The Best 3 Document Automation Tools in Zapier
Why Do Document Automation?
Automating documents can save hours of time and unnecessary errors for your business, and it’s a cheap way to speed up your services for your clients. At Process Zip, it’s one of the best ways we recommend to easily and quickly have high ROI process improvement at your business, and that’s especially if you’re creating thousands of invoices and documents every year.
But wait… Document automation is only for large and profitable companies like JP Morgan Chase who need to produce millions of documents per year, right? A small business like mine can’t benefit from document automation, right?
Wrong! Document automation can be cheap and easy for businesses of all sizes and document automation needs. From invoices to reports, you should consider the time and cost benefits of automating your document creation and storage process.
That’s why we’re sharing with you the 3 best Zapier document automation integrations.
Zapier integrates with many document automation platforms, but they all come with various benefits and costs. We’ve compiled our top 3 document automation Zapier integrations so that you can save some valuable time for things other than product research.
Why Automate Documents with Zapier?
Zapier is a quick and easy-to-setup automation platform that comes at $15/month and can connect your most useful business tools. For document automation, Zapier connects to most forms tools such as Google Forms, Survey Monkey, Typeform, and others.
With this form data, you can send the data directly to Zapier to be entered into a document template. From there, you can email, save, or notify whoever once the document has been created in your template.
In Zapier lingo, your form tool is a Trigger, the thing that sets your process in motion. Only when a new form is submitted does Zapier create a new automated document from a template tool, and you can even use something as simple as entering a new row in a Google Sheet to be your trigger.
No matter what data entry tool or form you use, make sure it has a Zapier integration before you purchase it. Even if your tool is not a direct integration with Zapier, there are ways around it by using Zapier webhooks and email parsing tools in the platform.
So… What are the 3 best Zapier document automation tools available, and what’s their pricing?
Best Document Automation Integration: Google Suite (Google Docs)
Yes, it’s back to the basics, and Google has you covered. If you have a paid Google Suite account, your business can set up unlimited custom document templates with portions that can be filled in by Zapier.
Inside of Google Docs, you can create templates and create fillable fields with placing double curly brackets around them (Example: {{FIELD_NAME}}). Then you can set up the document automation with Zapier + Google Docs to start from whatever trigger action you desire.
It’s easy to set up, and it’s the cheapest document automation that doesn’t come with limitations. Therefore, it wins our list.
Cost: $21/month ($15 Zapier + $6 Google Suite)
Limitations: Unlimited templates. Unlimited document automations. Boom!
Why Recommend? — The cheapest solution that is familiar to many users.
2nd Place: DocuPilot
DocuPilot has a very clean document automation and template process that integrates directly with Zapier. After setting up an initial document template inside the online dashboard, connect Docupilot to Zapier and start automating your document creation.
DocuPilot can even send your document as a .docx file directly to your email so you can still edit the document after it has been created, and Zapier can save the document to your CRM for a new client or case.
It even has unlimited template capacity like Google Docs, so you don’t need to worry about maxing out on how many document types you can automate.
Whatever your needs, DocuPilot provides a nice and customizable template maker that is easy to connect with Zapier, and it does so without breaking the bank. You are limited to 100 documents per month with their $29/month plan, but if you need more documents automated, you might consider upgrading to their “Plus” plan for 500 documents at $99/month.
Cost: $44+/month ($15 Zapier + $29 DocuPilot)
Limitations: 100 documents/month (more if you buy upgrades).
Why Recommend? — A relatively inexpensive solution with a fantastic document template maker.
3rd Place: FormStack Documents
FormStack Documents, similar to DocuPilot, also has a really clean template maker that connects right with Zapier. After setting up an initial FormStack document, connect Zapier to FormStack Documents and start automating your document creation.
FormStack also has workflows and export templated documents as .pdf, .docx, or other formats.
FormStack comes in at 3rd because its most basic plan only allows 30 documents per month, and the upgrade to 500 documents is twice as much as DocuPilot. This makes scaling your business document automation come at a higher price than with our two previous options.
Nonetheless, FormStack is an excellent platform with a slick template maker that can produce and automate high-quality documents for your business.
Cost: $42+/month ($15 Zapier + $27 FormStack)
Limitations: 30 documents/month (more if you buy upgrades). Only 3 templates allowed with the most basic plan.
Why Recommend?: A good template maker that is easy to learn and create fancy documents quickly.
Which should I pick?
If you want to create customer-ready documents for your clients, pick DocuPilot or FormStack. Their template makers are really great and can automatically send you or your clients the documents.
If you want to have a cheap and easy way to get started with your document automation, get Google Suite’s Google Docs and Zapier for just $21/month.
Document automation with Zapier can save you a lot of time and money. If you have another favorite tool, let me know in the comments section!
