Proposal and document tool with templates, pricing tables and e signature that speeds closing.
PandaDoc helps you build professional proposals and collect e-signatures with built-in templates.
You want to streamline how you send proposals, quotes, or contracts.
Sales and legal teams creating, sending and tracking contracts easily
Annual pricing
€
228
Monthly starting at
€
35
Send branded proposals that clients can sign in minutes.
Track when your document is opened and viewed.
Use templates to create repeatable sales docs quickly.
Looking for other options? These are tools I've personally used with clients or tested extensively. Some might better suit your budget, tech stack, or team size. Consider this a shortlist if you need alternatives.
All in one CRM with marketing, sales and service, strong when you want one system that teams adopt.
Productivity suite for mail, docs and storage, easy admin and sharing that suits most B2B teams.
Tools like Zapier, n8n and Make.com are incredibly powerful, but they can feel overwhelming when you’re just getting started. Since you can connect almost anything, it’s hard to know where to begin.
No code automation that connects apps and moves data, great for quick wins and alerts that save time.
Open source automation with nodes and self hosting, ideal when you need flexibility and privacy with strong workflows.
Visual automation platform that connects tools and moves data with control and scheduling.
Proposals and sales contracts are often the lifeblood of B2B growth but they can also be a bottleneck. Many marketers and founders know the pain of a deal slowing down because of document delays or errors. PandaDoc is an all-in-one document automation platform designed to eliminate those frictions by streamlining how you create, approve, and sign business documents. In this ultimate guide, we’ll explore PandaDoc’s features and benefits in depth, share best practices from the field, outline typical workflows, and help you decide where PandaDoc fits into your growth stack. Whether you’re a marketing leader trying to empower your sales team, or a founder looking to scale your client onboarding, this guide will give you a clear understanding of what PandaDoc can (and can’t) do for you.
PandaDoc isn’t just an eSignature tool it’s a robust platform covering the entire document lifecycle from drafting to payment. Here are its standout features and how they benefit B2B teams:
At the heart of PandaDoc is its template capability. You can create reusable proposal or contract templates that save countless hours on future documents. For example, a marketing agency might have a master proposal template with pre-approved sections for scope, case studies, pricing, and T&Cs. PandaDoc allows you to clone that template for each new client, then just fill in the specifics. The benefit is consistency every proposal follows your best practices and branding, reducing errors and omissions. PandaDoc also provides an extensive library of 750+ ready-made templates for various use cases if you don’t want to start from zero. In addition, the content library lets you save snippets or blocks of content (like a client testimonial blurb, a product spec sheet, or a legal clause) and drop them into any document on the fly. This is incredibly useful for marketers who want to ensure the latest messaging and assets are used by the sales team. Using templates and content blocks, one company was able to generate ~10 documents from a single template on average, massively speeding up proposal turnarounds. The bottom line: templates and content libraries turn your document creation into a scalable, efficient process.
PandaDoc’s document editor is a drag-and-drop, WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) interface. If you can use Word or Google Docs, you can get comfortable with PandaDoc’s editor quickly. You can add text, tables, images, pricing tables, and even embedded videos to spruce up your proposals. In fact, including rich media isn’t just for looks PandaDoc’s data shows proposals with at least one image or video are 32% more likely to close successfully. The editor also supports real-time collaboration, meaning multiple team members can comment and edit simultaneously, much like Google Docs. This is great for when marketing needs to refine some wording while sales works on pricing in the same document. It reduces the back-and-forth of email drafts. You can also control content locking for example, the finance team might lock the pricing section so sales reps can’t alter approved discounts. Overall, the editor balances flexibility with control, so your proposals can be both tailored and compliant.
PandaDoc includes legally binding eSignature functionality on all its plans, so you don’t need a separate signing service. You simply drag a signature field onto the document for each signer. Clients can sign from any device with a click, and PandaDoc handles the security and audit trail (compliant with ESIGN and EU eIDAS standards). In practical terms, this means no more printing, signing, scanning deals close faster and with less effort. Every signed document comes with a certificate of completion for legal evidence. Beyond client signatures, PandaDoc supports internal approval workflows. You can set up rules like “if deal value is over £50k, require legal team approval before sending” the document will route to the right people internally and only go out to the client once approved. This ensures compliance and oversight even as you automate the process. The combination of instant eSigning and automated approvals can significantly compress your sales cycle. For instance, one sales team cut their proposal review time by 82% by using PandaDoc to automate approvals and signing in one go. For marketers and founders, these faster turnaround times mean campaigns and deals start yielding results sooner.
Once a proposal is sent, the waiting game begins but PandaDoc turns this into an insightful period rather than a blind spot. The platform tracks when recipients open the document, how long they spend on each page, and whether they forward it along. You’ll get real-time notifications (“Prospect John Doe viewed ‘Proposal_XYZ’ at 3:45 PM”) and can even see if, say, they lingered on the pricing page for 5 minutes. This feedback is gold for a sales team: it signals when to follow up and what to emphasise. If you see a prospect hasn’t viewed the proposal at all, you might decide to send a reminder (PandaDoc can automate gentle reminder emails for you). Conversely, if you see they opened it multiple times, you know they’re interested perhaps follow up with a call to address any questions. Over time, marketers can aggregate these analytics to understand what content works best. For example, if 80% of prospects skip the “About Us” section and jump straight to pricing, maybe shorten that section. PandaDoc’s analytics turn document management into a source of data-driven insight, allowing continuous improvement of your sales collateral.
A unique benefit PandaDoc offers, especially useful for service businesses and coaches/consultants, is the ability to collect payments upon signing. By integrating Stripe, PayPal or other processors, you can insert a payment field right into a proposal or contract. This means a client can sign and pay (for example, pay a deposit or first invoice) in one step, securely through the document. It removes friction from the closing process no need to chase invoices later or direct the client to a separate payment portal. From a growth perspective, anything that improves cash flow and reduces admin is a win. Additionally, PandaDoc has a Forms feature (available on Business plan) that lets you create reusable form documents. Think of it like turning a document into a self-service form that you can embed on your website or send as a link. For instance, an HR team could use it for job offer letters where the candidate just fills in details and e-signs, or a marketing team could publish an NDA form for partners to quickly sign. Forms broaden the use of PandaDoc beyond just proposals they’re handy whenever you need to collect structured info and a signature in a repeatable way.
Modern B2B teams rely on a stack of software, and PandaDoc is built to slot into that ecosystem. On the CRM side, PandaDoc offers out-of-the-box integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics, and more. The immediate benefit is no duplicate data entry you can pull deal data (like contact info, company name, deal value, product line items) directly into a proposal template. Once the document is completed, the integration can log the activity on the CRM timeline, change deal stage to “Closed Won,” attach the signed PDF, etc. This keeps sales and marketing in sync; for example, marketing ops can later easily find all closed deals and measure proposal turnaround time because everything is tracked in the CRM. Besides CRM, PandaDoc integrates with various other tools: payment systems (as noted above), cloud storage (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox for saving final PDFs), and communication tools like Slack (you can get Slack alerts on document status). There’s also Zapier integration for hooking into thousands of apps, and an API for custom development if you need to do something very tailored. Practically, even if your team uses a niche tool, chances are you can connect it to PandaDoc one way or another. Setting up these integrations can automate tedious steps for example, a Zapier workflow might update a Google Sheet or send a custom email whenever a proposal is signed. In summary, PandaDoc plays well with other systems, which is critical for maintaining a smooth end-to-end growth workflow.
Having deployed PandaDoc in different organisations, I’ve learned a few best practices that help ensure you reap its full value. Here are some tips to implement PandaDoc successfully:
Don’t rush the setup take the time up front to create templates that are well-designed and on-brand. Involve your marketing team or a designer to make sure the proposal template uses your company colours, fonts, and logo, and has a clean layout. PandaDoc’s editor lets you customise these elements (on Business plan you can even remove PandaDoc logos and use your own domain for document links). A good template should cover 80% of what typically goes into your proposals, with placeholder fields for the rest. Think of it like building a master presentation deck it’s worth the effort because it will be reused hundreds of times. Also, set up your content library with the latest approved content. For example, if product marketing has written new case studies or updated pricing sheets, load those into PandaDoc so the sales team can easily pull them in. This upfront preparation creates a system that generates proposals which are both efficient and high quality. One pro tip: create an internal checklist or SOP for proposals, including which template to use for which scenario, so there’s no confusion for your team.
Introducing PandaDoc will change how your sales and account teams do their day-to-day work, so change management is important. Provide a training session for all users walk through how to pick a template, how to edit fields, how to send documents, and how to track status. Emphasise the benefits (time saved, insight gained) to get buy-in, but also set clear expectations on following the new process. It helps to define roles: e.g. Sales reps draft the proposal from a template, Sales manager approves anything over a certain value, Legal gives final sign-off on MSA terms, etc. You can configure these roles in PandaDoc’s workflow settings. Also, encourage team members to make use of commenting and collaboration features rather than doing edits offline. This keeps everything within the platform. Early on, it’s wise to monitor usage for instance, as a growth lead you might periodically review a few sent documents to ensure the team isn’t deviating from templates or leaving placeholders unfilled. It’s not about policing, but about catching mistakes in the new system and continuously improving the process.
Maximise the integration with your CRM from day one. If you use HubSpot, for example, install the PandaDoc integration and teach the team to create proposals from within a deal record. This ensures all proposal activity ties back to the CRM, which is a huge win for reporting and alignment. You can even set up automation like “when a proposal is completed, advance the deal stage and trigger an email to Finance.” Similarly, consider using PandaDoc’s Zapier connectors or native workflows for follow-up. A common best practice is to automate reminders: if a document is “Waiting for Signature” for 3 days, PandaDoc can auto-send a polite reminder email to the client (this feature is built-in). You could also use Slack integration to post in a team channel whenever a big deal is signed a nice way to celebrate wins in real-time. By weaving PandaDoc into your existing tools, you reduce context-switching. Salespeople stay in one environment and data flows where it needs to, which in turn gives marketing better visibility. For instance, if you know proposals for a certain product line are closing faster, that’s insight marketing can use to allocate budget or double down on similar prospects. All of this comes from proper integration and automation usage.
Treat your proposals and documents as living assets that can be optimised. PandaDoc’s analytics (document views, time spent, drop-off pages) should feed back into how you refine your content. Schedule a quarterly or monthly review of these metrics. If you see, for example, that prospects spend on average only 10 seconds on your “About Us” page but 2 minutes on the ROI justification page, consider trimming the fluff and focusing on what they care about. Or if a particular section is often not viewed at all, perhaps it’s better sent as optional appendix or removed. Some teams even A/B test different proposal formats since it’s easy to tweak a template, you could experiment one quarter with a shorter proposal vs. a longer one and see which closes more deals or gets faster signatures. Additionally, pay attention to cycle times: is PandaDoc actually speeding up your process? If not, identify the bottlenecks. Maybe the delay is on internal approvals in which case, try simplifying the approval chain or raising threshold values. Continuous improvement is a hallmark of growth, and documents shouldn’t be an exception. PandaDoc gives you the data to apply a conversion-rate optimisation mindset to sales collateral, which historically was hard to measure.
When dealing with contracts and signatures, security is paramount. PandaDoc is secure and offers things like role-based access, encryption, and audit trails by default. Still, you should follow best practices on your side. Use strong permissions for example, only certain people should be able to delete or export documents. If you handle sensitive data, consider enabling features like two-factor authentication for signers or password-protecting documents (PandaDoc allows you to add a passcode or SMS verification for recipients on Business/Enterprise plans). For regulated industries or regions, PandaDoc’s compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) might be a factor ensure you are on the appropriate plan if those are needed. It’s also a good idea to periodically audit your content library and templates to ensure they don’t contain outdated or incorrect info (for instance, an old legal clause that’s no longer valid). Keeping everything up to date and secure will prevent snafus down the line. This is more about organisational diligence than the tool itself, but it all contributes to a smoother experience.
To illustrate how PandaDoc can fit into your sales process, let’s walk through a typical workflow step by step:
In this workflow, notice how PandaDoc served as the connective tissue that brought speed and visibility: the rep spent minimal time on document prep, the client had an easy signing experience, and all departments sales, marketing, finance stayed aligned via integrations. It reduced friction at each step where traditionally things could stall (drafting, approvals, waiting for signature or payment, manual data entry after closing). For a growth-focused organisation, this kind of streamlined process means you can handle more deals in parallel and with greater reliability.
Like any tool, PandaDoc is not one-size-fits-all. It excels in certain scenarios and might be overkill in others. Here’s how to determine if it’s right for you:
PandaDoc is a strong fit if:
PandaDoc might not be the best choice if:
When evaluating PandaDoc, it’s worth considering the alternatives or how it fits alongside other tools. In the eSignature and document automation space, DocuSign is the heavyweight for pure signing needs it’s very reliable for straight e-signing, but it doesn’t offer the proposal-building features PandaDoc does. Dropbox Sign (HelloSign) is another simple signing tool that’s lightweight and cost-effective for basic use. These tools could be alternatives if your main requirement is just getting documents signed electronically. However, you’d miss out on PandaDoc’s content automation and tracking. On the proposal software front, Proposify and Qwilr are often compared. Proposify has a similar template approach geared towards sales teams, while Qwilr creates web-page style proposals with slick designs. They can be great for specific needs (Qwilr, for instance, for marketing agencies wanting to impress with visual proposals). That said, PandaDoc tends to be more versatile for end-to-end document workflow and has deeper CRM integrations than most alternatives. Interestingly, if you already use HubSpot’s Sales Hub, you might try HubSpot’s native Quotes feature which is included in their CRM it covers basic quote and proposal generation and integrates fully with your CRM data. Some small teams find HubSpot Quotes enough initially, though many outgrow it and turn to PandaDoc for more flexibility and functionality.
In many cases, organisations use PandaDoc alongside their CRM and maybe a contracting tool for legal. For example, you might use PandaDoc for sales proposals and Scope of Work documents, but still use something like DocuSign for internal HR documents or very simple sign-offs that’s okay too. What’s important is to map your document needs and choose the best tool for each job. PandaDoc’s value is highest when you need that mix of content creation + collaboration + signing + integration. If those pieces matter, it really stands out. And remember, PandaDoc offers a free tier (for very basic eSign) and free trials, so you can test if it meshes with your processes before fully committing.
PandaDoc has proven itself as a valuable tool for B2B marketers and founders who want to bring order and efficiency to the vital but sometimes chaotic world of proposals and contracts. It transforms a traditionally manual process into a streamlined digital workflow. By doing so, it not only saves time (which your team can redirect to selling or marketing) but also provides new visibility into how documents contribute to your growth. The ability to templatise proposals, track client engagement, and integrate with your CRM means that your sales process becomes more predictable and data-driven which is exactly what growth-oriented teams strive for.
However, the tool’s impact depends on how well you implement it. Plan out your templates, get your team onboard, and align PandaDoc to your sales strategy. When used to its potential, PandaDoc can help you close deals faster and with less friction, as numerous case studies and my own firsthand experience can attest. A performance marketing agency was able to cut proposal creation time by a factor of 14× after adopting PandaDoc, and reduce errors significantly through content controls. These are the kinds of outcomes that move the needle in a business faster turnaround means more sales opportunities can be handled, and fewer mistakes mean a smoother journey for your clients.
Yet, it’s equally important to remain pragmatic. Ensure the investment makes sense for your stage of growth. If you decide to move forward, take advantage of PandaDoc’s resources (their help centre and onboarding support) to climb the learning curve quickly. In a short time, you could transform proposal-making from a headache into a competitive advantage. In the daily hustle that B2B marketers and founders face, having a reliable system for proposals and contracts removes a big layer of stress. In that regard, PandaDoc earns its place as a trusted tool in the growth toolkit powerful, a bit complex at times, but ultimately a catalyst for more streamlined and successful sales outcomes.
My personal notes on how to use this tool.
Proposals and sales contracts are often the lifeblood of B2B growth but they can also be a bottleneck. Many marketers and founders know the pain of a deal slowing down because of document delays or errors. PandaDoc is an all-in-one document automation platform designed to eliminate those frictions by streamlining how you create, approve, and sign business documents. In this ultimate guide, we’ll explore PandaDoc’s features and benefits in depth, share best practices from the field, outline typical workflows, and help you decide where PandaDoc fits into your growth stack. Whether you’re a marketing leader trying to empower your sales team, or a founder looking to scale your client onboarding, this guide will give you a clear understanding of what PandaDoc can (and can’t) do for you.
PandaDoc isn’t just an eSignature tool it’s a robust platform covering the entire document lifecycle from drafting to payment. Here are its standout features and how they benefit B2B teams:
At the heart of PandaDoc is its template capability. You can create reusable proposal or contract templates that save countless hours on future documents. For example, a marketing agency might have a master proposal template with pre-approved sections for scope, case studies, pricing, and T&Cs. PandaDoc allows you to clone that template for each new client, then just fill in the specifics. The benefit is consistency every proposal follows your best practices and branding, reducing errors and omissions. PandaDoc also provides an extensive library of 750+ ready-made templates for various use cases if you don’t want to start from zero. In addition, the content library lets you save snippets or blocks of content (like a client testimonial blurb, a product spec sheet, or a legal clause) and drop them into any document on the fly. This is incredibly useful for marketers who want to ensure the latest messaging and assets are used by the sales team. Using templates and content blocks, one company was able to generate ~10 documents from a single template on average, massively speeding up proposal turnarounds. The bottom line: templates and content libraries turn your document creation into a scalable, efficient process.
PandaDoc’s document editor is a drag-and-drop, WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) interface. If you can use Word or Google Docs, you can get comfortable with PandaDoc’s editor quickly. You can add text, tables, images, pricing tables, and even embedded videos to spruce up your proposals. In fact, including rich media isn’t just for looks PandaDoc’s data shows proposals with at least one image or video are 32% more likely to close successfully. The editor also supports real-time collaboration, meaning multiple team members can comment and edit simultaneously, much like Google Docs. This is great for when marketing needs to refine some wording while sales works on pricing in the same document. It reduces the back-and-forth of email drafts. You can also control content locking for example, the finance team might lock the pricing section so sales reps can’t alter approved discounts. Overall, the editor balances flexibility with control, so your proposals can be both tailored and compliant.
PandaDoc includes legally binding eSignature functionality on all its plans, so you don’t need a separate signing service. You simply drag a signature field onto the document for each signer. Clients can sign from any device with a click, and PandaDoc handles the security and audit trail (compliant with ESIGN and EU eIDAS standards). In practical terms, this means no more printing, signing, scanning deals close faster and with less effort. Every signed document comes with a certificate of completion for legal evidence. Beyond client signatures, PandaDoc supports internal approval workflows. You can set up rules like “if deal value is over £50k, require legal team approval before sending” the document will route to the right people internally and only go out to the client once approved. This ensures compliance and oversight even as you automate the process. The combination of instant eSigning and automated approvals can significantly compress your sales cycle. For instance, one sales team cut their proposal review time by 82% by using PandaDoc to automate approvals and signing in one go. For marketers and founders, these faster turnaround times mean campaigns and deals start yielding results sooner.
Once a proposal is sent, the waiting game begins but PandaDoc turns this into an insightful period rather than a blind spot. The platform tracks when recipients open the document, how long they spend on each page, and whether they forward it along. You’ll get real-time notifications (“Prospect John Doe viewed ‘Proposal_XYZ’ at 3:45 PM”) and can even see if, say, they lingered on the pricing page for 5 minutes. This feedback is gold for a sales team: it signals when to follow up and what to emphasise. If you see a prospect hasn’t viewed the proposal at all, you might decide to send a reminder (PandaDoc can automate gentle reminder emails for you). Conversely, if you see they opened it multiple times, you know they’re interested perhaps follow up with a call to address any questions. Over time, marketers can aggregate these analytics to understand what content works best. For example, if 80% of prospects skip the “About Us” section and jump straight to pricing, maybe shorten that section. PandaDoc’s analytics turn document management into a source of data-driven insight, allowing continuous improvement of your sales collateral.
A unique benefit PandaDoc offers, especially useful for service businesses and coaches/consultants, is the ability to collect payments upon signing. By integrating Stripe, PayPal or other processors, you can insert a payment field right into a proposal or contract. This means a client can sign and pay (for example, pay a deposit or first invoice) in one step, securely through the document. It removes friction from the closing process no need to chase invoices later or direct the client to a separate payment portal. From a growth perspective, anything that improves cash flow and reduces admin is a win. Additionally, PandaDoc has a Forms feature (available on Business plan) that lets you create reusable form documents. Think of it like turning a document into a self-service form that you can embed on your website or send as a link. For instance, an HR team could use it for job offer letters where the candidate just fills in details and e-signs, or a marketing team could publish an NDA form for partners to quickly sign. Forms broaden the use of PandaDoc beyond just proposals they’re handy whenever you need to collect structured info and a signature in a repeatable way.
Modern B2B teams rely on a stack of software, and PandaDoc is built to slot into that ecosystem. On the CRM side, PandaDoc offers out-of-the-box integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics, and more. The immediate benefit is no duplicate data entry you can pull deal data (like contact info, company name, deal value, product line items) directly into a proposal template. Once the document is completed, the integration can log the activity on the CRM timeline, change deal stage to “Closed Won,” attach the signed PDF, etc. This keeps sales and marketing in sync; for example, marketing ops can later easily find all closed deals and measure proposal turnaround time because everything is tracked in the CRM. Besides CRM, PandaDoc integrates with various other tools: payment systems (as noted above), cloud storage (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox for saving final PDFs), and communication tools like Slack (you can get Slack alerts on document status). There’s also Zapier integration for hooking into thousands of apps, and an API for custom development if you need to do something very tailored. Practically, even if your team uses a niche tool, chances are you can connect it to PandaDoc one way or another. Setting up these integrations can automate tedious steps for example, a Zapier workflow might update a Google Sheet or send a custom email whenever a proposal is signed. In summary, PandaDoc plays well with other systems, which is critical for maintaining a smooth end-to-end growth workflow.
Having deployed PandaDoc in different organisations, I’ve learned a few best practices that help ensure you reap its full value. Here are some tips to implement PandaDoc successfully:
Don’t rush the setup take the time up front to create templates that are well-designed and on-brand. Involve your marketing team or a designer to make sure the proposal template uses your company colours, fonts, and logo, and has a clean layout. PandaDoc’s editor lets you customise these elements (on Business plan you can even remove PandaDoc logos and use your own domain for document links). A good template should cover 80% of what typically goes into your proposals, with placeholder fields for the rest. Think of it like building a master presentation deck it’s worth the effort because it will be reused hundreds of times. Also, set up your content library with the latest approved content. For example, if product marketing has written new case studies or updated pricing sheets, load those into PandaDoc so the sales team can easily pull them in. This upfront preparation creates a system that generates proposals which are both efficient and high quality. One pro tip: create an internal checklist or SOP for proposals, including which template to use for which scenario, so there’s no confusion for your team.
Introducing PandaDoc will change how your sales and account teams do their day-to-day work, so change management is important. Provide a training session for all users walk through how to pick a template, how to edit fields, how to send documents, and how to track status. Emphasise the benefits (time saved, insight gained) to get buy-in, but also set clear expectations on following the new process. It helps to define roles: e.g. Sales reps draft the proposal from a template, Sales manager approves anything over a certain value, Legal gives final sign-off on MSA terms, etc. You can configure these roles in PandaDoc’s workflow settings. Also, encourage team members to make use of commenting and collaboration features rather than doing edits offline. This keeps everything within the platform. Early on, it’s wise to monitor usage for instance, as a growth lead you might periodically review a few sent documents to ensure the team isn’t deviating from templates or leaving placeholders unfilled. It’s not about policing, but about catching mistakes in the new system and continuously improving the process.
Maximise the integration with your CRM from day one. If you use HubSpot, for example, install the PandaDoc integration and teach the team to create proposals from within a deal record. This ensures all proposal activity ties back to the CRM, which is a huge win for reporting and alignment. You can even set up automation like “when a proposal is completed, advance the deal stage and trigger an email to Finance.” Similarly, consider using PandaDoc’s Zapier connectors or native workflows for follow-up. A common best practice is to automate reminders: if a document is “Waiting for Signature” for 3 days, PandaDoc can auto-send a polite reminder email to the client (this feature is built-in). You could also use Slack integration to post in a team channel whenever a big deal is signed a nice way to celebrate wins in real-time. By weaving PandaDoc into your existing tools, you reduce context-switching. Salespeople stay in one environment and data flows where it needs to, which in turn gives marketing better visibility. For instance, if you know proposals for a certain product line are closing faster, that’s insight marketing can use to allocate budget or double down on similar prospects. All of this comes from proper integration and automation usage.
Treat your proposals and documents as living assets that can be optimised. PandaDoc’s analytics (document views, time spent, drop-off pages) should feed back into how you refine your content. Schedule a quarterly or monthly review of these metrics. If you see, for example, that prospects spend on average only 10 seconds on your “About Us” page but 2 minutes on the ROI justification page, consider trimming the fluff and focusing on what they care about. Or if a particular section is often not viewed at all, perhaps it’s better sent as optional appendix or removed. Some teams even A/B test different proposal formats since it’s easy to tweak a template, you could experiment one quarter with a shorter proposal vs. a longer one and see which closes more deals or gets faster signatures. Additionally, pay attention to cycle times: is PandaDoc actually speeding up your process? If not, identify the bottlenecks. Maybe the delay is on internal approvals in which case, try simplifying the approval chain or raising threshold values. Continuous improvement is a hallmark of growth, and documents shouldn’t be an exception. PandaDoc gives you the data to apply a conversion-rate optimisation mindset to sales collateral, which historically was hard to measure.
When dealing with contracts and signatures, security is paramount. PandaDoc is secure and offers things like role-based access, encryption, and audit trails by default. Still, you should follow best practices on your side. Use strong permissions for example, only certain people should be able to delete or export documents. If you handle sensitive data, consider enabling features like two-factor authentication for signers or password-protecting documents (PandaDoc allows you to add a passcode or SMS verification for recipients on Business/Enterprise plans). For regulated industries or regions, PandaDoc’s compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) might be a factor ensure you are on the appropriate plan if those are needed. It’s also a good idea to periodically audit your content library and templates to ensure they don’t contain outdated or incorrect info (for instance, an old legal clause that’s no longer valid). Keeping everything up to date and secure will prevent snafus down the line. This is more about organisational diligence than the tool itself, but it all contributes to a smoother experience.
To illustrate how PandaDoc can fit into your sales process, let’s walk through a typical workflow step by step:
In this workflow, notice how PandaDoc served as the connective tissue that brought speed and visibility: the rep spent minimal time on document prep, the client had an easy signing experience, and all departments sales, marketing, finance stayed aligned via integrations. It reduced friction at each step where traditionally things could stall (drafting, approvals, waiting for signature or payment, manual data entry after closing). For a growth-focused organisation, this kind of streamlined process means you can handle more deals in parallel and with greater reliability.
Like any tool, PandaDoc is not one-size-fits-all. It excels in certain scenarios and might be overkill in others. Here’s how to determine if it’s right for you:
PandaDoc is a strong fit if:
PandaDoc might not be the best choice if:
When evaluating PandaDoc, it’s worth considering the alternatives or how it fits alongside other tools. In the eSignature and document automation space, DocuSign is the heavyweight for pure signing needs it’s very reliable for straight e-signing, but it doesn’t offer the proposal-building features PandaDoc does. Dropbox Sign (HelloSign) is another simple signing tool that’s lightweight and cost-effective for basic use. These tools could be alternatives if your main requirement is just getting documents signed electronically. However, you’d miss out on PandaDoc’s content automation and tracking. On the proposal software front, Proposify and Qwilr are often compared. Proposify has a similar template approach geared towards sales teams, while Qwilr creates web-page style proposals with slick designs. They can be great for specific needs (Qwilr, for instance, for marketing agencies wanting to impress with visual proposals). That said, PandaDoc tends to be more versatile for end-to-end document workflow and has deeper CRM integrations than most alternatives. Interestingly, if you already use HubSpot’s Sales Hub, you might try HubSpot’s native Quotes feature which is included in their CRM it covers basic quote and proposal generation and integrates fully with your CRM data. Some small teams find HubSpot Quotes enough initially, though many outgrow it and turn to PandaDoc for more flexibility and functionality.
In many cases, organisations use PandaDoc alongside their CRM and maybe a contracting tool for legal. For example, you might use PandaDoc for sales proposals and Scope of Work documents, but still use something like DocuSign for internal HR documents or very simple sign-offs that’s okay too. What’s important is to map your document needs and choose the best tool for each job. PandaDoc’s value is highest when you need that mix of content creation + collaboration + signing + integration. If those pieces matter, it really stands out. And remember, PandaDoc offers a free tier (for very basic eSign) and free trials, so you can test if it meshes with your processes before fully committing.
PandaDoc has proven itself as a valuable tool for B2B marketers and founders who want to bring order and efficiency to the vital but sometimes chaotic world of proposals and contracts. It transforms a traditionally manual process into a streamlined digital workflow. By doing so, it not only saves time (which your team can redirect to selling or marketing) but also provides new visibility into how documents contribute to your growth. The ability to templatise proposals, track client engagement, and integrate with your CRM means that your sales process becomes more predictable and data-driven which is exactly what growth-oriented teams strive for.
However, the tool’s impact depends on how well you implement it. Plan out your templates, get your team onboard, and align PandaDoc to your sales strategy. When used to its potential, PandaDoc can help you close deals faster and with less friction, as numerous case studies and my own firsthand experience can attest. A performance marketing agency was able to cut proposal creation time by a factor of 14× after adopting PandaDoc, and reduce errors significantly through content controls. These are the kinds of outcomes that move the needle in a business faster turnaround means more sales opportunities can be handled, and fewer mistakes mean a smoother journey for your clients.
Yet, it’s equally important to remain pragmatic. Ensure the investment makes sense for your stage of growth. If you decide to move forward, take advantage of PandaDoc’s resources (their help centre and onboarding support) to climb the learning curve quickly. In a short time, you could transform proposal-making from a headache into a competitive advantage. In the daily hustle that B2B marketers and founders face, having a reliable system for proposals and contracts removes a big layer of stress. In that regard, PandaDoc earns its place as a trusted tool in the growth toolkit powerful, a bit complex at times, but ultimately a catalyst for more streamlined and successful sales outcomes.
Proposals and sales contracts are often the lifeblood of B2B growth but they can also be a bottleneck. Many marketers and founders know the pain of a deal slowing down because of document delays or errors. PandaDoc is an all-in-one document automation platform designed to eliminate those frictions by streamlining how you create, approve, and sign business documents. In this ultimate guide, we’ll explore PandaDoc’s features and benefits in depth, share best practices from the field, outline typical workflows, and help you decide where PandaDoc fits into your growth stack. Whether you’re a marketing leader trying to empower your sales team, or a founder looking to scale your client onboarding, this guide will give you a clear understanding of what PandaDoc can (and can’t) do for you.
PandaDoc isn’t just an eSignature tool it’s a robust platform covering the entire document lifecycle from drafting to payment. Here are its standout features and how they benefit B2B teams:
At the heart of PandaDoc is its template capability. You can create reusable proposal or contract templates that save countless hours on future documents. For example, a marketing agency might have a master proposal template with pre-approved sections for scope, case studies, pricing, and T&Cs. PandaDoc allows you to clone that template for each new client, then just fill in the specifics. The benefit is consistency every proposal follows your best practices and branding, reducing errors and omissions. PandaDoc also provides an extensive library of 750+ ready-made templates for various use cases if you don’t want to start from zero. In addition, the content library lets you save snippets or blocks of content (like a client testimonial blurb, a product spec sheet, or a legal clause) and drop them into any document on the fly. This is incredibly useful for marketers who want to ensure the latest messaging and assets are used by the sales team. Using templates and content blocks, one company was able to generate ~10 documents from a single template on average, massively speeding up proposal turnarounds. The bottom line: templates and content libraries turn your document creation into a scalable, efficient process.
PandaDoc’s document editor is a drag-and-drop, WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) interface. If you can use Word or Google Docs, you can get comfortable with PandaDoc’s editor quickly. You can add text, tables, images, pricing tables, and even embedded videos to spruce up your proposals. In fact, including rich media isn’t just for looks PandaDoc’s data shows proposals with at least one image or video are 32% more likely to close successfully. The editor also supports real-time collaboration, meaning multiple team members can comment and edit simultaneously, much like Google Docs. This is great for when marketing needs to refine some wording while sales works on pricing in the same document. It reduces the back-and-forth of email drafts. You can also control content locking for example, the finance team might lock the pricing section so sales reps can’t alter approved discounts. Overall, the editor balances flexibility with control, so your proposals can be both tailored and compliant.
PandaDoc includes legally binding eSignature functionality on all its plans, so you don’t need a separate signing service. You simply drag a signature field onto the document for each signer. Clients can sign from any device with a click, and PandaDoc handles the security and audit trail (compliant with ESIGN and EU eIDAS standards). In practical terms, this means no more printing, signing, scanning deals close faster and with less effort. Every signed document comes with a certificate of completion for legal evidence. Beyond client signatures, PandaDoc supports internal approval workflows. You can set up rules like “if deal value is over £50k, require legal team approval before sending” the document will route to the right people internally and only go out to the client once approved. This ensures compliance and oversight even as you automate the process. The combination of instant eSigning and automated approvals can significantly compress your sales cycle. For instance, one sales team cut their proposal review time by 82% by using PandaDoc to automate approvals and signing in one go. For marketers and founders, these faster turnaround times mean campaigns and deals start yielding results sooner.
Once a proposal is sent, the waiting game begins but PandaDoc turns this into an insightful period rather than a blind spot. The platform tracks when recipients open the document, how long they spend on each page, and whether they forward it along. You’ll get real-time notifications (“Prospect John Doe viewed ‘Proposal_XYZ’ at 3:45 PM”) and can even see if, say, they lingered on the pricing page for 5 minutes. This feedback is gold for a sales team: it signals when to follow up and what to emphasise. If you see a prospect hasn’t viewed the proposal at all, you might decide to send a reminder (PandaDoc can automate gentle reminder emails for you). Conversely, if you see they opened it multiple times, you know they’re interested perhaps follow up with a call to address any questions. Over time, marketers can aggregate these analytics to understand what content works best. For example, if 80% of prospects skip the “About Us” section and jump straight to pricing, maybe shorten that section. PandaDoc’s analytics turn document management into a source of data-driven insight, allowing continuous improvement of your sales collateral.
A unique benefit PandaDoc offers, especially useful for service businesses and coaches/consultants, is the ability to collect payments upon signing. By integrating Stripe, PayPal or other processors, you can insert a payment field right into a proposal or contract. This means a client can sign and pay (for example, pay a deposit or first invoice) in one step, securely through the document. It removes friction from the closing process no need to chase invoices later or direct the client to a separate payment portal. From a growth perspective, anything that improves cash flow and reduces admin is a win. Additionally, PandaDoc has a Forms feature (available on Business plan) that lets you create reusable form documents. Think of it like turning a document into a self-service form that you can embed on your website or send as a link. For instance, an HR team could use it for job offer letters where the candidate just fills in details and e-signs, or a marketing team could publish an NDA form for partners to quickly sign. Forms broaden the use of PandaDoc beyond just proposals they’re handy whenever you need to collect structured info and a signature in a repeatable way.
Modern B2B teams rely on a stack of software, and PandaDoc is built to slot into that ecosystem. On the CRM side, PandaDoc offers out-of-the-box integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics, and more. The immediate benefit is no duplicate data entry you can pull deal data (like contact info, company name, deal value, product line items) directly into a proposal template. Once the document is completed, the integration can log the activity on the CRM timeline, change deal stage to “Closed Won,” attach the signed PDF, etc. This keeps sales and marketing in sync; for example, marketing ops can later easily find all closed deals and measure proposal turnaround time because everything is tracked in the CRM. Besides CRM, PandaDoc integrates with various other tools: payment systems (as noted above), cloud storage (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox for saving final PDFs), and communication tools like Slack (you can get Slack alerts on document status). There’s also Zapier integration for hooking into thousands of apps, and an API for custom development if you need to do something very tailored. Practically, even if your team uses a niche tool, chances are you can connect it to PandaDoc one way or another. Setting up these integrations can automate tedious steps for example, a Zapier workflow might update a Google Sheet or send a custom email whenever a proposal is signed. In summary, PandaDoc plays well with other systems, which is critical for maintaining a smooth end-to-end growth workflow.
Having deployed PandaDoc in different organisations, I’ve learned a few best practices that help ensure you reap its full value. Here are some tips to implement PandaDoc successfully:
Don’t rush the setup take the time up front to create templates that are well-designed and on-brand. Involve your marketing team or a designer to make sure the proposal template uses your company colours, fonts, and logo, and has a clean layout. PandaDoc’s editor lets you customise these elements (on Business plan you can even remove PandaDoc logos and use your own domain for document links). A good template should cover 80% of what typically goes into your proposals, with placeholder fields for the rest. Think of it like building a master presentation deck it’s worth the effort because it will be reused hundreds of times. Also, set up your content library with the latest approved content. For example, if product marketing has written new case studies or updated pricing sheets, load those into PandaDoc so the sales team can easily pull them in. This upfront preparation creates a system that generates proposals which are both efficient and high quality. One pro tip: create an internal checklist or SOP for proposals, including which template to use for which scenario, so there’s no confusion for your team.
Introducing PandaDoc will change how your sales and account teams do their day-to-day work, so change management is important. Provide a training session for all users walk through how to pick a template, how to edit fields, how to send documents, and how to track status. Emphasise the benefits (time saved, insight gained) to get buy-in, but also set clear expectations on following the new process. It helps to define roles: e.g. Sales reps draft the proposal from a template, Sales manager approves anything over a certain value, Legal gives final sign-off on MSA terms, etc. You can configure these roles in PandaDoc’s workflow settings. Also, encourage team members to make use of commenting and collaboration features rather than doing edits offline. This keeps everything within the platform. Early on, it’s wise to monitor usage for instance, as a growth lead you might periodically review a few sent documents to ensure the team isn’t deviating from templates or leaving placeholders unfilled. It’s not about policing, but about catching mistakes in the new system and continuously improving the process.
Maximise the integration with your CRM from day one. If you use HubSpot, for example, install the PandaDoc integration and teach the team to create proposals from within a deal record. This ensures all proposal activity ties back to the CRM, which is a huge win for reporting and alignment. You can even set up automation like “when a proposal is completed, advance the deal stage and trigger an email to Finance.” Similarly, consider using PandaDoc’s Zapier connectors or native workflows for follow-up. A common best practice is to automate reminders: if a document is “Waiting for Signature” for 3 days, PandaDoc can auto-send a polite reminder email to the client (this feature is built-in). You could also use Slack integration to post in a team channel whenever a big deal is signed a nice way to celebrate wins in real-time. By weaving PandaDoc into your existing tools, you reduce context-switching. Salespeople stay in one environment and data flows where it needs to, which in turn gives marketing better visibility. For instance, if you know proposals for a certain product line are closing faster, that’s insight marketing can use to allocate budget or double down on similar prospects. All of this comes from proper integration and automation usage.
Treat your proposals and documents as living assets that can be optimised. PandaDoc’s analytics (document views, time spent, drop-off pages) should feed back into how you refine your content. Schedule a quarterly or monthly review of these metrics. If you see, for example, that prospects spend on average only 10 seconds on your “About Us” page but 2 minutes on the ROI justification page, consider trimming the fluff and focusing on what they care about. Or if a particular section is often not viewed at all, perhaps it’s better sent as optional appendix or removed. Some teams even A/B test different proposal formats since it’s easy to tweak a template, you could experiment one quarter with a shorter proposal vs. a longer one and see which closes more deals or gets faster signatures. Additionally, pay attention to cycle times: is PandaDoc actually speeding up your process? If not, identify the bottlenecks. Maybe the delay is on internal approvals in which case, try simplifying the approval chain or raising threshold values. Continuous improvement is a hallmark of growth, and documents shouldn’t be an exception. PandaDoc gives you the data to apply a conversion-rate optimisation mindset to sales collateral, which historically was hard to measure.
When dealing with contracts and signatures, security is paramount. PandaDoc is secure and offers things like role-based access, encryption, and audit trails by default. Still, you should follow best practices on your side. Use strong permissions for example, only certain people should be able to delete or export documents. If you handle sensitive data, consider enabling features like two-factor authentication for signers or password-protecting documents (PandaDoc allows you to add a passcode or SMS verification for recipients on Business/Enterprise plans). For regulated industries or regions, PandaDoc’s compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) might be a factor ensure you are on the appropriate plan if those are needed. It’s also a good idea to periodically audit your content library and templates to ensure they don’t contain outdated or incorrect info (for instance, an old legal clause that’s no longer valid). Keeping everything up to date and secure will prevent snafus down the line. This is more about organisational diligence than the tool itself, but it all contributes to a smoother experience.
To illustrate how PandaDoc can fit into your sales process, let’s walk through a typical workflow step by step:
In this workflow, notice how PandaDoc served as the connective tissue that brought speed and visibility: the rep spent minimal time on document prep, the client had an easy signing experience, and all departments sales, marketing, finance stayed aligned via integrations. It reduced friction at each step where traditionally things could stall (drafting, approvals, waiting for signature or payment, manual data entry after closing). For a growth-focused organisation, this kind of streamlined process means you can handle more deals in parallel and with greater reliability.
Like any tool, PandaDoc is not one-size-fits-all. It excels in certain scenarios and might be overkill in others. Here’s how to determine if it’s right for you:
PandaDoc is a strong fit if:
PandaDoc might not be the best choice if:
When evaluating PandaDoc, it’s worth considering the alternatives or how it fits alongside other tools. In the eSignature and document automation space, DocuSign is the heavyweight for pure signing needs it’s very reliable for straight e-signing, but it doesn’t offer the proposal-building features PandaDoc does. Dropbox Sign (HelloSign) is another simple signing tool that’s lightweight and cost-effective for basic use. These tools could be alternatives if your main requirement is just getting documents signed electronically. However, you’d miss out on PandaDoc’s content automation and tracking. On the proposal software front, Proposify and Qwilr are often compared. Proposify has a similar template approach geared towards sales teams, while Qwilr creates web-page style proposals with slick designs. They can be great for specific needs (Qwilr, for instance, for marketing agencies wanting to impress with visual proposals). That said, PandaDoc tends to be more versatile for end-to-end document workflow and has deeper CRM integrations than most alternatives. Interestingly, if you already use HubSpot’s Sales Hub, you might try HubSpot’s native Quotes feature which is included in their CRM it covers basic quote and proposal generation and integrates fully with your CRM data. Some small teams find HubSpot Quotes enough initially, though many outgrow it and turn to PandaDoc for more flexibility and functionality.
In many cases, organisations use PandaDoc alongside their CRM and maybe a contracting tool for legal. For example, you might use PandaDoc for sales proposals and Scope of Work documents, but still use something like DocuSign for internal HR documents or very simple sign-offs that’s okay too. What’s important is to map your document needs and choose the best tool for each job. PandaDoc’s value is highest when you need that mix of content creation + collaboration + signing + integration. If those pieces matter, it really stands out. And remember, PandaDoc offers a free tier (for very basic eSign) and free trials, so you can test if it meshes with your processes before fully committing.
PandaDoc has proven itself as a valuable tool for B2B marketers and founders who want to bring order and efficiency to the vital but sometimes chaotic world of proposals and contracts. It transforms a traditionally manual process into a streamlined digital workflow. By doing so, it not only saves time (which your team can redirect to selling or marketing) but also provides new visibility into how documents contribute to your growth. The ability to templatise proposals, track client engagement, and integrate with your CRM means that your sales process becomes more predictable and data-driven which is exactly what growth-oriented teams strive for.
However, the tool’s impact depends on how well you implement it. Plan out your templates, get your team onboard, and align PandaDoc to your sales strategy. When used to its potential, PandaDoc can help you close deals faster and with less friction, as numerous case studies and my own firsthand experience can attest. A performance marketing agency was able to cut proposal creation time by a factor of 14× after adopting PandaDoc, and reduce errors significantly through content controls. These are the kinds of outcomes that move the needle in a business faster turnaround means more sales opportunities can be handled, and fewer mistakes mean a smoother journey for your clients.
Yet, it’s equally important to remain pragmatic. Ensure the investment makes sense for your stage of growth. If you decide to move forward, take advantage of PandaDoc’s resources (their help centre and onboarding support) to climb the learning curve quickly. In a short time, you could transform proposal-making from a headache into a competitive advantage. In the daily hustle that B2B marketers and founders face, having a reliable system for proposals and contracts removes a big layer of stress. In that regard, PandaDoc earns its place as a trusted tool in the growth toolkit powerful, a bit complex at times, but ultimately a catalyst for more streamlined and successful sales outcomes.
This tool is part of tactical playbooks that walk you through every stage of this engine. Read the full guides to learn how to implement the framework, set up your infrastructure, and execute the tactics that drive results.
Use clear templates that pull data from the CRM, add price and terms blocks, automate approvals and e signature, and track status so deals move forward without copy and paste work.
See playbook
Key concepts and frameworks explained clearly. Quick reference when you need to understand a term, refresh your knowledge, or share with your team.
Topic
Playbook
Flag leads who meet defined engagement or fit criteria, creating a qualified handoff between marketing and sales for efficient follow-up.
Topic
Playbook
Identify prospects that sales has vetted as qualified opportunities, establishing the handoff from marketing to active deal pursuit.
Topic
Playbook
Qualify leads systematically by assessing budget, authority, need, and timing to focus sales effort on high-potential opportunities.
Most B2B marketers are either Random Ricks (trying everything) or Specialist Steves (obsessed with one channel). Generalists run tactics without strategy. Specialists hit channel ceilings. But there's a better way.
Tries everything at once. Posts on LinkedIn, runs ads, tweaks the website, chases referrals. Nothing compounds because nothing's consistent. Growth feels chaotic.
Obsessed with one tactic. 'We just need better ads' or 'SEO will fix everything.' Ignores the rest of the system. One strong engine can't carry a broken machine.
Finds the bottleneck. Fixes that first. Then moves to the next weakest link. Builds a system that's predictable, measurable and doesn't need 80-hour weeks.
Learn how she diagnoses bottlenecks, orchestrates the four engines, and drives predictable growth. Choose if you want to read or watch:
Get practical frameworks delivered daily. Seven short emails explain how Sarah diagnoses bottlenecks, orchestrates the four engines, and builds systems that compound.
Free 45-minute video module from the full course. Watch how to diagnose your growth bottleneck and see exactly what the course platform looks like.
E signature platform with robust templates and audit trails, trusted for closing deals cleanly and quickly.
.png)
Simple CRM for relationships and outreach lists, useful for partnerships and light sales without heavy setup.
Sales focused CRM with clean pipelines and activity tracking, ideal for small teams that value speed.
Work OS with boards, automations and dashboards, flexible for marketing and ops when configured with restraint.
Open scheduling tool with routing rules and brand control, useful when you want flexible booking that plays nicely with your stack.
Clean scheduling tool with branded pages and smart availability, good for teams that want polish and control.
