What is Document Generation? Types and Advantages

Manually creating proposals, contracts, agreements, and sales proposals can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Gathering information and incorporating it into templates can be quite taxing when your teams could focus on more meaningful tasks.

A document generation tool makes creating and sharing documents easier with templates, automated data insertion, smart content blocks, creating documents that are unique with customer specific information . It simplifies and speeds up the document creation process while conserving monetary and opportunity costs. 

The main benefit of document generation is the creation of custom templates, which enables bulk document production without compromising the branding that needs to go into each document. This article tells you all you need to know about document generation and how it can benefit your business.

What is Document Generation?

Document generation is the process of using software solutions to create documents from scratch with predefined or custom templates. By automating document creation, you can generate documents with specific data inputs in designated sections to create reports, proposals, contracts, campaigns, contracts, agreements, recruitments, quotes, receipts, and sales orders.

A Document Generation software comprises built-in templates (or an editor to create templates) for each business need.

For example, real estate companies engaged in selling or leasing properties could enhance their operational efficiency by using the Docupilot Airtable extension. This feature integrates Docupilot with Airtable, to generate comprehensive property profile documents. This document generation platform seamlessly extracts and organizes data to populate specific fields in a predetermined template. Essential details that can be included in the template are as follows:

• Preferred file format (e.g., DOC or PDF)
• Builder's name
• Name of the property
• Property address
• Name of tenant or resident
• Image of the building
• Building specifications
• Applicable sales or lease agreement
• Encumbrance certificate
• Occupancy certificate
• Property tax documentation
• Signatures of both the recipient and the sender

Automating document creation in bulk can produce multiple documents in a few clicks, eliminating the possibility of manual errors.

With Docupilot, you can easily input pricing details, customer information, reports, images, links, and product details by pulling them from linked data sources. The process is user-friendly and makes creating documents and collaborating across departments easy.

What are the steps to automate a document?

Document generatior simplifies document creation by utilizing predefined templates, customized tools, and real-time data integration from existing databases and business systems. The automation process uses APIs, IPAAS, project management tools, CRM, data capture forms, sales automation tools, cloud storage, and productivity platforms to generate documents faster.  

With Docupilot, you can create a custom template to generate documents using inbound and deliver them using outbound integrations. In addition to integrations, you can use the following elements to make document generation more dynamic.

Dynamic Tables

You can simply link your tables or spreadsheets to a dynamic document template. This template automatically pulls data from the linked spreadsheet to fill specific map fields. 

For example, for a financial statement, you can use dynamic tables to list various financial metrics across different periods. This will create rows or columns based on the metrics and periods in your data. 

For instance, a dynamic template will extract actuarial information from specific rows, such as income, resources procured, months, and units, to populate dynamic map fields for every month's financial statement.

Conditionals

Conditionals are statements that determine whether a specific section of a document should be included based on certain conditions. This feature allows for generating more complex and customized documents without manual intervention. 

For instance, in a service agreement, you can use a conditional statement to specify a chosen service plan, pricing, services offered and agreement clauses. This way, the final document will reflect everything agreed upon without needing manual intervention every time.

Variables

Variables are used as placeholders in document templates to avoid writing specific information repeatedly. 

For instance, variables can be used in a contract template instead of names, dates, or amounts. When generating a document, these placeholders are filled with actual data from linked data sources. This ensures personalized and accurate document generation for each client.

Loops

Loops are great for repeating sections of a document based on provided data. This is especially handy for listing multiple items dynamically, like invoices or reports. 

For example, you can set up a loop in your billing invoice template to automatically list all specified goods and services from your data source without manual intervention. It's a quick and efficient way to generate a comprehensive billing invoice with all the necessary details.

Types of Documents Generated

Here are the conventional types of documents generated.

• Legal contracts
• Invoicing records
• Business proposals
• Estate paperwork
• Employment offers
• Marketing materials
• Financial summaries
• Client onboarding
• Order forms
• Sales collateral
• Business or ROI cases
• Agreements and contracts, etc

The use cases and templates for automated document creation are not limited to these types only. Users can easily create customized versions to align document generation with business needs.

For example, a law firm can easily generate retainer contracts for multiple clients using the Docupilot extension in Airtable or by Integrating Clio with Docupilot via any integration platforms like Zapier or Make. This allows tracking client onboarding status and automating data inputs to fill the map fields.

Advantages of Document Generation Automation

A software solution to generate documentation can benefit a business in the following ways.

Faster document generation

The turnaround time to generate a set of documents is reduced considerably. Templates enable you to create documents faster by reducing manual effort and avoiding errors in the final document. 

Additionally, using default built-in templates and tailoring specific sections can further enhance the speed of building templates, thereby reducing turnaround time in creating and sharing a document.

Error reduction

One big advantage of an automated document generation tool is that it eliminates manual errors. Manually importing information to specific fields can be time-consuming, often resulting in mistakes and improper document formatting. 

Document generation software reduces errors significantly by automating the process and ensures formatting issues are caught and corrected.

Enhanced End-user experience

One of the key reasons businesses use automated document generation is that these platforms can offer painless and personalized customer experiences. Not all documentation workflows and lifecycles happen within the organization. Often, documents are shared with end-customers to fill-in information or for signatory purposes. Common examples include, lease agreements, contract agreements, legal agreements, loan documents, employment agreements etc. When these documents are managed manually, prospects and customers are challenged by the following:

• Entering information in the incorrect format 
• Leaving certain portions of the document incomplete
• Lack of transparency and real-time updates on the document’s progress
• Signing document manually

Document generation platforms solve these issues for your customer by acting as a one-stop shop for sending, acquiring sign-offs as well as customer details.  Document generator help you generate smart forms where users are guided towards filling in certain fields while redundant information is prepopulated . Each field can also be set with validation rules, so that if the user enters information in the incorrect format, a quick warning is displayed to the user, minimizing errors and ensuring data consistency in real-time. These platforms also send notifications so that customers are constantly informed about the document’s progress, and by extension, state of affairs as well. 

Easy access

Generate documents using templates, which can be saved in cloud storage. This integration simplifies the process of sharing and editing documents and makes it convenient for users to access their documents anywhere, anytime.

Consistency and control of document versions

The automation of document generation preserves the consistency and accuracy of formats and other elements. It omits errors often seen in manual document creation methods that take hours. Moreover, it assists in creating consistent document versions for brand image.

Integration

Document generation solutions with integration features highly improve productivity. The inbound integration can pull data fast to create bulk documents with pre-mapped fields. Such tools can also send data in the proper format to outbound integrations to generate documents and share them with recipients.

For example, documents in bulk can be generated in seconds by pulling data directly from the CRM platform. Similarly, webhooks, APIs, IPAAS, etc., can be easily integrated to generate documents.

Easy collaboration

A document generation tool provides a platform for departments and stakeholders to collaborate. It lets users connect to create, edit, and access common documents, reducing turnaround time considerably. 

Enhanced security

When sharing sensitive data with end-users, target audiences, and customers, it's important to prioritize security. The best way to ensure robust security is to use a software solution to generate documentation.

For instance, a healthcare unit can use an automated document creation tool to secure patient history, insurance information, expense reports, and liability waivers. These tools also provide industry-standard data security measures to achieve regulatory compliance

Workflow enhancement

A document automation solution identifies stopgaps and templatizes the document generation process to enhance workflow. 

Creating use-case-specific templates within seconds allows you to generate documents with pre-populated variables like name, contact information, product details, and agreement terms. This enables you to streamline the process and save valuable time. 

How to Choose The Right Document Generation Software? 

Your choice of document generation software can be a game changer if it has the following features.

Need evaluation

Every business has specific requirements for document generation and automation. So, the first step is to identify your needs. Then, you can define the right features related to automation, integration, document creation, storage, and sharing. With the right features, you can create and route documents to the target recipients on time.

Extensive research using a free trial

Most services offer a free trial period to help you determine if their automated document creation solution is right for your business. Comparing multiple products during this time can help you identify the most suitable option for your needs.

Understanding ROI

Creating documents manually can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. However, a document generator with templates and data integration can save you time and money. With a credit-based usage plan, you can generate documents for just a few cents per document , increasing the ROI on document creation.

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Features to look for in a document generation platform

Integration with various sources

A document generation automation solution should integrate seamlessly with APIs, IPAAS, CRM, ERP, data management platforms like Airtable and google sheets, data capture forms, sales automation tools, and cloud storage. 

Look for the inbound and outbound integration features. They help you understand how data is pulled from inbound integrations and sent to outbound integrations for document creation. 

Building forms, creating legal documents, or making business proposals becomes easy when a document builder can pull data from linked databases. Check which 3^rd-party apps can be integrated and then make an informed decision.

Ease of building templates

To build a strong brand image, you need custom templates for document generation. When choosing a template builder, look for flexible features that make your work easier. 

Check for a clean and organized user interface and customizable sections that allow you to incorporate dynamic images, advanced text formatting, QR codes, barcodes, graphics, signatures, and numerical calculations. You can consider your document templates' output formats, storage, editing, and sharing capabilities.

Security

A trusted service will have code review standards, automated testing, and a segregated environment to adhere to multiple regulatory domains.

Check how a secure service provider supports the cloud infrastructure. Top cloud storage service providers implement firewalls, limit access controls, and add standard recovery protocols to keep sensitive information safe.

Only trusted document generation solutions, like Docupilot, have SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications to ensure information security management. They will also comply with the latest HIPAA and GDPR guidelines.

Data source connection for automation

Document automation involves pulling data from authorized sources. Hence, look for the best document generation solution to accurately capture, validate, and enter data into specific fields. During the trial period, check the data retrieval level from your chosen data sources.

Pricing comparison

Leading service providers create premium plans by focusing on the number of users or document generation credits. Sometimes, APIs and other features come with extra charges. 

Look for services that include credits, integrations, and API under a single pricing structure. Credit based pricing plans are more suitable and offer better ROI for document generation compared to User based pricing. Users can calculate the investment done in creating a document template.

In a Nutshell: Select a Suitable Document Generation Tool

A document generation tool simplifies the process of creating templates and automates bulk document creation. It saves hours of manual labor and removes manual errors. To find the ideal platform for your business needs, use these comparison factors and use the trial periods wisely before deciding. 

Opt for features that resonate with your needs, and use our list of crucial features to choose the best document automation solution to increase productivity.

Docupilot offers a comprehensive document generation and automation service with default templates, use cases, a custom template builder, and integration features. Use our free trial and streamline your workflow today. Visit Docupilot for exclusive credit-based pricing plans matching your business needs.