Document Generation and Automation

Analysis: Document Generation and Automation

Conga Composer

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

➔ Salesforce Integration: xxxx

➔ Template Capabilities: xxxx

➔ Out-of-Bounds Features: xxxx

➔ Selling Point (Highlights that matter): Established, big player, market-leading position, trusted industry presence, proven track record - Conga brings enterprise-grade reliability backed by years of industry leadership. With a proven track record and robust capabilities, it’s for organizations that need confidence in every document.

➔ Reviews: xxxx

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

  1. Salesforce Integration: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX…

  2. Artificial Intelligence: No AI for Document Generation. AI is leveraged for Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), with Conga Contract Intelligence learning from contracts and suggesting revisions.

  3. Customizations: Uses pre-built Conga templates with limited branding customization, but does not allow uploading existing templates such as Google Docs or PowerPoint.

  4. Use Case: Generate quotes, proposals, and contracts by pulling CRM data, stores documents in Salesforce, SharePoint, or OneDrive, and connects with external data sources like accounting systems and ERPs..

  5. Reviews: Conga receives moderate reviews due to its steep learning curve, technical challenges, and reliance on Conga Batch for automating multiple merges, with additional concerns about slow customer support, an outdated Salesforce Classic UI, and high pricing. While recognized as a leader in CPQ by Forrester and a "Customer’s Choice" by Gartner, it lacks similar recognition for Document Generation, with G2 reviews highlighting ease of use and integration but criticizing technical issues and poor support.

OVERVIEW:

  • This App enables teams to automatically generate documents, and as an extension of that, to send documents for Electronic Signature.  Conga is a large company with around 1,500 employees, which does more than just Document Generation. With the tagline of “Revenue Lifecycle” Conga offers other solutions for multiple divisions within a company - Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), ‘Configure, Price and Quote’ (CPQ), Digital Commerce and Billing. Conga Composer is a Document Generation solution, which connects to Salesforce as well as other CRMs, because Conga has their own platform outside of Salesforce. Although all products for Salesforce are built natively within the Salesforce platform. Additional CRMs include: Hubspot, MSFT, Oracle and SAP, and recently Conga announced it is available on the AWS Marketplace.

    Conga Composer uses pre-built templates within Salesforce for creating documents, offering customization of their pre-built templates with branding as needed. So while you can’t upload your own template outside of their pre-generated library of templates, you can export to PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel. IE. Their available templates to generate documents are limited to those provided by Conga Composer, restricting creative flexibility to use existing examples (since you can not upload a PowerPoint or Google Doc file that you’re already using for example). While there are an array of document solutions that are available, one area of focus is generating quotes, proposals, contracts by directly pulling in data from CRM fields. All documents live in Salesforce, but can be stored in SharePoint or OneDrive for example. Also, Conga Composer can connect with external data sources like accounting systems and ERPs. The Composer Document Generation products do not currently leverage AI for Document Generation, while they do for other offerings such as CLM - which comes with Composer, to manage the workflow of approvals, red lines, e-signature and reporting. This CLM feature appears to be a really good fit for Legal, since it’s AI within Conga Contract Intelligence learns from all existing contracts by reading through agreements and generating suggested revisions.

    Conga (as a whole) is discussed and rated a lot across the different ratings platforms, including Gartner (classified as the “Customer’s Choice”) and Forrester (classified as a “Leader”) - but both of these are for their ‘Configure, Price and Quote’ applications - and not for Document Generation. That said, Gartner doesn’t have a distinct category for Document Generation software, and instead it evaluates such solutions within the broader market, emphasizing features like intelligent document processing (IDP) and advanced document creation tools. For their Document Generation solution generally the reviews are moderate, as it relates to their Salesforce integration and especially as it relates to support. G2 does however include Conga Composer specifically, and it identifies Document Generation as a standalone software category. G2 lists the Pros as “Ease of Use” and “Software Integration”. Conga Composer received fairly moderate scores for “Document Management” and “Integrations” but had Cons including: “Learning Curve, Difficulty, Poor Customer Support, Steep Learning Curve and Technical Issues”. They offer a 30-day trial within Salesforce Sandbox but it’s unknown if they offer free pilots of their App to teams extended into Production, because pricing is quoted on a case by case basis.

  • Reference Customers: Customer Stories here, Conga as a company across it’s products has thousands of users, from enterprise companies including: Engie, Twilio, T-Mobile, LinkedIn, Charles River

  • Potential Issues:  Conga Composer reviews often criticize their usability, poor customer support, outdated UI in Salesforce Classic, and an expensive pricing model requiring additional purchases (e.g., Conga Batch for multiple merges).

  • Demo: Youtube page with videos here

  • Unpublished Price: Pricing is not published here, as it’s custom-quoted for each individual customer based on their needs. It is estimated to be around $5,000 per year for a minimum of 10 users for the Composer (Document Generation) solution only, with an additional $5,000 per year for a minimum of 10 users for the eSignature solution only. Bundling Composer with Sign for discounting from the $10,000 per year may be an available option, although they do not publish volume-based pricing, and the minimum package is expected to include licenses, implementation and set up.

MergeUp

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

➔ Salesforce Integration: xxxx

➔ Template Capabilities: xxxx

➔ Out-of-Bounds Features: xxxx

➔ Selling Point (Highlights that matter): Admin-Friendly, Fast Setup, Handles Complex Docs - "MergeUp simplifies even the most complex document processes with admin-first tools, intuitive setup, and powerful template management. Get up and running fast—no code, no headaches, just full control.

➔ Reviews: xxxx

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

  1. Salesforce Integration: Native in Salesforce; the solution lives in Salesforce and is built with Salesforce Objects and a Lightning-ready UI. When the user actually generates a document, that document is generated on an external server. This option provides a lot of flexibility from a features standpoint.

  2. Artificial Intelligence: Offers AI and Machine Learning driven template creation and automated document processing.

  3. Customizations: Supports JavaScript within templates, enabling highly complex document customization.

  4. Use Case: Easily merge Salesforce records into reports, invoices, proposals, and more with just a few clicks. Fast setup to go from installation to generating documents in as little as 15 minutes.

  5. Reviews: MergeUp lacks built-in e-signature capabilities and is exclusively compatible with Salesforce CRM. While it has strong ratings on Salesforce AppExchange, its presence on other review platforms is limited.

OVERVIEW:

  • This App enables teams that create documents to generate documents in Salesforce which streamlines workflow, saving time and resources. MergeUp is a specialized and “up and coming” company, which we included within the Document Generation industry analysis because it offers cutting-edge technology when it comes to AI capabilities. The MergeUp solution includes Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) – enabling intelligent document creation and processing. MergeUp focuses on merging records with customizable templates to create reports, invoices, proposals, and more with just a few clicks. Unlike other tools that require intricate setup, manual field mapping and constant tinkering, this App streamlines the entire process with AI template creation, and an intuitive user experience. MergeUp’s sole focus is Salesforce CRM, and they have a Native integration with Salesforce, but not with other CRMs.

  • One key differentiator is MergeUp’s AI template Generation and JavaScript support in templates, enabling complex template creation. On the technical side, MergeUp’s JavaScript capabilities unlock advanced use cases that are challenging or impossible for other solutions to handle. Incorporating JavaScript within templates, it offers unmatched flexibility when it comes to customizations, leaving users thinking, "If I can imagine it, this tool can make it happen!" From what we’ve found in our research, these features are unique to MergeUp. With a fast setup time and a seamless UI, IT teams can go from installation to sharing merged documents in as little as 15 minutes. If you are trying to set up multiple products it could be a significant time investment. A streamlined setup stands out in this context.

    This App is discussed and rated on the Salesforce AppExchange, and the reviews are positive, although they have minimal reviews. It is not discussed and rated a lot across other different ratings platforms. They offer free pilots of their App to teams, even when there is a Salesforce Production integration involved. 

  • Reference Customers: GHX, United States of America Swimming, Morris Group, Inc., ALM Media. Use cases on company website.

  • Potential Issues: No E-Signature capabilities, so a 3rd party solution needs to be paired with Document Generation. No other CRMs than Salesforce are options to integrate. Does not have html email templates currently.

  • Demo:  Youtube includes the following: AI Template Creation Demo here, Admin Demo here, Overview Video here, Animated Video here, 1-Minute Setup Demo here.

  • Published Price: here Their pricing starts at $2,500 for 1-10 users per year, with a tiered structure based on organization size. There is an additional option for help with set up that can be added for a minimal one-time fee.

Nintex

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

➔ Salesforce Integration: xxxx

➔ Template Capabilities: xxxx

➔ Out-of-Bounds Features: xxxx

➔ Selling Point (Highlights that matter): xxxx

➔ Reviews: xxxx

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

  1. Salesforce Integration: XXXXXXXXXXX…

  2. Artificial Intelligence: There is no AI for document generation, though AI is used in other Nintex solutions such as workflow automation and business process optimization.

  3. Customizations: Uses pre-built templates within Salesforce and Office 365, does not allow custom Word templates but supports exports to PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and offers localization for multi-language document generation.

  4. Use Case: Automate document creation, offering secure cloud storage and tracking to eliminate manual file versioning.

  5. Reviews: Nintex users report complex template creation, occasional server downtime, and the absence of AI-powered document automation, with usability concerns around its cumbersome admin UI and template-building process. While it has strong ratings on Salesforce AppExchange, there is limited recognition specifically for the automated document generation offering on the other major review platforms.

OVERVIEW:

  • This App enables teams to automate Document Generation, and also offers Electronic Signature. Nintex is a large company with around 1,200 employees, which does more than just Document Generation. They provide process intelligence and automation. In part, they have grown through acquisitions (e.g. they acquired Drawloop for their LOOP Document Services (i.e. Document Generation) solution. Drawloop’s LOOP Document Services solution utilizes existing data to generate the most commonly used sales and service documents, like Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF for example, and then it merges them with Salesforce data. Also, they acquired their eSignature tool. In addition to Document Generation they have a ‘Process Platform’ that does other things like Digital Forms, Process and Workflow Automation and Robotic Process Automation. Nintex was founded as a SharePoint workflow tool initially, and then down the road they evolved beyond the Microsoft ecosystem to become CRM agnostic. Nintex integrates with other CRMs to optimize business processes (in addition to Salesforce), including Microsoft Dynamics, Hubspot and ServiceNow, allowing users to connect and automate workflows across various business systems. Nintex has an "‘automation cloud’ that is an agnostic tool, from which you can build out workflows to be sent to SharePoint, Dropbox and other enterprise applications.

    Nintex uses pre-built templates within Salesforce and it integrates with Office 365 for users to choose from, create off of and then you can configure to create and export finished PDFs, Word, PowerPoint and Excel files. One key feature is localization for different languages in different geographic regions. While you can't upload your own Word template, you can export documents to the most common formats. One area of focus is automation, and their document automation enhances security and tracking by eliminating the need to email attachments and manage multiple versions of files manually. Instead, all documents and versions are stored in a secure cloud environment, providing a clear audit trail of versions, authors, edits, and timestamps. Nintex does not currently incorporate AI into their Document Generation solution, however they do have AI within their other business processes and workflow solutions, which through automation (that’s powered by AI) helps to design, run and optimize business processes and workflow across your organization.

    Nintex is discussed and rated a lot across the different ratings platforms, including Gartner (classified under ‘Customer Communications Management’ where they only have a handful of ratings) and Forrester (classified under ‘Digital Process Automation’, receiving high scores for both strategy and market presence, however this was in 2019). Gartner includes Nintex under ‘Business Process Management’ and it’s received positive reviews related to the ‘Nintex Process Manager’, but some negative reviews related to their customer service and the product functionality being cumbersome. On the Salesforce AppExchange, the Nintex DocGen® for Salesforce has a substantial number of ratings, and they are high for the most part. Nintex offers a free trial on the Salesforce AppExchange in a Sandbox to test generating and sending personalized documents from Salesforce, but it’s unknown if they offer free pilots of their App to teams extended into Production.

  • Reference Customers: Netgo (here), Naylor Love (here), CORE Molding Technologies (here), Proliant (here), Khalifa University (here), with customer quotes from customers, LinkedIn and Yamaha. Nintex has thousands of users worldwide ranging from small customers to Enterprise.

  • Potential Issues: There have been complaints in reviews that there is a poor admin UI capabilities, difficulty with the template-building process, and frequent server downtimes making the product harder to use than other more user-friendly options on the market.

  • Demo: Youtube page with all videos here. Nintex DocGen® for Salesforce demo here.

  • Published Price: here Pricing for Document Generation starts at $5,000/year, for up to 5,000 document executions. It is not based on the # of users. instead it’s based on consumption. The pricing for eSignature, for 3,000 document executions, is an additional $5,000 per year. The total cost of $10,000 per company per year, is for up to for up to 100 users.

S-Docs

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

➔ Salesforce Integration: xxxx

➔ Template Capabilities: xxxx

➔ Out-of-Bounds Features: xxxx

➔ Selling Point (Highlights that matter): 100% Native to Salesforce, Maximum Security - Built entirely on the Salesforce platform, S-Docs offers unmatched security. No external data transfers—just native performance, total compliance, and peace of mind.

➔ Reviews: xxxx

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

  1. Salesforce Integration: Native to Salesforce, the solution is fully integrated within the platform, providing an "end-to-end" native experience. This offers strong security benefits, especially for organizations prioritizing data integrity and compliance. However, it comes with several limitations, such as formatting restrictions, file size constraints, and other feature limitations. As a result, this option may not be ideal for most companies, unless their primary requirement is to avoid any interaction with external systems.

  2. Artificial Intelligence: Lacks built-in AI capabilities, requiring AI workflows to be created separately using Salesforce AI (AgentForce).

  3. Customizations: Offers dynamic template creation with conditional logic and a template editor, supports importing various document formats (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, CSV), although it enforces format locking, where imported PowerPoint files can only be exported as PowerPoint, along with support for embedding both dynamic and static media like images and videos.

  4. Use Case: Automate document creation, with capabilities for high-volume batch document generation and data processing.

  5. Reviews: S-Docs receives strong ratings for ease of use but is criticized for document management, template limitations, and lack of AI automation, with minimal reviews on Salesforce AppExchange. While praised for its simplicity, users report challenges with complex processes, formatting restrictions due to HTML-based templates, and potential increased storage costs if documents aren't offloaded from Salesforce.

OVERVIEW:

  • This App enables teams to automate dynamic Document Generation to automatically generate documents, and as an extension of that, to send documents for Electronic Signature (via their separate managed package called S-Sign). S-Docs is a mid-sized company with around 80 employees, which focuses on Document Generation as its main product. They were one of the first Native Apps on Salesforce for Document Generation, which was a competitive advantage initially - but now there are other Native Apps on Salesforce. S-Docs offers dynamic content creation that is powered by conditional logic, a template editor and high-volume batch document creation and data processing.  It integrates with both Salesforce Natively and with Hubspot (via a separate cloud) CRMs. Also, S-Docs integrates with leading storage solutions via its three connectors which use APIs to connect with Box, AWS, Google Drive and SharePoint. For any other platform customers would need to build their own connector to leverage S-Docs.

    S-Docs helps users pull the right quote and proposal data, and templates are dynamic, so an admin could build various templates as options, and then users can pick from them and then export into various formats. It allows common formats to be imported as well. Although, if a PowerPoint is imported, then it must be exported as PowerPoint, and the same goes with other formatting if importing into Salesforce. Images and videos can be embedded, as dynamic or static. Also, S-Docs has a template builder and editor that can output any format you'd like (PowerPoint Word, Excel, HTML and for reporting export various formats like CSV for example. Files are stored by default within Salesforce in the ‘Notes and Attachments’ section, which can be expensive if not transferring them to an external storage provider. Every user comes with an S-Docs Object, which stores any document that’s generated as a Salesforce record, so a preview of the document can be rendered. S-Docs does not have AI capabilities built into their solution, and any AI capabilities would need to be built out and leveraged separately via Salesforce’s AI solution, called AgentForce. With Salesforce’s agents many workflows can be built out, but they are primarily focused on the user experience and not on the admin functions like building templates.

  • This App is discussed and rated across a couple different ratings platforms, and generally the reviews are moderate, primarily related to the formatting capabilities of their templates. On G2 Crowd, where they have fairly strong ratings overall, with Pros of being a Simple platform for Ease of Use. Cons include: Document Management, Template Limitations and Insufficient Training. Although, contradicting the Pros, both Complex Features and Complex Process are listed as Cons. On the Salesforce AppExchange S-Docs has very minimal reviews. They have both a paid version and also a limited Freemium version of their product (with up to 150 documents generated, but it does not include their Electronic Signature product). They offer a free 30-day trial, which does include Electronic Signature.

  • Reference Customers: US Dept. of Veterans Affairs, US Air Force, Red Cross, YMCA, Allstate, Abbott, AT&T and Panasonic. Case Studies (here) They have a wide range of organizations as customers, ranging from small businesses to large global enterprises.

  • Potential Issues: There have been complaints in reviews that there is limited formatting capabilities due to reliance on HTML templates instead of Word templates.

  • Demo: Youtube page with all videos here. They also have a video library and template library here.

  • Published Price: here For a minimum of 10 users, $25/user/mo. = $3,000/year. This package includes unlimited documents and 50 signature executions per year. The more expensive packages include more Electronic Signature capabilities.

Templafy

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

➔ Salesforce Integration: xxxx

➔ Template Capabilities: xxxx

➔ Out-of-Bounds Features: xxxx

➔ Selling Point (Highlights that matter): xxxx

➔ Reviews: xxxx

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

  1. Salesforce Integration: XXXXXXXXXXX…

  2. Artificial Intelligence: There is not AI template generation, but it offers AI-assisted content enhancements (such as Summarize, Rephrase, Improve, Elaborate).

  3. Customizations: There are custom prompt libraries for AI and rule-based automation with managed Generative AI (GenAI). It supports Salesforce, Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.

  4. Use Case: Centralize template and digital asset management, ensuring legal and brand compliance.

  5. Reviews: Templafy has good overall reviews across the major review platforms for its ability to boost employee productivity with AI capabilities for content, however it has moderate usability reviews related to its template generation features. Also, there have been concerns on the exclusively enterprise pricing being expensive, missing features, and there being a steep learning curve.

OVERVIEW:

  • This App enables teams to create accurate, compliant, and brand-compliant documents for sales presentations, contracts and proposals through its platform with efficiency. Accessible directly within tools like Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and Salesforce, Templafy simplifies document creation workflows.​ The platform offers centralized management of templates and digital assets, integrating to ensure that all documents adhere to company branding and legal standards, reducing the risk of non-compliance. ​

    While this solution does not incorporate AI template Generation, it does offer some other AI features. Templafy's AI Assistant offers predefined prompts such as “Summarize”, “Rephrase”, “Improve”, and “Elaborate”, enabling users to enhance document content quickly. Administrators can also create custom prompt libraries tailored to company needs. Their Managed Generative AI (GenAI) combines rule-based automation with managed GenAI, and ensures that AI-generated content adheres to company standards and compliance requirements. This approach balances creativity with control, mitigating risks associated with AI inaccuracies related to the content within a document.

    Templafy is widely reviewed across rating platforms such as G2, Gartner, and Capterra, with generally high user satisfaction. On G2, it holds a strong overall rating, though some users have noted concerns about pricing ("Expensive"), missing features, and a steep learning curve. Similarly, while Gartner and Capterra ratings are positive overall, the lowest scores are related to feature limitations. Templafy is also listed on the Salesforce AppExchange, but with minimal user reviews. It is unclear whether Templafy offers a free trial in a Salesforce Sandbox for testing and personalization. Additionally, it is unknown if free pilots for production environments are available or not, as enterprise prospects must contact Templafy directly for a personalized demo and pricing details.

  • Reference Customers: Templay is designed for large enterprise companies, and it serves over 800 organizations worldwide. Its’ customer base spans various industries, with notable clients such as KPMG, BDO, and ERM.

  • Potential Issues:

  • User reviews highlight Templafy's strong integrations with Microsoft Office and other applications, as well as its ability to boost employee productivity. However, related to the features there were negative reviews, for example it was reported that there were challenges with updating logos and other images throughout existing proposals.

  • Demo: Youtube channel here. Video on company website here.

  • Published Price: here Pricing starts at $20/user/month for Salesforce, which requires an enterprise platform license. Templafy offers plans tailored to enterprise needs. Specific pricing details are not publicly disclosed on the website (only on the Salesforce App Exchange). Instead if Enterprise organizations are interested they are instructed to contact Templafy directly for a personalized quote, as the pricing depends on how many users, features and add-ons are needed.