Using Document Automation Software to Improve Your Firm’s Processes

Generating documents like contracts, purchase agreements, leases, licenses and more, is part of doing business for all professional services organizations. But if you don’t currently have document automation software in your stack, continually creating new documents the manual way could be eating up way more time than it should, leading to gross inefficiencies in your processes.

According to an insight report on AI and automation, 70% of business leaders believe that 10% to nearly 40% of their time is devoted to tasks that are mundane and not core to their job description. This equates to approximately 45 minutes to three-plus hours of an eight-hour workday.

When time equals money, saving it can make a huge difference to a firm’s profitability.

It’s no wonder that document automation software is fast becoming a big technology trend. In fact, the global Document Automation Software market was valued at $5200.0 million in 2021 and is expected to grow by nearly 15% by 2027.

What is Document Automation Software?

Put simply, document automation software is technology that streamlines document assembly. This technology can range from mail merge in Microsoft Word to more specialized software.

The goal of document automation is to eliminate most of the manual tasks that document creation requires, like retyping or copying and pasting your company name.

You’ve likely already used document automation tools in personal areas of your life.

For example, Google automatically filling in your shipping and credit card information when shopping online. For professional services firms, document automation is increasingly being used to offer services more efficiently and with greater consistency.

Why Should Firms Use Document Automation Software?

Utilizing document automation software provides numerous advantages for professional services firms. According to Thomson Reuters, these benefits include:

• Increased efficiency. It has been reported that 78% of business leaders believe they could save up to three hours a day by automating tasks, equaling roughly 30 hours a month. With document automation software, creating professional documents is done in a fraction of the time versus when it is done manually.
•  Increased profitability. Nothing bogs down productivity faster than tedious and manual tasks. Investing in document automation software is one way to boost productivity in professional services. With hours of time saved per day, professional services teams are free to work on other items, like strategic goals and other big-picture tasks that can increase overall firm profits.
• Reduced errors. Creating documents from scratch opens the doors to errors, even when copying and pasting. Automation helps to eliminate the majority of this human error. One report showed 48% of business leaders say that automation reduced manual errors.
• Retaining firm “know-how.” The professional services industry hasn’t been immune to the Great Resignation. Statistics show the industry had an attrition rate of 14% in 2021 compared to 8.3% in 2013. Without documentation automation software, essential knowledge could be walking out the door with retiring and resigning employees. Document automation allows every employee to have access to the same data and tools needed to create documents, without having one person “own” it.
• Better customer experience. Documents that are consistently on time and accurate - ultimately help provide a better customer experience. And when clients are happy, they retain the firm’s services. Adding a great document automation tool to your marketing technology stack is a smart way to impress your customers.
• Win new business. Not only can documentation automation help retain customers, but it can help win new business. Document automation software helps firms put together successful pitches and proposals quickly, beating out the competition.

Five Document Automation Solutions

Wondering how to choose document automation software? Start with these five solutions.

Pitchly 

Our data enablement platform should be at the top of your list for several reasons. It:

• Leverages your own data by making it useful to your entire firm
• Allows users to quickly create compelling content
• Offers tools, like Pitchly’s Tombstone Builder, that automate and streamline your professional services marketing processes.

According to our latest industry report, 75% of professional services marketing teams waste a quarter of their time each week creating tombstones. Since building tombstones is an integral part of generating new business, using Pitchly’s automated process can help firms become much more efficient at it.

UpSlide

UpSlide is a leading branding and productivity solution for PowerPoint, Excel, Word and Power BI.

Their technology helps boost productivity by automating repetitive, low-value tasks in Microsoft Office, saving up to eight hours per month.

For example, UpSlide’s features can link tables, charts or text in PowerPoint or Word to Excel files and update them with a single click. UpSlide is a partner of Pitchly, so both tools integrate seamlessly.

Jotform

Jotform is a full-featured online form builder that makes it easy to create robust forms and collect important data.

Jotform’s software allows firms to seamlessly gather data online from clients or collect payments. This information then populates into templated documents, saving you the hassle of manually transferring data.

They offer an easy-to-use form builder and integrates with several CRMs, storage, payment and email software, like PayPal, Google Sheets and Calendar, MailChimp and OneDrive.

Templafy 

Templafy’s content enablement platform lets users create high-performance business content quickly.

This automated document assembly software is all about building documents via templates, which automates busy work. Templafy integrates with the software you likely already use, like PowerPoint and Word, but also your DMS or CRM. Templafy is also partner of Pitchly.

Adobe Acrobat DC

Acrobat is almost synonymous with PDF editing and a well-known document automation platform. Adobe Acrobat DC quickly edits PDFs, without having to edit the original document.

For professional services firms, its ability to allow users digitally sign forms is a huge timesaver. The software’s collaboration tools also allow teams to communicate, organize, brainstorm and work together efficiently.

Document Automation to Support Digital Transformation

Implementing document automation software should be part of your overall digital transformation strategy. These products directly impact employees by reducing the time it takes to create, develop, send and store vital documents for your firm. When your team works smarter, your organization reaps the benefits.

Check out our data-driven content page to learn more about how Pitchly can automate your content process.