How to Automatically Create and Send Document Templates in a Workflow

Automating Document and Contract Delivery

The Documents & Contracts feature allows you to create professional, branded templates for proposals, service agreements, or estimates. By integrating this feature with workflows, you can automatically send these documents to contacts based on specific events in your CRM, such as a tag being applied or a pipeline stage change. This guide explains how to build a template, set up the automation, and track its progress.

Creating a Document Template

Templates are reusable and can incorporate your branding, custom data fields, and signature boxes.

1. Navigate to Payments > Documents & Contracts > Templates.
2. Click the + New button and select Create New Template.
3. Provide a descriptive name for your template, such as "Service Agreement".
4. Use the Add Element options to design your document:
   • Image: Upload your company logo.
   • Text: Add the body text of your contract or proposal.
   • Custom Values: Insert dynamic fields that will pull information from the contact's record, like their name or company.
   • Product List: Include items and pricing from your product catalog.
   • Signature Box: Add a field for the recipient to sign.
5. Click Save to store the template.

Note: Editing a saved template will not change any documents that have already been sent or saved as drafts.

Configuring Signature Assignments

You can designate who needs to sign specific fields within the document.

To assign a signature field to the person sending the document (which is useful for workflows where the sender may change):

1. While editing the template, click on a fillable field, such as a Signature box.
2. In the properties panel on the right, locate the To be signed by option.
3. Select Sender. This ensures the workflow will assign the correct user at the time the document is sent.

To assign a field to a specific staff member in your account:

1. Click on the fillable field in the template editor.
2. In the properties, under To be signed by, choose the required staff member from the list.
3. Save the template. This staff member will be pre-assigned to that field in every document generated from this template.

Setting Up the Automated Workflow

To automatically send a document when a trigger condition is met, create a workflow.

1. Go to Automation > Workflows.
2. Click + Create Workflow and select Start from Scratch.
3. Choose a trigger for the workflow, such as Tag Added or Opportunity Updated.
4. Add the Send Documents & Contracts action to the workflow.
5. Configure the action:
   • Give the action a name.
   • Select the user the document should be sent from.
   • Choose the saved template you created.
   • Decide whether to Send Directly or Create as Draft.
   • Select the sending channel: Email or SMS.

Important: The contact must have a valid email address on file for the document to be sent, even if you choose SMS as the channel. If no email exists, the document will be created as a draft.

Mapping Sender Fields in the Workflow

If your template contains fields set to be signed by the "Sender," you must specify who that sender is within the workflow.

1. In the Send Documents & Contracts workflow action, after selecting the template, locate the Assign Sender Fields To option.
2. Choose one of the following:
   • From User: The user selected in the "From" field will be the signer.
   • Template Owner: The user who last updated the template will be the signer.
3. Complete the workflow setup and click Save, then Publish the workflow.

What the Contact Experiences

When the workflow triggers, the contact receives a notification (via email or SMS) containing a secure link to the document. They can open this link in their browser to review the document and provide their signature without needing to log in or download any software.

Tracking Document Status

You can monitor the progress of all your documents from the main dashboard. Navigate to Payments > Documents & Contracts to see the status of each document, such as whether it is a draft, has been sent, viewed, or completed.