HubSpot document generation: what it is and how to do it

This Juro explainer outlines how businesses can generate documents using HubSpot, as well as the benefits you can realize

HubSpot is a CRM aimed at scaling businesses, with multiple ‘hubs’ aimed at marketing, sales, customer service, content management and operations teams. It allows users to track contacts and deals as they progress through the pipeline, alongside being an important data repository. 

But were you aware that you can also use HubSpot for document generation? Well, you can. Keep reading to find out more. 

What is HubSpot document generation?

HubSpot document generation refers to the process of generating a variety of documents in the HubSpot platform. 

This enables HubSpot users to create documents quickly and easily without having to leave the CRM and go into a separate word processor such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word. 

In just a few clicks, users can generate documents in HubSpot using templates and populate these with key data stored in HubSpot. This speeds up processes and limits time spent on manual admin tasks. 

Which types of documents can be generated in HubSpot?

HubSpot users can generate a whole variety of documents in the platform, including: 

• Invoices
• Contracts 
• Proposals 
• Quotes
• Reports 
• Forms

It’s worth noting that the type of documents you can generate in HubSpot will also depend on which platforms you have integrated with HubSpot. 

Creating documents in HubSpot, much like Salesforce document generation, requires integration with another business platform to generate documents. This in turn means that the types of documents you can connect to HubSpot will impact the types of documents you can generate. 

Let’s take contracts as an example. In order to automate the generation of contracts within HubSpot, you would need an integration with a contract management system such as Juro. Combining these two tools allows users to generate, track and manage contracts without leaving HubSpot. 

If you’re interested in this integration, it’s explained in more detail in this piece on how to manage contracts in HubSpot. 

But contracts aren’t the only kind of document you can manage in HubSpot. You can also manage invoices with integrations like Xero and Quickbooks or generate personalized letters with Google Docs or Word. 

Switching between tools takes time and can lead to a lack of visibility into your documents, generating them in HubSpot can solve this issue. But how does it work? 

How does Hubspot document generation work?

HubSpot is a flexible and customizable platform, meaning that users can adapt it to suit their particular needs. This could mean integrating it across multiple teams or with various aspects of your existing tech stack. 

A standard document generation workflow could look like this: 

1. Integrate HubSpot with a platform that serves a particular function. This is ideally a platform that you create your document in, such as Juro for contracts. If you wanted to generate these documents in HubSpot, you’d need a tool like Juro to create the initial contract template.
   
   
2. Create the document template. This should include the standard text used in all documents, as well as ‘tokens’ which will pull relevant data from HubSpot. The token will determine which data is pulled into the document and where it will populate.
   
   
3. Generate the document in HubSpot. If you have completed the above, you should be able to open your templates and generate a document in HubSpot using a given template. This should be up-to-date with deal data if tokens have been used correctly.
   
   
4. Save the document. This will usually be done automatically in HubSpot making it readily accessible. Some two-way integrations will also automatically update the status of a record in HubSpot (and HubSpot data) based on changes made in the document. 

Benefits of HubSpot document generation

Of course, none of this would be worthwhile if there weren’t tangible benefits to generating documents in HubSpot. Below is a deep dive into five benefits your business could gain from generating documents within HubSpot. 

1. Align sales teams' system of record 

The first benefit is that it ensures your sales team are all in the same place and doesn’t have to move out of their CRM to generate documents. This means they can generate documents in a platform they are familiar with and likely spend a lot of time in. 

This also means that sales team members can self-serve on more complex documents, like contracts, without scaring your legal team by increasing contract risk. This speeds up the sales cycle as team members have access to sales contracts at their fingertips. 

2. Save time 

The average person spends four hours a week switching between applications, according to Harvard Business Review. In this case, streamlining the document generation process into one unified platform will save users time. 

Instead of drafting documents from scratch in Word or Google Docs, HubSpot users can automatically generate documents and populate them within the CRM. For scaling businesses using templated documents to close, renew and advance deals is a significant time-saver. 

3. Increased consistency across documents

Templates create a unified source of truth for your documents and generating documents in HubSpot requires templates to work. If every department across your business is creating from the same templates, this process becomes standardized.

It also means that the contents of your documents are pre-approved, which gives template owners full autonomy over the structure and information they put in the document. This is important for documents such as contracts as it limits contract risk. 

4. Greater customization 

 A huge benefit of integrations is how customizable they make your CRM and this doesn’t change when it comes to document generation. Users can decide what their documents include and how they are formatted, as well as customizing their workflow. 

A great example of this is Juro’s integration with HubSpot. Juro users can generate watertight contracts ready for sending directly from HubSpot in just a few clicks and build rules for these templates using conditional logic. 

This means that certain clauses can be added to contracts automatically if HubSpot data identifies that a deal is in a certain jurisdiction, or over a certain contract value. This saves somebody from having to monitor this manually. 

5. More visibility

Generating documents within your CRM increases document visibility for the wider business. 

Everybody who has access to your CRM can access the documents they need without having to wade through local drives or permissions. For example, contract visibility is an important part of businesses keeping control of their contracts. 

The documents are still secure and secured safely, but they are more accessible. This also creates one source of truth on deals and data for your business. 

Getting started with HubSpot document generation

If you’re looking for a simple way to generate documents using HubSpot, the number one place to start is with integrations. 

Think about which HubSpot integrations your business needs for the type of documents you want to generate in HubSpot. Luckily, HubSpot integrates with over 1,000 other businesses, including contract lifecycle management platforms and invoice automation tools, to name just a few. 

This means you can find an integration that suits your business needs. For example, if you’re looking to generate sales contracts such as Master Service Agreements (MSAs) or Statements of Work (SOWs), Juro is a great solution. 

Juro enables sales teams to automate contracts from within HubSpot using pre-approved templates. As one Juro and HubSpot user says: 

Their Hubspot integration is great and makes generating order forms from within an opportunity a breeze. I'm very glad we switched - Verified Juro user, G2 review

If you’re interested in streamlining your contract generation process, fill in the form below to find out more.