A deliverable is one unit of work requested in a brief, such as a set of social videos or a run of display banners. Every brief in Brief Mode holds a list of deliverables, and each one carries its own fields for instructions, specs and references, like a small brief of its own. The briefer fills them in and the receiving team plans and produces against them. Everything produced then sits under the deliverable it answers, so what was asked for and what has been delivered live in one place.
What is a deliverable?
Bigger briefs are usually a list of separate requests, each with its own specs. Deliverables keep that list intact, so no detail gets lost in a single text field and nobody has to rebuild the list by hand.
A deliverable is the request. The work your team produces against it, such as an ad or an asset, sits under it once it's made.
Every deliverable needs a name in the Deliverable field and a number in the Total formats field. A format is one output file. A single work in Pencil can hold several size formats, and exporting it gives you one file per format, so a work with six sizes counts as six formats. Total formats records how many output files you're asking for, which lets Pencil track formats created against formats requested.
Every brief needs at least one deliverable before you can submit it.
How do I add deliverables to a brief?
The Deliverables section sits in the brief form. You can fill it in three ways, and combine them.
Generate them with AI
When you upload a source brief, Pencil reads the documents, breaks the request into deliverables and fills in each field. Where the brief doesn't state a value, Pencil leaves the field blank rather than guessing. Generation can take a few minutes, and runs only if your brief template has it switched on.
Import a list
Select import. Use the import button at the top of the Deliverables section.
Choose a source. Select Provide a URL to paste a link, such as a Google Sheet, or Upload .csv or .xlsx to import a file. Then select Continue.
Pick the sheet. If your spreadsheet has several sheets, choose the one that holds your list.
Match the columns. Match your sheet's columns to your deliverable fields. Pencil matches columns with the same names for you.
Add them by hand
Type straight into the table. You can also copy a block of cells from Excel or Google Sheets and paste it in.
Working with long lists
Use the expand button to open the deliverables in a larger view. There you can search and sort, select several deliverables to duplicate or delete them at once, and move between cells with your keyboard. Duplicating is useful when a brief repeats near-identical deliverables across markets.
If your brief template runs a health check, the check reviews your deliverables as well as the other brief fields.
How do I set up deliverable templates?
A deliverable template sets the fields every deliverable carries, which are the columns you see in the brief. To manage them, select Templates in the Brief Mode menu, then open the Deliverables tab.
Every workspace has a default template, Creative deliverable, which holds only the Deliverable and Total formats fields. If your brief shows only those two columns, it uses this default.
Admins can add fields to capture details such as channel, market, dimensions or creative instructions, and choose which fields are mandatory. Deliverable and Total formats are always required.
Admins can also adjust the instructions the AI follows when it splits a brief into deliverables, and publish a deliverable template to other workspaces, so every brief for a brand describes its work the same way.
Each brief template uses one deliverable template. In the brief template, choose which deliverable template it uses and whether AI generation is switched on.
How do I add work to a deliverable?
Once a brief is accepted, the Deliverables tab appears on it. Adding work to a deliverable is what puts that work on the brief. You can do it from wherever you're working.
Deliverables tab. Upload work from your computer or add work from Pencil directly to a deliverable.
Files and canvas. Open an item's menu and choose Add to deliverable, just below Add to canvas.
Editor. Open the menu and choose Send to deliverable, just below Send to canvas.
Deliverable column. Set an item's deliverable from the Deliverable column in list and table views.
In bulk. Select several items and add them to deliverables in one go.
The brief's canvas has a Reference materials section, where reference material for the brief collects in one place. Work placed elsewhere on the canvas joins the brief once you add it to a deliverable.
How do I track progress?
The Deliverables tab groups work under the deliverable it was made for, and shows formats created against formats requested for each one. You can also check what was briefed for a deliverable without leaving the tab.
In the brief list, each brief shows how many deliverables it has, and formats created against formats requested with a progress bar, for example 284 of 309 formats created.
Can I change deliverables after a brief is accepted?
Yes. Deliverables lock along with the rest of the brief, so after acceptance you change them through a scope change request.
What about existing briefs and templates?
Briefs created before deliverables arrived work exactly as before. They keep the earlier Deliverables tab and their deliverables sub-canvas.
Existing brief templates use the Creative deliverable template, with AI generation switched off. An admin can add fields, choose a different deliverable template or switch generation on.