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Mail merge is one of Microsoft Word's most useful and most underused features. It takes a single Word template, connects it to a list of people or records, and produces a personalised letter, label, invoice or email for every row in that list. Hundreds of documents in minutes, without anyone copying and pasting names.
We set up, automate and repair mail merge for Australian businesses, not-for-profits and government teams. Your merge is built on your branded Word template, the data is tidied so it merges correctly, and the process is simplified so anyone on the team can run it. It's one of the quickest ways to remove repetitive document work.
What you can merge
Each document below starts life as a single template. The tokens on the right are examples of the fields that change from one copy to the next.
Client letters, renewal notices, donor thank-yous and tenancy notices, each addressed correctly with a salutation that reads naturally. Envelopes and window-face layouts line up with the letter so both print from the same list.
Monthly statements, rent receipts, membership renewals and donation receipts with dollars, cents and dates formatted the Australian way, rather than the US defaults Word tends to fall back on.
Merge straight to Outlook so each person receives their own email from your mailbox instead of a mass BCC. Ideal for event reminders, account updates and staff notices. When the replies start arriving, AI email triage can sort them for you.
Avery and custom label sheets, conference badges and training certificates, laid out once so every name sits inside the printable area on every sheet, including the last partly filled one.
Standard agreements where the wording stays fixed but parties, dates, fees and terms change. Conditional fields include or drop clauses based on the client type. Where staff need to answer questions first, popup forms collect the details before the merge runs.
A directory merge places many records on one page rather than one per document: staff phone lists, member directories, product price lists and room schedules that update whenever the list does.
Our mail merge services
Most projects combine a few of these. Open any service to see what's included.
We build new merge templates or rebuild the ones that have become fragile over the years, on top of your corporate template so styles, logos and layout survive every merge.
A merge is only as good as its data. We connect your template to the right source and tidy that source so Word reads it reliably, including cleaning messy Excel data before it goes anywhere near a letter.
Word's built-in merge stops at one long document. With VBA development we take it the rest of the way, so a full mailing runs from a single button.
Short, practical Word training built around your own templates and data, in person or over Teams, so your team can run merges confidently without calling for help.
When a merge that used to work suddenly misses records, loses its data or prints field codes, we find the cause and repair it so it stays fixed.
For teams working in the cloud, we move document generation off individual desktops so everyone works from the same templates and data.
Common mail merge problems
Most mail merge complaints come down to the same handful of formatting issues. Here's what causes each one and how we fix it for good.
Word reads Excel dates through its own data connection and ignores how the cell was formatted, so it often falls back to month-first.
A date switch on the field forces the Australian format every time.
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1300 102 810{ MERGEFIELD Due_Date \@ "d MMMM yyyy" }Excel displays $1,250.50, but the value underneath is just 1250.5, and that's what Word receives.
A numeric picture switch restores the currency format.
{ MERGEFIELD Amount \# "$#,##0.00" }Darwin's 0800 is stored as the number 800 when the postcode column is numeric.
Store postcodes as text in the source, or pad them back to four digits in the field.
{ MERGEFIELD Postcode \# "0000" }Calculated cells carry hidden decimal places. Excel rounds them on screen, but Word merges the full value.
Round in the source formula, or set the decimal places on the field.
{ MERGEFIELD Rate \# "0.00" }Records without a second address line leave an empty paragraph where that line should be.
Word's Address Block skips empty lines, or an IF field adds the line only when there's data to show.
Beyond mail merge
Mail merge is brilliant for fixed layouts. When documents need to choose content, repeat tables or write themselves, we step up the approach rather than forcing the merge.
Fixed layouts
One record, one document, with a set layout. Letters, labels, statements and simple emails. Often all you need, and the easiest option for staff to run.
High volume
VBA wraps the merge so each record becomes its own named PDF, filed in the right folder or emailed with its own attachment, all from one button.
Variable content
Mail merge can't natively repeat a table of line items for one client or choose whole sections. Document generators can, driven by popup forms or a database behind the scenes.
Written content
When the wording itself changes, an AI agent can draft into your real Word template from notes or records, with a person reviewing before anything is sent.
Not sure which fits? Tell us what your documents need to do. We've been automating Microsoft Word since 2000, and quite often the simplest option is the right one.
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Read all case studies
A financial planning client's reports combine free text with a large library of headings and content in three tiers. We built a Word document builder with a pop-up form for choosing only the items needed, automatic parent headings, custom Heading 3 items that format themselves, and a background library the Administrator maintains and rolls out to staff templates.
See the document builder
A window and door installer was assembling proposals, quotes and contracts, often 50 pages or more, by hand from paper records and Excel. We designed an Access database, later migrated to SQL Server, where staff select the sections they need and the full Word document is generated with project and client details, quote tables, data and images.
See the proposal generatorCopyright © 2024. Brayalei Pty Ltd T/As Office Experts Group. ABN 32 093 067 737. ACN 093 067 737. All Rights Reserved.