every precedent with its owner and how often it is used. Most banks contain duplicates and documents nobody has opened in years.
2. Agree the conversion approach and cost: bulk conversion tools for merge codes, manual rework for complex documents, and who does each.
3. Rebuild, do not replicate: use the move to replace macros with the new system's document assembly, and to standardise wording.
4. Test on migrated matters: generate each kept precedent from real migrated data before go-live, not from test data.
5. Give each precedent an owner and a review date, so the bank stays current.

What to ask, and what to see

1. Convert three of our most complex precedents during the selection, and generate them in Word for the web.
2. How are merge codes converted, in bulk or by hand, and who pays?
3. How is conditional wording handled without macros?
4. How do precedents use custom data, including repeating groups?