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The best document automation software for you depends on what you want to do with your documents. If you’re a lawyer with clients, you need complex workflows. If you’re building processes for some internal enterprise, your needs are different.
Document automation is the process of using software to streamline and standardize the document creation, modification, and replication process. Also known as document generation and document assembly, document automation significantly reduces the time spent preparing documents, as it requires much less manual human input to populate and create documents and automate workflows.
In this post, we’ll share key industries where document automation software shines, as well as top choices for those practitioners.
For Lawyers:
For Financial Services:
For Sales:
Lawyers are prime candidates and beneficiaries of document automation software, also known as legal workflow software. It’s an impactful value-add to their business for a few key reasons.
Greater consistency and fewer errors: Standardized templates and automated documents ensure that correct contract language, provisions, and references are baked into the document, creating consistency across client deliverables and reducing errors, as well as time spent reviewing prepared documents. Standardized templates also prevent the need for lawyers to create and recreate piecemeal documents from a number of different sources.
Empower attorneys to assist in document drafting: Document automation systems empower junior attorneys and staff with the necessary language and tools to prepare complex legal documents. More senior attorneys can then spend time quickly reviewing document inputs and more time on other high level, strategic tasks.
Knowledge Repository: Institutional knowledge and expertise can be baked into templates, removing the need to rely on the specific knowledge and know-how of a select few individuals Data in documents is collected by and retained within the system to allow firms to leverage their collective expertise and experience to share trends or advise clients on best strategies or timing.
Improve client experience: With the ability to more quickly and efficiently prepare documents, document automation software can drastically improve the client experience. Once automated templates are created, self-service portals allow clients to generate and use documents in just minutes.
Manage complex workflows: Document automation tools allow lawyers to automate complex workflows, from creating and populating documents, to sending for review and approval and collecting signatures, often all within one platform.
Gavel has afforded these and many more benefits to its users through its software. For example:
Gavel is the premier document automation tool for the legal industry. Where Gavel excels is that it’s easy to set up, but contains all of the powerful logic you’ll need to set up the most complex documents. As one user would say, “Love the simplicity of setup and the complexity of opportunities.” With Gavel, users can automate their own templates and forms or use the Gavel Marketplace to find relevant applications (created and backed by attorneys) to automate parts of their own practice or service.
When creating your own templates, Gavel’s simple UI makes it easy to navigate the platform. Powerful automation features, including conditional logic, complex branching, lists and nested repeating items, and advanced calculations allow you to build complex legal documents and workflows. To guide the newer automator, Gavel also provides a robust Learning Center and unlimited live customer support. Both Word and PDF documents (including court and judicial forms) can be automated and generated through Gavel Gavel also allows for collecting e-signatures and centralized data and document storage
Clients can access the automated document workflows through a client portal created for specific clients, or these workflows can be integrated into websites. Each instance of Gavel can also be white labeled. In other words, once a product is created on Gavel, it can be further customized to reflect the law firm’s logo and brand instead of Gavel’s–creating a bespoke solution for the firm.
For the user who prefers to leave workflow and document building to the experts, Gavel also has a team of vetted freelancers (available for hire by the hour). Gavel also has Clio and Zapier Integration and Public API.
Gavel’s clients agree that Gavel’s software leads the industry here: “This is the most innovative and comprehensive form automation tool that I am aware of on the market today! To create documents and apps with little to no coding experience is a game changer!!”, and, “[it] changed the way I run my practice”.
Here are some sample use cases where Gavel’s software shines:
Pros
Cons
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Lawyaw is a simple, easy to use automation tool, largely geared towards lawyers who want a simple document automation solution. While feature-light, the easy to use interface and short learning curve allows lawyers to easily start building key templates right in Microsoft Word. It can also convert Microsoft Word documents into templates to be used for the future. Lawyaw allows for reuse of cards, fields, and logic chains of prior templates to quickly create new templates. Once ready to generate, users can create sets of documents through a single process.
Lawyaw’s key feature is its up-to-date libraries of official jurisdiction-specific court forms, which can be populated with client specific information, making it a win for litigation-focused attorneys. E-signature integration allows users to send documents for signature right from within the tool. Notably lacking are client facing features, such as guided workflows, client questionnaires, or client portals for clients to share and manage their data.
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Cons
HotDocs is one of the oldest and most well known document automation solutions, offering services for a number of industries, including legal.
For attorneys focused on complex legal document generation, HotDocs offers: conditional and nested logic, ability to generate multiple documents, dynamic questionnaire to populate templates, and the ability to gather and process lists. Still many of these features require coding expertise to create and a detailed understanding of the HotDocs “syntax”. Customer support assistance requires an extra fee. The program is really best suited for folks who have been using and are familiar with the HotDocs interface and syntax.
HotDocs integrates with key law firm software, including its CRM, timekeeping, and accounting softwares, but is notably lacking an e-signature integration.
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Cons
Bryter is a no-code / low-code platform that allows users to build digital applications and is stronger in workflow automation than document automation.
While the interface is simple and generally easy to learn, pre-built document automation features are limited, and more complex functionalities require additional coding or don’t exist. Bryter’s workflow automation tools, like trigger emails and approvals, and integrations with Kira, Microsoft Suite, iManage, DocuSign etc. allow you to leverage firm data and expertise to collect and share key information and create end-to-end process solutions.
Bryter’s automation platform also allows for the creation of client-facing applications to be built, such as applications that can review documents for compliance, tax guides, and fifty state regulation trackers. This can be done by using its workflow tools to collect data and share insights and information with clients.
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Cons
Rally aims to focus on the entire client experience. The tool facilitates everything from intake to document creation, custom branding, document storage, client collaboration, and payments. Notably, Rally allows users to integrate a menu of services into their website to sell legal services online.
In doing so, Rally serves as both a contract automation and contract lifecycle management tool, with emphasis on the latter. As a document automation tool, Rally provides a number of pre-created and easy to edit templates, which can be filled in using information from CRMs and other sources. Unlike many other document automation tools, clients are also able to access the platform to collaborate on documents or use as a self-service platform. In terms of document automation, Rally is lacking in more robust automation capabilities, such as certain field types and logic capabilities.
Rally has also launched an AI-powered contract drafting tool, Spellbook. With the explosion of generative AI tools, it’s clear that their resources will likely be spent on continuing to build and grow Spellbook’s functionalities (as opposed to document automation).
In terms of document creation, the features are fairly comparable to a number of other providers on the market, but at a much higher price point, given some of the additional functionality.
Pros
Cons
Document automation tools are well equipped to serve the needs of financial services professionals. Benefits include:
Streamlined operational efficiency and increased cost savings: Document generation software can help streamline the creation of routine documents and create efficiency in key workflows, such as payments, invoice and receipt creation and management, reducing time spent, and errors in the process.
Enhanced customer experience: Quicker turnaround times (and clear expectations on turnaround times) and easy to access forms, documents, and workflows can drastically improve the customer experience.
Security and compliance: Ready to populate templates can help ensure documents are up to date and in line with key compliance standards. Many document automation software also provide audit trails to track and verify transactions. Automated workflows can collect compliant data and enforce any retention schedules (or other compliance requirements),
Nanonets aims to reduce the time spent digitizing existing documents. It’s a no-code platform that can help automate a number of documents and workflows for finance professionals, including document capture, document verification, approval, and incident management, among others.
Nanonets’ key feature is its AI-powered OCR API, which allows users to extract meaningful data from invoices and receipts to help digitize documents and IDs to assist in the verification process. All of this data can be routed to and populated into defined databases..
Nanonets has a library of pre-created templates and the ability to create your own using an AI model. That being said, templates can be used to help digitize documents, but not for document generation. Of note is the high price point for the solution.
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Formstack allows for easy automation and management of finance and accounting documents. Like other document automation software, Formstack has both pre-built templates, as well as the option to upload your own Word or PDF documents to automate. While it does allow for additional document creation features such as conditional logic, those do require back end coding to achieve.
A number of key features allow you to manage the entire process all in one place, including pulling data from CRMs, payment processing, data routing, calculating field, and e-signature. Integrations with a number of sources, including AirTable, Stripe, HubSpot, SalesForce, DocuSign, and Google Suite make this possible.
Formstack’s key data security and compliance features can help ensure that sensitive data is kept safe, including data encryption and compliance with GDPR.
Reviews show that it can be difficult to maneuver between the Forms and Documents modules in the platform
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airSlate allows for all in one document creation and process management solutions. Users can create custom documents or templates with airSlate’s document generations feature. Data can be pulled from CRM and other integrations, and sent to clients to approve or negotiate. Negotiations can be done within the document, like a track changes feature and approved prior to signing. While the tool is feature-rich, including conditional logic, e-signature capability, and advanced calculations, among others, reviews do claim there is somewhat of a learning curve for the platform.
airSlate’s key feature shines once documents have been created. It offers a library of ‘bots’ to help you create automated workstreams, such as data transfer, automatic notifications, and updating CRM records. For processes and tasks that aren’t already precreated, airSlate can create custom bots to help meet your needs.
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Contract Automation tools can be immensely helpful to the sales teams, helping to standardize and optimize key functions within the group. They can help generate proposals, quotes, order forms, and a number of different reports and contracts. Benefits include:
Saved time and reduction of errors: Sales teams can use document automation tools to create routine reports, contracts, and proposals in a fraction of the time spent usually doing so manually. In fact, it’s one of the most popular reasons for pursuing document automation tools!
Standardized templates: Document automation tools can help standardize reports, proposals, and other documents used in the sales process, reducing errors and inconsistencies as templates can be created and approved for broad use. Up-to-date templates also ensure that compliance and accuracy standards have been built into the templates and that standard brand assets are used consistently across the organization.
Analytics and performance metrics: Many document automation tools provide real time analytics to allow sales teams to monitor interactions and feedback for documents or reports sent to customers. This allows users to take action and refine messaging to best meet the needs of their audience.
PandaDoc was specifically created to help manage and streamline the sales process. It can help create personalized proposals, quotes, and contracts with custom themes. Key automation features include: a drag and drop editor, which allows users to drag content blocks such as videos, text, images, and tables into the platform to build templates and a library of professionally designed templates to use as a starting point for documents.
PandaDoc provides analytics and reporting metrics on document activity to provide real-time feedback on client interactions and impressions. It allows users to assign roles within the document (for approvals and reviews), as well as the ability to add commentary right in the document. Notably, advanced workflow capabilities and document automation features are only available in the Business and Enterprise plans, making a less suitable option for smaller organizations.
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Templafy is best for large organizations looking to centrally manage and update content assets. It prides itself on preventing “brand anarchy”, as it provides a simpler way for organizations to manage and distribute consistent and approved brand assets throughout the organization. With the permission-based system, managers are provided oversight and control, while employees have the ability to access templates to help streamline the creation of reports, quotes, proposals, and other documents.
Once documents are created, Temaplafy has a number of features to allow the tool to check the document against predefined rules, check older slides for new updates, and easily share for e-signature. Actionable insights can help track engagement and performance of documents to allow teams to make changes as needed.
Templafy requires a minimum of 50 users and can be costly for smaller enterprises.
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Conga Composer is great for sales teams looking to connect their document automation process with Salesforce data. Conga creates Salesforce-native applications that connect Salesforce data with automated workflows, allowing you to create documents, presentations, proposals, and invoices right from within Salesforce.
With Conga, you can build a template from scratch within the platform or edit and customize one of their pre-built templates. Conga also provides a number of other related document applications, to maximize the efficiency of the entire process, giving you the ability to trigger workflows and to sign, batch, and manage documents all in one place.
Reviews share that initial set up for Conga can be difficult.
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OneFlow is a document automation system that can help organizations of any size automate and digitize the contract creation, execution, and management processes. OneFlow allows you to digitize documents by uploading existing documents or building new documents or templates within the platform with drag and drop functionality. It doesn’t offer robust document automation functionality, such as conditional logic and nesting.
Its notable feature is the AI Assist, in which you can prompt the AI feature to help you quickly and creatively find language for proposals and reports. The feature is powered by Open AI’s GPT Turbo.
OneFlow’s platform is focused on management of the documents. As you log in, an informative dashboard provides you an overview of the status of documents, monitor status of deals, and see signed documents.
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Unfortunately there’s no one-size-fits-all “best” option that works for each business or organization. While the solutions shared above are some of the best in the market, it’s best to evaluate each tool with your specific needs in mind. Consider:
If you’re a lawyer, we can help you figure this out - just sign up for a demo of Gavel and learn if it suits your needs.
We’re biased, but Gavel is our winning option for document automation and generation. While initially built by and for lawyers, Gavel can be used across a number of different industries.
Powerful document automation features, robust resources for customers, legal form software, and a marketplace to purchase pre-built applications makes Gavel a great option for many organizations.
As our clients say, “This is the best software ever. I think every law firm in America should use it."
If you’re ready to start automating, get started with a free trial of Gavel today.
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