We’re willing to bet that when you hear the term “financial document automation” you’re tempted to yawn.

But you’ll be surprised to hear that contact management, especially in the realm of document automation solutions, is anything other than yawn-worthy.

Here’s why.

Financial document automation isn’t straightforward – it’s dynamic.

Terms, dates, workflow, document processing, and pricing are constantly changing.

If you’re not on top of these specifics, it could mean unnecessary spending or even potential legal problems for your company.

Pro tip:

PandaDoc’s financial contract management helps you set reminders to help you check in with teams about contracts, set up payments, review contract terms, and more.

What is financial document automation?

In the financial services industry, using software to automate document creation is a smart idea.

Financial document automation is a phrase you may hear thrown around and it’s a lot like what it sounds.

It refers to a better, smarter, and faster way of signing contracts, storing documents, assigning workflows, and simplifying every step of the process.

With financial document automation, a company typically licenses software used to create, manage, distribute, and automate finance documents, including contracts, letters, invoices, and reports.

Plus, intelligent document generation in the finance industry can help you create audit trails, get documents signed by a notary, and make new documents using templates.

According to recent industry data, AI-powered financial document automation can reduce human error rates by up to 98% and save finance teams more than 25% of their time previously spent on manual processing tasks. That translates into faster closings, fewer disputes, and more reliable reporting.

Source: Itemize.com, 2025

Leaning into this specific type of document automation, which leverages the power of machine learning, you can better streamline your workflows and reduce manual data entry and costly mistakes.

Can financial reporting be automated?

Absolutely. Financial reporting is one of the most impactful areas finance teams can automate. With the right tools, businesses can automatically pull data from accounting software or ERPs and generate real-time reports that reflect current performance, spending, and forecasts. Instead of spending hours manually consolidating spreadsheets and double-checking formulas, teams can rely on automation to produce reports that are accurate, consistent, and audit-ready—saving time while increasing confidence in the numbers.

Automated financial reporting doesn’t just make life easier; it helps businesses make better decisions faster. Whether you need to generate monthly P&Ls, cash flow statements, or year-end summaries, automation ensures everything’s ready when you need it—without the manual lift.

What is financial document automation software?

Financial document automation software is a solution that enables finance teams to generate, manage, and distribute key documents—like invoices, payment records, reports, and contracts—without the repetitive manual tasks. These platforms use templates, workflows, and integrations to reduce time spent on document creation while improving accuracy, compliance, and consistency.

With PandaDoc, financial teams can automate complex document workflows like contract generation, vendor agreements, or recurring billing documentation. Templates can be pre-approved for compliance, data can be pulled directly from connected systems like CRMs or ERPs, and documents can be routed for approval or signature—all in one secure platform. It’s automation built for scale and speed.

Benefits of document automation for financial services

1. Increased productivity and profitability

This is sort of a no-brainer but when you automate complex documents, you cut down on human errors. Plus, you can save loads of time instead of doing time-consuming tasks like consolidating financial statements

2. Version control and consistency

Document automation offers real-time visibility into your intelligent documents, helping you see how things are progressing and reducing the risk of costly mistakes.

3. Improved compliance and auditability

Document automation offers increased functionality so you can work with several templates and keep all disclosures, approvals, and signatures in one place.

Challenges of document automation and how to overcome them

1. Data security and privacy concerns

When you use an esignature solution like PandaDoc, you can rest assured that your document is safe, secure, and backed with the highest level of security – PandaDoc’s e-Signature is E-SIGN, UETA and HIPAA compliant.

It’s also backed by SOC 2 certification so you can sign with total confidence.

2. Integration with legacy systems

PandaDoc offers seamless integrations with third-party CRMs, such as HubSpot and Salesforce, so you can easily pass data back and forth while maintaining consistency.

Plus, PandaDoc API features a broad spectrum of functionality to empower you to create workflows within your products.

3. Cost of implementation and maintenance

The main cost you will have to consider when it comes to financial document automation is a software license fee or a monthly or yearly subscription fee.

You should also consider what level of post-implementation support the company will provide if you have questions on maintaining the service.

Now is the perfect time to take inventory of how you handle your financial contracts so you stay on top of everything and provide excellent customer experience.

Simplify your financial document automation with PandaDoc.

From drafting and editing to signing and storing, our solution ensures efficiency, accuracy, and compliance at every stage. Discover how easy financial automation can be!

Schedule a demo

“It [proposal creation] was weeks, and now it’s minutes. At the essence of it, PandaDoc allows us to do more with less. Marketing can focus on nurturing the right customers, while the HR team can focus on our team.” Aaron Boatin, President

Not everyone has had their AHA moment when it comes to financial document automation

Truth be told, you may find it surprising that finance departments, especially those in tech companies or large enterprises, don’t leverage the power of financial document automation software.

And every year, especially with the help of AI, digital transformation gets better.

It’s a curious thing as to why more finance teams aren’t embracing better financial contract management methods.

Here’s a theory: People (especially in finance) are fooled into believing that a more complicated system = a system that you can sign up for and forget.

If only that were true.

Here’s the bottom line: There’s a misconception that the biggest and most expensive tool will automatically fix your processes, but here’s the real twist: you have to fix the process first, before anything else can improve.

Imagine you’re working on 200+ financial documents, but they are scattered across random emails, inboxes, Slack channels, and maybe even on your CEO’s phone.

Financial document automation can save your team hundreds of hours searching to find contracts and get deals renewed, reviewed, and processed.

Real-life use cases of financial document automation

Financial document automation has practical benefits across multiple workflows. Here are a few common, real-life examples where automation makes a big difference:

• Invoice generation and tracking: Automatically create and send invoices based on contract terms or payment triggers. Track status, follow up automatically, and reduce missed payments or delays.

• Payment reconciliation: Automatically match payments with invoices, flag discrepancies, and reduce manual data entry errors.

• Compliance documentation: Instantly generate documents needed for audits, including expense reports, authorization forms, and approval trails.

• Financial reports: Automate the creation of monthly, quarterly, or annual reports with up-to-date financial data pulled from your systems.

• Vendor contracts and renewals: Set up automated generation and routing for vendor onboarding or contract renewals, ensuring legal compliance and quick turnarounds.

By putting these workflows on autopilot, businesses can scale operations without scaling manual effort.

Financial document automation benefits and challenges

Implementing financial document automation brings a range of benefits—but also requires thoughtful planning. Here’s what to know.

Benefits:

• Faster turnaround times and streamlined approval cycles

• Reduced risk of human error and data entry mistakes

• Better compliance with audit trails and consistent formatting

• Improved employee productivity and satisfaction

• Scalable workflows that grow with your organization

Challenges in automating financial documents:

• Legacy systems may need integration support

• Change management can be a hurdle for finance teams used to manual workflows

• Initial setup and template creation can take time (though the ROI is worth it)

• Data quality and consistency from upstream sources are crucial for success

With the right automation partner like PandaDoc, many of these challenges are addressed upfront through user-friendly design, strong integrations, and dedicated onboarding support.

If you’re starting at square one, accept defeat and then ask yourself the following

If you’re coming to terms with the fact that your financial contracts are more disorganized than your shoe collection, don’t sweat it.

Think of this as a reckoning moment. From here on out, you are going to promise to do better – not only for your own sanity but for the protection and growth of your company.

Without full visibility, accountability, and controls placed on contracts things can spiral out of control.

And we don’t want that.

Grab a cup of coffee and begin with the following:

  1. How many active financial documents do we currently have?
  2. How are they categorized?
  3. Do these contracts have standardized names?
    • If not, create a naming structure and document it.
  4. Where are our contracts currently located?
    • If you do not have a central repository, find out if you can create one by reaching out to IT.
    • Be sure that your repository is safe, secure, and protected with a minimum of 2FA.
  5. Do we have a system in place to review the terms of active contracts?
  6. Do we have a system to see if the tools we’re paying for are still being used by the organization?
  7. Do we have reminders set up for renewals?

If you have a system already in place, this process can be quite smooth and even dare we say…fun?

When you have a clear picture of the moving contracts and budget, you boost collaboration across teams.

Once things are organized, you need to set up a review process.

Set up your financial document automation process with PandaDoc

To begin, follow these quick, easy steps. Categorize your contracts by vendor type. You likely have relationships with multiple stakeholders, including:

  • Customers
  • Vendors
  • HR

For each of these use cases, financial document automation is not one size fits all.

You will constantly be innovating on the best way to structure our financial contract management to optimize your relationships with vendors, contractors, HR, and more.

1. Create a new document by visiting the PandaDoc template gallery.

2. Assign roles to all stakeholders so they can have visibility into the document and collaborate in real-time.

3. Set up an audit trail.

4. Collect e signatures and send follow-up reminders to stakeholders to remind them to sign.

5. Safely store, manage, and review your financial documents using PandaDoc’s storage solutions.

What’s next for financial document automation?

An innovative financial contract management can help you draft, edit, negotiate, search, sign, and store your contracts faster.

Not to mention financial contract management systems powered by AI can analyze extensive data sets to detect errors, discrepancies, and irregularities within contracts, thereby minimizing error risks and ensuring accuracy and compliance.

Set up an automation process, and your finance team will sparkle.

Finally, for the crystal ball moment

Looking ahead, it’s tempting to wonder where our industry will be in ten years, though AI hasn’t quite mastered the crystal ball just yet. But let us share our predictions.

Right now, everything from reviewing to scheduling contracts is a manual affair, driven by human effort. But looking ahead, the landscape of financial contract management will change dramatically.

Intelligent systems, machine learning, and AI will streamline every step of the process — from creating and reviewing contracts to generating subsequent documents.

Despite this automation, human input will remain essential. We’ll still need human expertise to assess risks and guide critical decisions that keep things moving forward.

In conclusion, yes, AI will turbocharge efficiency, but the human touch will always be the key to steering through any choppy waters.For help in organizing your financial documents, try PandaDoc today.hrough any choppy waters.

For help in organizing your financial documents, try PandaDoc today.

Security is a top priority for any finance workflow, and automation tools are built with that in mind. Financial document automation software like PandaDoc offers features such as data encryption, secure access controls, audit logs, and compliance with key standards like GDPR, SOC 2, and HIPAA. Your sensitive financial data stays protected—whether it’s at rest, in transit, or being shared internally or externally.

Yes. Automation platforms are built to support legal and regulatory compliance across industries. PandaDoc, for example, supports legally binding eSignatures, customizable approval workflows, and built-in audit trails to ensure every document meets internal policies and external requirements.

Definitely. Document automation isn’t just for enterprise organizations. Small businesses can benefit from it just as much—maybe even more—by saving hours on manual work, reducing errors, and freeing up lean teams to focus on growth. Platforms like PandaDoc offer scalable plans and intuitive tools that make it easy for businesses of any size to automate their financial document workflows without needing a huge tech team.

Disclaimer

PandaDoc is not a law firm, or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. This page is not intended to and does not provide legal advice. Should you have legal questions on the validity of e-signatures or digital signatures and the enforceability thereof, please consult with an attorney or law firm. Use of PandaDoc services are governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Originally published September 5, 2024, updated April 28, 2025