The quote-to-close process is often one of the slowest parts of the sales flow. Between manual quote creation, disconnected systems, and slow approval flows, deals can drag out for days or weeks before quotes and proposals even reach a client’s inbox.
It’s a surprising hitch in an environment where speed and efficiency define the flow of business. If the sales team slow to bring in new customers and close deals, the rest of the business stalls while waiting for the paperwork to be completed.
Sales workflow automation offers a better path forward. With the right API, you can connect systems like your CRM, pricing engine, and eSignature platform to create faster, more efficient workflows.
In this article, we’ll break down what a sales workflow API actually is, how it works, and how to use it to overcome common sales roadblocks while setting yourself apart from the competition.
What is a sales workflow API?
A sales workflow API connects the systems that power your sales process (CRMs, pricing tools, document platforms, etc.) and allows them to talk to one another.
Once connected, these systems can pass data automatically, allowing teams to automate steps in the sales cycle. For example, you can use Salesforce Flow or Apex to trigger PandaDoc API calls, dynamically define document names, and populate template variables using JSON payloads.
When one of these workflow steps is triggered (e.g., via Salesforce Flow or a custom integration), your system collects the necessary data and passes it to the PandaDoc API. The API then uses this input to generate documents, populate templates, and automate delivery, helping speed up the sales process and reduce manual steps.
Example: A rep creates a new opportunity in Salesforce. The customer and product data already exist in the CRM, but the quoting and proposal tools are limited.
Instead, the company uses PandaDoc (or a similar platform) to generate quotes. When the quoting stage is triggered, an API call sends the relevant data from Salesforce to PandaDoc and inserts it into a quote template. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and double-work.
Typically, the proposal is ready to send or review within a minute of the trigger event—no manual steps required.
This kind of automation saves time, reduces the potential for typos and input errors, and gives RevOps teams a greater selection of tools to engage with the sales process. The result is a faster, automated workflow with fewer manual processes assigned to sales reps.
Rather than wrestling with disconnected systems to create and manage essential documentation, reps can spend more time with customers while the API handles the administrative burden.
Common bottlenecks in the quote-to-close process
Slowdowns materialize in the quoting process when teams are forced to take manual actions, like re-entering data when transitioning between systems or when handing documents off to internal stakeholders and reviewers.
As processes become more complex and elongated, even relatively small delays can compound into larger problems that generate additional friction. Reps are caught between juggling different tools and information, chasing down approvals, making manual adjustments on the fly, and more.
Below, we’ve listed the most common obstacles to a smooth quoting process. If these issues aren’t addressed, they eventually create limits on both speed and scalability.
Manual and repetitive quote creation
Building quotes manually forces sales reps to toggle between tools, re-enter data, and manage formatting by hand. It’s a repetitive process that can quickly become a risky bottleneck due to tedium and human error.
When data is entered manually, even a small mistake in pricing, product selection, or customer details can cause problems. More importantly, these admin responsibilities distract from higher-value tasks like customer conversations and overall pipeline growth, limiting long-term scalability and forcing brands to add headcount.
Automated solutions like automatic document generation or CPQ (configure, price, quote) software can help to offset these problems, but they still involve some manual work. Using API endpoints, teams can use data integration to keep systems connected and fully automate these tasks. That way, quote generation is always accurate, fast, and consistent.
Within PandaDoc API, teams can: Create a document from a template. Use the /documents endpoint to generate a document based on a pre-built template. Data from your CRM or internal system (like contact info, pricing, and line items) is mapped to template variables, reducing manual entry. Update a document. Modify documents in draft status using the AP. For example, changing variable values, updating recipients, or adjusting pricing before sending. This avoids restarting the workflow from scratch. Send a document. Send a document. Use the /documents/send endpoint to deliver a finalized document to recipients for review and electronic signature. |
Multi-step approval processes
For many businesses, document approvals are an essential part of the quote-to-close process, especially for deals that involve custom pricing, legal language, or non-standard terms.
When these processes aren’t built into your systems, communication can quickly break down, causing additional delays. Reps often need to send documents over by email, wait for a supervisor or another team to respond, and then follow up repeatedly if the document isn’t quickly actioned.
Even in well-executed approval workflows, an increased number of steps creates an opportunity for confusion and delay. In a multi-step process, reps may need to do this multiple times as the document cycles through different departments. Meanwhile, the customer is waiting, and interest in the deal is slowly losing momentum.
APIs can streamline approvals by powering automated routing and notifications. When a quote or contract reaches a certain stage, your system can use the API to trigger an approval request, assign it to the right stakeholder, and update document status in real time. This reduces back-and-forth and helps deals progress without reps chasing approvals manually.
Within PandaDoc API, teams can: Trigger approval workflows. When you create a document from a template that has predefined approval rules, the PandaDoc API automatically places the document into an “awaiting approval” state before it can be sent. While the API doesn’t set approvers directly, it honors the workflow logic embedded in the template. |
Siloed tools and systems
Most sales teams end up using a mix of platforms to manage different aspects of the business process. A CRM platform like Salesforce or HubSpot might handle customer and product information while a platform like PandaDoc handles document creation, analytics, and tracking metrics. Meanwhile, Slack or Teams is the main communication tool, and a separate tool handles eSignatures.
While some consolidation can be accomplished by using multi-function solutions, PandaDoc can handle both document creation and eSignature capture. For example, no single system can manage the entire quote-to-cash process. There are too many moving parts. This leads to informational silos. Reps need to export data, re-enter customer information, and manually track document status across multiple systems.
By integrating APIs into the sales workflow, teams can enable real-time data transfer between platforms. For example, customer data can move from Salesforce, into a PandaDoc template, and back into the CRM—all automatically. These automated flows reduce manual work and help ensure consistency across systems. When designed thoughtfully, they can also support metadata mapping, user permission rules, and approval logic to align with your sales operations.
Within PandaDoc API, teams can: Gather document details. Use the API to retrieve detailed information about a document, including status, recipeitns, variables, and metadata—and synchronize that data with other systems as needed. Sync document status across tools. Use PandaDoc webhooks to receive real-time updates when a document is viewed, approved, or signed. Your system can then use this data to update CRMs, trigger next steps, or feed dashboards. Connect with CRMs. Pull customer or deal data from your CRM into PandaDoc by passing it into variable fields via the API—reducing manual data entry and ensuring consistency. |
Poor visibility into quote and contract status
When teams don’t have clear visibility into the status of a quote or a contract, the entire sales process falters.
The lack of a centralized system or dedicated notification and tracking services means that reps are forced to check in manually and send constant reminders. If reps don’t know whether a document has been viewed or actioned, attempted follow-ups can fall on deaf ears or bother busy customers.
The lack of visibility impacts upstream support, as well. Managers also can’t see which deals are moving forward, which are stuck, and which opportunities should be abandoned, making it difficult to offer guidance or coaching around interactions and outcomes. Sales executives and leaders are left guessing when trying to forecast pipeline revenue and track key metrics.
Even if one platform in the tech stack offers this information, those systems may not communicate with one another. In that case, reps need to chase down those details and then manually update the CRM or ERP to accurately reflect document status.
APIs make it possible to sync status updates across tools automatically. As a document moves through stages like created, sent, viewed, or signed, those changes can be tracked in real time using webhooks or polling—and reflected in your CRM through integration logic. Once set up, every stakeholder gains the visibility they need to act quickly and with confidence.
Within PandaDoc API, teams can: Stay updated on document status. Use the API to check a document’s current status at any time, whether it’s in draft, sent, viewed, approved, or completed. You always know where your document is in the workflow. Get updates for status changes. With webhooks, PandaDoc can notify your system immediately when a document’s status changes. This keeps users and connected tools in sync without needing manual checks. |
How a sales workflow API streamlines the process
Once your systems are connected through the API, the quote-to-close process becomes faster, more predictable, and less hands-on.
Rather than chasing updates and juggling tools, teams can use automated workflows to trigger actions, sync data, and move deals forward with minimal intervention. API calls and responses can replace manual engagement within your workflow steps so that tedious processes are all handled systematically.
Here are a few examples of how API-based workflow automation can improve performance across your sales process:
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Automated quote generation. When a deal hits a specific stage in the CRM, your workflow can trigger an API call to pull customer, pricing, and product data to populate a template and generate a quote. This works using existing templates, eliminating the need for additional formatting or manual data entry. Instead, the rep can stay focused on selling rather than on generating paperwork.
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Approval routing and notifications. Your system can use the API to detect when approvals are needed based on deal data, then route the document to the right stakeholder and trigger notifications. With this setup, reps don’t have to manually track approvals or figure out who to send to next.
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CRM stage updates and visibility. As a document moves through various stages, those updates can be captured and reflected automatically within the CRM. This keeps pipeline metrics accurate and helps sales and RevOps teams maintain better visibility across the entire document lifecycle.
- Contract generation and eSigning. After a quote is approved, the API can trigger contract creation using pre-approved templates and send it for signature. Because these automated workflows trigger one another, docs can go out quickly, consistently, and with minimal effort from sales reps.
As the process becomes automated, teams reduce delays, eliminate redundant workloads, and improve consistency across the sales process. More importantly, this approach creates a sales infrastructure that scales well and helps to maximize how each rep spends their time.
Benefits of a sales workflow automation
Speed isn’t the only factor to consider when applying automation to the quoting process.
Dedicated automation tools can drastically change how sales teams operate, how RevOps tracks performance, and how buyers experience the sales journey. Implemented correctly, API solutions create repeatable processes that can scale as the organization grows.
Overall, this eliminates busywork while also creating a more responsive and robust sales infrastructure.
Faster time-to-close
Manual processes in the sales flow can easily create unwanted delays. When reps have to generate quotes and contracts by hand, route documents through email for approval, and follow up manually for digital signatures, deals tend to move more slowly. While understandable, most sales teams and customers prefer speed and agility.
Sales-oriented API endpoints can help to accelerate these processes by automating the document creation and associated handoffs that typically require human intervention.
- Quotes can be generated as soon as a deal reaches a specific CRM stage using data that already exists.
- Approval workflows can automatically send documents to the right people, in the right order.
- After the approvals are complete, documents can be sent to customers for e-signature without any additional handling from the team.
Each of these steps happens automatically and in rapid sequence, keeping the deal moving without manual interruptions. As a result, sales cycles are shorter, and revenue reaches the finish line faster.
Reduced manual work and errors
When sales teams rely on manual data entry, mistakes are inevitable.
It’s only a matter of time before a typo, formatting issue, or pricing error slows down the process or causes an unnecessary delay. While this is painful, the worst of these errors can also damage brand credibility and create additional work as teams try to correct the issue.
By removing the human element and automating key parts of the sales workflow, many of these issues can be avoided. APIs with the appropriate authentication can pull accurate data directly from a CRM or similar tool and apply it to approved templates. Teams won’t need to copy the data manually between systems and can instead focus on other aspects of the business.
This approach reduces repetitive tasks and lowers the risk of human errors, helping teams move faster while keeping documents more consistent and reliable.
Improved forecasting and pipeline visibility
Accurate forecasting depends on timely and reliable data, but tracking items manually makes it more difficult to gather accurate, up-to-date information.
When reps need to update pipeline stages or document statuses by hand, it can take time for that information to filter through the system and into any dashboards or reporting tools. Meanwhile, RevOps teams are forced to make lasting decisions based on outdated or incomplete information.
API tools solve for this by automatically syncing data across various platforms. As documents move through their lifecycle, these changes are reflected instantly within connected reporting tools. Reps don’t need to remember to log each step, and managers don’t have to badger the team for updates on deals in motion.
Automation can give live insights into what’s moving, what’s stuck, and what needs more attention based purely on API responses. Because this information is more complete, sales forecasts become more accurate, and teams can make plans with greater confidence.
Better cross-team collaboration
When systems aren’t integrated, collaboration between departments becomes slow and fragmented. Teams are forced to rely on email chains, Slack messages, and one-off file sharing to review quotes, approve language, and verify pricing.
API solutions remove these barriers by connecting tools that each team already uses. When workflows are automated, quotes can be generated and routed for review without ever switching platforms. Document status is visible to all stakeholders at a glance, eliminating the need for messages and follow-ups.
When it’s time to hand off a document, approval logic can be built into the system so that nothing moves forward without the right sign-offs from the appropriate teams and stakeholders.
Fewer handoffs and better visibility make it easier for teams to focus on their part of the process and create a more efficient sales operation.
Enhanced customer experience
While slow, disjointed processes can frustrate internal teams, they also impact the customer experience. Longer wait times for quotes, unclear follow-ups, and repeated requests for the same information can make an organization seem disorganized and difficult to deal with.
By automating the sales workflow, businesses can offer a smoother, faster, and more consistent experience. Quotes are delivered quickly, approvals are handled in the background, and contracts arrive without delay. Overall, customers spend far less time waiting and purchase solutions more quickly.
API-based automation ensures that internal efficiency translates to a better customer experience by keeping deals in motion and freeing up company resources for added support. In highly competitive environments, where responsiveness is a key factor in closing a deal, the ability to push accurate quotes with minimal delay and maximum support can help to make brands stand out.
Drive revenue velocity with PandaDoc API
When a quote-to-close process runs on manual inputs and disconnected tools, it slows down everything from deal velocity to forecasting. API solutions help to eliminate these roadblocks through automation, integration, and live data syncing between platforms you already use.
With robust endpoints for document creation, approval workflows, notifications, and status tracking, the PandaDoc API gives your team the flexibility to build automated workflows that match your exact sales processes. Ready to see what it can do? Start your 14-day trial.
Frequently asked questions
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In a sales context, an API (Application Programming Interface) is a tool that allows different software systems like CRMs, quoting tools, and eSignature platforms to communicate and work together.
Essentially, APIs allow software tools to talk to one another and send information back and forth without human interaction, allowing processes to move forward with greater efficiency.
APIs are configured based on their API documentation. Some coding knowledge is required, but you can commonly find tutorials and tips when working with more popular products and platforms.
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A sales workflow is a repeatable series of steps that the sales team follows to move a deal from initial contact to closed-won.
Typically, this includes tasks like generating quotes, gathering approvals, sending contracts, and collecting digital signatures. When this workflow is clearly defined and supported by automation, it becomes faster, more accurate, and much easier to scale.
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Many APIs have sales-focused calls and schemas that can help teams automate key actions in the sales cycle.
For example, you might trigger quote generation when a deal reaches a certain stage in your CRM. Document templates can be equipped with an internal approval process, prompting the API to trigger a review flow before sending documents to customers for e-signature.
By integrating the tools that your company already uses, API systems can help to streamline operations and deliver a smoother experience for both team members and customers.
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.