If you’re managing hundreds or even thousands of contracts, proposals, forms, and agreements, manually creating each one is risky, inefficient, and unnecessary. It’s a recipe for errors and snags in productivity, and it’s much harder to scale with that kind of process in place.

Instead, you can streamline your document workflows with automation, and APIs are a great way to level up.

Document automation APIs can help you generate, manage, and sign documents automatically and at scale. This means streamlining your entire document workflow or building a custom CRM integration. Pretty cool, right?

In this article, we’ll unpack what this type of API does, its benefits, how it compares to no-code solutions, best practices for your business, and more.

What is a document automation API?

A document automation API (application programming interface) acts as a bridge between programs, allowing your software to integrate with document automation tools. It lets you automatically generate, send, edit, or extract data from documents using a structured code.

The best part? It gets rid of the need for manual document creation.

That means you can use a document automation API to connect your app or system to a document automation platform like PandaDoc. By feeding it data like customer info, pricing, legal terms, etc., it comes back as a fully populated document. Then, it’s ready for review for eSignature.

Here are some things you can do with a document automation API:

• Generate documents from templates and data fields
• Prefill contracts with CRM or ERP data
• Trigger document creation based on user actions (think form submissions or quote approvals)
• Automatically send documents for eSignature
• Extract key data from completed or signed documents
• Track status updates across your document pipeline

The main goal of using this kind of API is to get documents to the right people faster and without errors.

Bonus: Read all about how documentation automation can improve efficiency.

How APIs differ from no-code platforms

No-code platforms can be great for automating simple document tasks without having to write code. These are especially useful tools for smaller teams or basic workflows.

For example, sending a contract when a form is submitted, or saving signed documents to the cloud.

APIs, on the other hand, are intended for developers who want more control and customization. A document automation API can integrate document generation, eSignature, and data syncing right onto your apps or systems. This allows for a customized workflow to meet your exact needs.

No-code tools offer speed and are easy to use while APIs give you the flexibility and scalability necessary for complex or high-volume document processes.

Benefits of using APIs for document generation and signing

Here are some reasons why you might want to use document automation APIs in your business:

1. Scale and speed

You can automatically generate thousands of documents without struggling with bottlenecks, thanks to APIs. This makes high-volume document creation seamless and efficient.

2. Improved accuracy

Because APIs pull data directly from your systems, like CRMs or major databases, you’ll minimize manual entry errors and make sure everything is consistent across the board.

3. Custom user experiences

APIs give you the freedom to build branded, personalized document flows directly into your apps or platforms, meaning you can control every touchpoint. This leads to your users having more personalized experiences.

Read more: Embedded template editor: A better way to build customer documents

4. Seamless integrations

One of the best parts about document automation APIs (like PandaDoc) is that they will work well with your existing tools, whether it’s Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, or custom-built software.

5. Real-time tracking

You can get live updates on document status to see if it has been sent, viewed, signed, completed, etc., keeping your teams informed about the progress of important documents so nothing gets missed.

With a document automation API, you can automatically track these updates and trigger actions, like sending reminders or updating a status, whenever something changes.

Key document automation API features

When deciding which document automation API to go with, here are some essential features to look for:

• Template-based generation – Your API solution should be able to easily create documents using pre-built templates with dynamic fields.
• Data merging – This is key, as you can populate documents by pulling data from your CRM, database, or form inputs.
• eSignature integration – Make sure you can enable legally binding signatures into your workflow—this makes the entire document process seamless!
• Webhooks and event tracking – Your API should function so that you get real-time updates on document status; then it can trigger follow-up actions.
• Access control and permissions – You should be able to set who can generate, view, or sign documents based on roles or logic.
• Audit trail and compliance – It’s essential that your API solution keeps your data protected. That means logging every document action and keeping up with regulatory compliance like E-SIGN, UETA, AND HIPAA.

Best practices for implementing document APIs

Ready to take the plunge and integrate a document automation API into your system? Here are a few tips to help you do it right:

Choose a reliable platform

Your provider should have clear, well-documented APIs, strong uptime, and excellent support. A solid API should also come with example code, SDKs, and guides to help your developers get started fast.

Start with a template strategy

By using reusable templates with dynamic fields, you can easily standardize documents and automate document generation without the need to start from scratch every time. This means more consistency across your teams and fewer manual errors.

Secure your data

You should always follow best practices for API security, like using API keys or OAuth 2.0 for authentication. It’s also important that your data is encrypted both in transit and at rest, so it’s important your provider complies with industry standards for data protection and privacy.

Test in sandbox environments

Perhaps common sense, but don’t go live on day one. Using sandbox or test environments can help to validate your workflows and catch any issues early so you can fix them—this will make sure your systems run smoothly from the get-go.

Monitor and iterate

Once you launch, track the API usage and document activity through your analytics or logs. This data can help you find bottlenecks so you can improve performance and adjust your workflows as your business needs evolve.

Improve your document workflow with PandaDoc API

A document automation API can transform the way your team creates, manages, and sends documents. It can give you deep integration and scalability that your business needs for sustainable growth.

If you compare document automation APIs, PandaDoc comes out on top—and we’re not just saying that.

Unlike many providers with developer-focused tools with a steep learning curve or that only offer template-based solutions, PandaDoc offers a robust API that’s well-documented, easy to integrate, and backed by a full suite of features. That means eSignatures, templates, real-time tracking, and compliance-ready security.

If that’s not enough, we also offer a free API sandbox so you can experiment and see how PandaDoc could fit into your workflow.

PandaDoc API gives you the flexibility to scale while offering unmatched speed and support. Just ask our client, Saratoga Group, who drastically simplified their lease generation process.

“Since switching to PandaDoc, our leases are better formatted, contain fewer errors, and are far easier for our teams to work with.”

– Sam Hales, Software Engineer at Saratoga Group

Ready to see what’s possible? Request a free demo today.

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