Boys & Girls Clubs of America is a network of over 1,100 independent nonprofit organizations making up more than 4,900 locations that provide mentorship and high-impact development programs to 4 million children each year across America. Their mission: help young people of all backgrounds reach their full potential through caring mentorship, safe spaces, and life enhancing programs.

The Challenge

It all began when Boys & Girls Clubs of America began rethinking how their Clubs approached membership management. 

“All of our Club sites operate independently, meaning there were hundreds of different systems in place for daily operations - but each experienced similar pain points related to how much time their day-to-day tasks demanded,” said Jacky Noden, Senior Director of Product at Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “We needed a way to help them function more efficiently using a single holistic solution, rather than several siloed systems.”

The answer was MyClubHub, a custom member management system built on the Salesforce platform. MyClubHub provides connected member, program, donor, and volunteer management, plus more - which in turn allows staff to spend more time with the kids.

But one efficiency challenge remained. 

“Local Clubs have to print lots of custom documents, including membership applications & cards, donor thank-you letters, and licensed childcare forms,” said Jacky. “Users had to export Salesforce reports, build documents in Microsoft Word, perform mail merges, and then print the docs or upload them back to Salesforce. It was very time-consuming.”

Boys & Girls Clubs of America needed a solution for creating custom documents that would also fit seamlessly into MyClubHub.

The Solution

To solve their document efficiency challenge, Boys & Girls Clubs of America piloted S-Docs 100% native document generation, which allows Club staff to create custom documents in minutes, right from MyClubHub.

"S-Docs helps deliver on the promise of what a CRM is supposed to be, and it saves our Club sites tons and tons of time."

“We initially offered S-Docs for generating and printing membership cards and applications, but after some time, Club professionals started coming up with many more ways S-Docs could help them save time and focus on what really matters - engaging and mentoring the kids,” said Jacky.

Thanks to S-Docs, printing any type of custom document - both individually and in bulk - no longer takes up participating Clubs’ valuable resources. 

"S-Docs’s ability to easily transfer templates across different orgs has been really powerful for us."

“The biggest improvement has been efficiency. S-Docs helps deliver on the promise of what a CRM is supposed to be, and it saves our Club sites tons and tons of time,” said Jacky.

S-Docs also saves time for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America national organization, which typically builds and delivers templates to individual participating Clubs.

“S-Docs really decreases the development time it would've cost to build out this functionality with Visualforce,” Jacky elaborated. “The most unique part of this project is managing so many different environments, since each Club is so unique. S-Docs’s ability to easily transfer templates across different orgs has been really powerful for us.”

"Clubs really enjoy the ability to create their own S-Docs templates and use the product in even different ways."

Since S-Docs is 100% native to Salesforce, it fits seamlessly into different instances of MyClubHub and serves the unique needs of unique Club sites.

Looking Ahead

Boys & Girls Clubs of America initially offered a limited number of S-Docs templates to participating Clubs, but as MyClubHub continued to be adopted by more and more Club sites, ways to save even more time constantly surfaced.

“As we release new versions of MyClubHub, we continue to offer more functionality with S-Docs. While our initial build had 2 prebuilt S-Docs templates, our new version has over 30,” said Jacky. “And Clubs really enjoy the ability to create their own S-Docs templates and use the product in even different ways.”

Ultimately, S-Docs helps deliver on MyClubHub’s promise: helping Club sites operate more efficiently so they can devote more time towards accomplishing their goal of doing whatever it takes to build great futures for America’s kids.

For more information about S-Docs and how our 100% native document generation and e-signature solutions for Salesforce can help your business succeed, contact us here.

Field service is a broad concept that takes many shapes - landscaping, product delivery, utility repair, and more - but each one is united under a common goal: delighting the customer with prompt, exceptional work.

Field service management (FSM) software, like Salesforce Field Service, helps businesses achieve this goal by empowering their employees to do their best work: 

• Contact center agents can respond to requests and create work orders faster
• Dispatchers can more seamlessly manage their technicians
• Technicians have a deeper understanding of the customers that they’re servicing

Source: salesforce.com

All of these optimizations funnel down into better customer experiences. But there’s still something missing. Field service is highly reliant upon documents - work orders, service reports, contracts, and more - meaning great field service depends on the ability to quickly and accurately generate those documents.

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Most FSM solutions provide rudimentary work order templates, but companies in the business of exceptional field service should consider Salesforce document generation and e-signature solutions for flawless customer experiences that scale.

Let’s take a look at how document generation for Salesforce field service can benefit your employees and customers.

What Is Document Generation for Field Service?

Salesforce document generators accomplish a simple task: automatically inserting your Salesforce data into premade document templates. As trivial as it sounds, the results are usually far from it.

In the world of field service, document generation apps like S-Docs leverage Salesforce Field Service’s 360-degree customer view to let service teams create and deliver personalized, accurate documents at every stage of the service lifecycle. For example:

• Contact center agents can click a button to instantly create and send a work order with all relevant customer information
• Dispatchers can generate and email service assignment letters
• Technicians can generate service reports, collect customer signatures, and email documents - all from a tablet in the field

Document generation apps also allow service teams to be more productive through automation. For example, checking a box on a case can automatically generate and send a work order. Preventative maintenance reminders can be automatically sent after a period of time following utility installation. Tasks that may have taken hours before can be reduced to a few minutes.

With a basic understanding of document generation for field service, let’s take a look at the benefits it can bring to your employees and customers.

How Salesforce Document Generation Improves Field Service

Document generation apps are built to improve field service experiences at every stage, from initial requests to post-service follow-ups. 

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Document Generation For Contact Centers

When a customer makes a service request, contact center agents can use document generation to translate that information into a work order and distribute it with a single click. For even greater flexibility, it can even be built into Experience Cloud sites where customers can request service and generate work orders themselves.

Other documents can be built into the service request process, too. For example, if the customer is required to sign off on an upcoming visit, a consent form can be auto-generated and emailed for e-signature. These process improvements can enable contact center agents to field more requests and create work orders with higher accuracy - maximizing their time and your customers.’

Document Generation for Dispatchers

Document generators can save dispatcher time by allowing them to auto-generate job assignment letters and conditionally send them to the correct technician.

The dispatcher can also provide technicians with the latest information about the customer - and their service history - by generating and sending account summaries.

All in all, document generation creates more seamless behind-the-scenes processes for field service teams, which channel into faster resolution times for customers.

Document Generation for Field Service Technicians

With a streamlined pre-service process, service technicians will be equipped to work right away.

When they finally hit the field, the magic of Salesforce document generation really starts kicking in. Upon job completion, the technician can deliver exactly what the customer needs when they need it. This might include a service report summarizing the work done, or an invoice for signature - it can all take place on the customer’s front porch.

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This might also mean generating and sending documents externally. For example, a service technician might need to send an application to the local power authority before installing a utility. With document generation, the application can be signed off by the customer and filed before the technician leaves - no waiting around necessary.

Document generation apps also enable service technicians to cross-sell and upsell in the field - it’s easy to generate a new invoice or contract and collect signatures right away.

Seamless Follow-Up

The service lifecycle doesn’t end when the technician packs up and drives away. Your business might want to send follow-up notifications, surveys, or preventative maintenance reminders. All of these can be set to automatically generate and send when a case is marked as complete - or based on any condition of your choosing.

Improve Your Field Service Experiences Today

The goal of great field service is simple: delight the customer with prompt, exceptional work.

While Salesforce Field Service gives teams the tools they need to deliver on this objective, document generation closes the gaps left open and unifies the customer experience into one that will retain for years to come.

Looking to improve your field service document workflows? Look no further than S-Docs, the only 100% native document generation and e-signature solution for Salesforce. S-Docs is faster, more secure, and purpose-built for Salesforce - so your team can get up and running faster.

Contact us today to find out how S-Docs can transform your field service experiences.

There’s no doubt about it: Salesforce CPQ is an exceptionally valuable sales tool.

But its three main functions - Configure, Price, and Quote - have a weaker link: quote generation. Sure, CPQ quoting is a huge step up if your current process looks something like this:

But if you’re looking to extensively customize and automate your quoting process, using Salesforce CPQ with a document generation app is your best bet. Document generators like S-Docs improve CPQ’s functionality in two important ways:

1. They produce more robust, data-driven quotes/proposals/invoices
2. They allow you to automate and scale your entire quoting/invoicing process

Let’s take a look at what CPQ quote templates can do before exploring how Salesforce document generators take the Q process to the next level.

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Salesforce CPQ Templates: The Good

CPQ templates are easy to build. All you have to do is choose from a list of preset content types and order them how you want them displayed in your quote.

For example, the appropriately named Line Item content type displays a line items table. The HTML content type lets you insert rich text and field data. The Custom content type even lets you insert Visualforce pages.

All in all, Salesforce CPQ templates are a good way to create accurate baseline quotes.

Salesforce CPQ Templates: The Bad

While useful, CPQ templates don’t provide a whole lot of flexibility. You can only use the preset content types to build your quote, and each one comes with its own limitations. For example, the HTML content type only lets you insert field data from CPQ objects, unless you create a formula field.

Visualforce content grants more room for creativity, but it requires writing Visualforce markup and an Apex controller - quite an endeavor for a simple quote.

The Solution: Salesforce Document Generation Apps

Salesforce document generation apps leverage the strongest part of Salesforce CPQ - its guided approach to configuring complex deals - and take over where it lags behind - merging that data into sophisticated documents.

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Better Customization

Document generators allow you to create documents that fit your business requirements - not the other way around. That means you can pull in data from anywhere in Salesforce and format it according to your needs, including:

✅Merge data from all standard and custom objects
✅Dynamically include/exclude any content based on your business rules
✅Edit document styling from top to bottom
✅Output quotes in your chosen file format

S-Docs lets you deliver professional, on-brand documents that create positive first impressions with your future customers. 

More Powerful Quotes 

Document generation apps are a good choice for businesses that routinely create large quotes with hundreds - or even thousands - of line items. They’re built to handle the most complex documents more efficiently, lowering the chance of running into governor limits and keeping your sales process moving.

Check out this overview for more information about the power of S-Docs with Salesforce CPQ and other components of Salesforce Revenue Cloud.

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Automated Processes

Scaling effectively requires automating wherever possible, and quoting is no exception. Document generation apps can work with CPQ to generate and email quotes in the background, allowing the sales team to focus on selling.

Integrated Workflows

Quotes are important sales tools, but so are contracts, invoices, and eventual customer communications. Prospects expect a consistent experience across all of these touchpoints, so the most effective sales machines use solutions that fit into larger business workflows.

Salesforce document automation apps drive consistency by delivering pixel-perfect documents through every funnel stage, not just the quoting process. Using one solution for multiple use cases creates better experiences for employees and customers.

E-Signature

Speaking of integrated workflows: signatures tie the final bow atop a variety of sales documents, so it’s important that your e-signature tool works well with Salesforce CPQ.

Document generation solutions like S-Docs offer proprietary e-signature solutions that are automatically integrated into the documents they help create. From prospect to customer, document generation apps accelerate the sales cycle and get deals to Closed-Won faster.

Summing It Up

Salesforce CPQ is a fantastic solution to quickly & accurately moving complex deals forward. Salesforce document generators amplify CPQ’s value by delivering powerful documents at any stage of the sales process, and allow you to automate & scale for the future.

S-Docs: Native Document Generation & E-Signature for Salesforce CPQ

Ready to power up your Salesforce CPQ quoting workflows? S-Docs can help you get it done faster, more seamlessly, and more securely.

As the only 100% native document generation and e-signature solution for Salesforce, S-Docs is purpose-built for the platform you rely on every day.

Interested in learning more? Contact us today to find out how we can help take your sales process to the next level.

Of the many products/enhancements designed to improve your life, a select few will eventually make you think I really used to do it like that? For example, dual monitors make one screen feel impossibly slow; computer mouses make touchpads feel sluggish; wireless earbuds make untangling cords seem absurd.

Enhancements like these often become so impactful because of their widespread applicability. The more areas of your life something touches, the more likely it completely changes the way you live.

The same can be said for Salesforce AppExchange apps. Some are designed to solve one specific business problem. Others have the potential to streamline workflows across an entire Salesforce org - and make you wonder how you ever got anything done before.

Salesforce document generation is one application category that reaches across departments to deliver value to an entire business. Every Salesforce org needs a good document generation solution. Let’s explore why.

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Document Generation: A Business's Best Friend

Salesforce document generators take a universal business requirement - creating, distributing, and e-signing documents - and automate all or part of the process. And when you automate a universal requirement, the positive results become universal too.

But document generation apps for Salesforce don’t just free up time. As soon as you automate one routine document, ideas for other processes blossom. When used correctly, apps like S-Docs can forge new ways to interact with customers, prospects, and employees - and ultimately new ways to get work done. 

Cross-Departmental Wins with Document Generation

The possible applications for document generation are endless. Every department must create some type of routine document - we could name 20 for sales alone (if you’re interested in document generation for sales, check out our guides to creating quotes, invoices, and contracts in Salesforce).

From marketing to engineering to HR, Salesforce document generation is applicable to everyone. If you need a few examples, we recently highlighted 10 unique ways our customers have used S-Docs across 10 different departments - check it out on the SalesforceBen blog for some inspiration!

Like we said before: when you solve a universal problem, you receive universal benefits. Implementing one-click SOWs might save project managers a few hours a week - but when that time is multiplied by five or six departments, eventually you’ll be looking at saving a full-time employee’s worth of hours - or even more.

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Other benefits will be multiplied, too. Document automation reduces errors by pulling data directly from Salesforce, lowering the chance of costly mistakes. In a similar vein, it also increases compliance with internal policies, since employees aren’t inserting information themselves - protecting your org from top to bottom.

Using a single solution for document creation across departments also helps reduce the complexity of an org. When an admin/developer designs new processes for different departments, they’ll always be referencing the same objects/fields for any use case that calls for document automation. This also removes the need to train users on multiple different systems/user interfaces.

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Get More Value Out of Salesforce with Document Generation

Implementing a document generator for Salesforce can also help you get more value out of your Salesforce investment by forging new ways of interacting with internal and external stakeholders.

The processes created with document generation will take different forms in different companies. For some, it’s the personal touch of an automated welcome letter when a new account is created. For others, it’s the reliability of a scheduled renewal contract always hitting the inbox on time.

Whatever the process, document generation is more than the docs it creates, much like Salesforce is more than the data it stores. Working together, they’re a platform for better, more scalable business practices that change your business relationships for the better.

Additionally, providing users with an easy way to generate the documents they need will create an advantage to using Salesforce and up your user adoption rates. The more Salesforce is used, the higher your ROI will be.

Double Your Benefits with Native Salesforce Apps

Salesforce document generators save time, reduce errors, and provide a platform for automation that can streamline your customer, prospect, and employee experiences. The benefits of implementing a document generation app add up quickly - but they add up even quicker when you opt for 100% native apps.

Native Salesforce apps like S-Docs are built entirely on the Salesforce platform. Among their many benefits, a few stand out among the rest. Native document generation apps for Salesforce give you:

Speed: Since they’re not interfacing with external servers, native document generators can create documents (even whole batches of them) in a fraction of the time it takes non-native alternatives

Security: Native document generators don’t send your data to third-party servers for document creation; it all happens within your Salesforce instance. That means that from a data security/technical architecture standpoint, native apps are compliant with most laws Salesforce complies with (GDPR, HIPAA, FedRAMP, etc.)

Ease of Use: Apps like S-Docs are purpose-built for Salesforce, so they mirror its look and feel. Admins can typically implement native apps much faster, and business users are able to learn how to use them quicker, since they already know Salesforce

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Document generation will always improve your Salesforce org and your business by extension. Native document generation allows you to leverage Salesforce’s enterprise-class infrastructure for optimal performance, speed, and user experience.

S-Docs: 100% Native Document Generation & E-Signature for Salesforce 

S-Docs is a 100% native Salesforce app for automatically generating and e-signing documents in Salesforce. After building out a few templates and automating some routine documents, we’re confident you’ll wish you would’ve found us sooner. 

S-Docs is a solution poised to transform your workflows - take a look at our customers page for ways we’ve already helped leading enterprises change the way they get work done.

Interested in learning more about an app every Salesforce org needs? Request a demo today!

COVID-19 testing has been integral to keeping the world running - from helping sick individuals reduce the spread to making it safer to get back to the activities we’ve missed.

RPD Testing brought this critical function to Montréal, Canada in 2021. Their mission: Make it as easy as possible for their clients to get tested quickly, conveniently, and affordably. 

As their rapid testing experience led to rapid growth, RPD Testing leveraged Salesforce and S-Docs document generation to streamline their customer interactions. Their vision, along with the right technology, has elicited overwhelmingly positive customer feedback - and made RPD Testing the largest rapid testing clinic in Montréal.

Background: How RPD Testing Works With Salesforce & S-Docs

To schedule a COVID-19 test, RPD Testing clients fill out a quick form online.

“Online appointments are fed directly to Salesforce in real time,” explained Kevin Me, co-founder at RPD Testing and former Lead Solution Engineer at Salesforce. “We also have a guided tablet experience that uses Flows to allow clients to create their appointments at the clinic.”

Check-in and testing typically take just two minutes. When results are entered into Salesforce, S-Docs auto-generates a test result certificate and emails it to the client - or prints it on-site, if preferred.

"It became apparent very quickly that S-Docs was the solution we needed based on its speed and native experience, which has made everything else so much more seamless."

“The certificate templates are all dynamic. Clients will receive documents with different verbiage automatically based on the type of test performed,” Kevin elaborated.

S-Docs allows RPD Testing employees to spend more time performing tests and delivering excellent customer service - and exceeds their clients’ expectations with lightning-fast results.

Faster & More Seamless: Why RPD Testing Chose S-Docs

As the leading supplier of travel-certified COVID-19 test result certificates in Montréal, RPD Testing needed a way to automatically create and send the documents to their clients without taking up their employees' valuable time.

“We tried a few different Salesforce document generation solutions, but most were unintuitive and difficult to use,” said Kevin. “Our goal is to get patients in and out in under two minutes. You can’t do that if you have to wait 20 seconds just for the app to load.”

Eventually, RPD Testing implemented S-Docs due to its faster processing speed and more intuitive user experience.

“Our customers are frequently surprised by how fast the entire process is. With Salesforce and S-Docs, their entire experience is streamlined.”

“S-Docs’s speed has been huge for us: it generates documents in a fraction of the time it took other apps,” said Kevin. “It was also much easier to implement. Even though I'm quite experienced with Salesforce, setting up other apps as a first-time user was incredibly complex. With S-Docs I was able to figure out everything by myself.”

In just a few hours, RPD testing was able to get their certificate templates built and automated for use in production.

“It became apparent very quickly that S-Docs was the solution we needed based on its speed and native experience, which has made everything else so much more seamless,” Kevin added.

Looking Ahead: How RPD Testing Will Continue Using S-Docs

RPD Testing has grown rapidly since its inception. The company is making plans for a second location and has recently formed partnerships with luxury hotels and other venues in Montréal to provide testing for larger group events. As they scale, they’re continuously looking to automate as much of the business as possible.

“We’re working on building S-Docs templates for itemized medical receipts now, so that clients won’t have to email or call for that information,” Kevin explained. “Customer satisfaction is our number one goal, and automation helps achieve that goal.”

Final Thoughts

RPD Testing has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from its clients due to its focus on fast, efficient service.

“Our customers are frequently surprised by how fast the entire process is. With Salesforce and S-Docs, their entire experience is streamlined,” said Kevin. “I rate S-Docs 5 stars because it’s faster than the competition, easier to use, and provides incredible customer support.”

For more information about S-Docs and how our 100% native document generation and e-signature solutions for Salesforce can help your business succeed, request a customized demo here.

From billion dollar deals to your internet service agreement, contracts govern our world.

So why is contract creation still a struggle for many businesses? Most of the time, it results from a lack of enforceable process. No standard templates, no easy way to fill in the details, clauses stored in haphazard places...the list goes on.

Whatever the pain point, S-Docs is here to help end your agreement obstacles. As a 100% native document generation and e-signature solution, we’ve been perfecting Salesforce contract generation for over 10 years - and now we’d like to share our wisdom.

Check out these curated contract creation tips and find out why Salesforce document automation for contracts benefits your team - and your customers.

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Create Contract Templates in Salesforce

Dusting off your contract creation workflows starts with improving your template/clause library, whether you’re using Salesforce document automation or not.

Leverage Your Branding

Like other touchpoints, contracts are a channel for value-creation. They should add to the experience your customer/partner is familiar with up to this point. Receiving a contract that looks and feels in-line with other interactions provides evidence of trustworthiness.

Of course, it’s important to use discretion - certain industries/businesses may be more or less receptive to contracts with a bit of flair.

Include A Preamble with Key Terms/Details

Contracts don’t make deals happen - the people reading them do, so you should design them to be easily understood by those people.

One way to make this easier is including a preamble section listing the parties involved, key terms & definitions, and key details that summarize the contract’s purpose or call attention to important provisions.

This helps identify any issues quickly and ensures everyone starts out on the same page.

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Include All Valid Contract Elements

Your contract templates will vary based on their purpose, but they’ll all need the same essential elements. In general, these include an offer (a deal with terms and conditions), consideration (goods/services/currency exchanged), and acceptance (willingness by both parties to abide by the offer’s terms).

These components are the meat of your contract.

After building out a few templates with all of the basic components, contract creation should become much smoother - it’s just a matter of filling in custom details. 

But what if your contracts require lots of custom details - or different clauses based on factors like the customer’s location or industry? That’s where S-Docs document generation can turn a long copy-paste process into a few button clicks. Let’s take a look.

Salesforce Document Automation for Contracts 

Salesforce document generation solutions like S-Docs allow you to build contract templates inside Salesforce that automatically pull in key Salesforce data points from any object. This saves time and ensures your contract data is complete and error-free, since it’s coming from your source of truth.

Insert Salesforce Fields and Related Lists

Notice those tags in the contracts above (they look like {{!Object.Field}})? Those are placeholders for Salesforce data. When a contract template is generated, dynamic data from Salesforce replaces each tag (highlighted in green below).

You can also insert placeholders for Salesforce related lists, which are replaced with related list record data in dynamic tables. This can be useful for a list of products being purchased, or including the account team members involved in a deal.

Create & Reference A Clause Library

If you’ve got clauses that go in multiple different contract templates - a standard severability clause, for example - editing one can turn into an all-day affair. You’ll need to make the same edit in every template that includes the clause - every time an edit is required.

Alternatively, you can use Salesforce document generation tools to create a library of clause templates that can be referenced across your contracts with a tag. Anytime an edit to a clause is required, all you’ll need to do is update the master clause template, and those edits will be reflected across all of your contract templates.

Take a look at this quick overview on how S-Docs clause templates (components) work here:

Use Conditional Logic to Auto-Customize Your Contracts

Auto-filling data from Salesforce is great, but Salesforce document automation gets even smarter. Conditional logic allows you to customize what content gets included or excluded based on your business rules.

For example, if your contract contains a non-compete clause, you can automatically omit that clause when the recipient’s billing address is in California. Conditional logic lets you include or exclude any content - even whole pages - based on any business rules in Salesforce.

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Allow Users To Choose Predefined Content Blocks

Contracts are highly-regulated documents in most organizations; legal doesn’t want anyone making changes to their standard templates without approval.

With document automation, however, it’s possible to give users leeway without relinquishing control. By setting up pre-approved content blocks that users can choose before generating a contract, legal can ensure only authorized changes are being made - while users get the agency they need to complete contracts quicker.

Take a look at this quick overview on how this works here:

Automate Contract Creation in Salesforce

Up to this point, we’ve mainly discussed the document in document automation - but that second word is just as important. With S-Docs, you can trigger your contracts to generate and email themselves based on any event in Salesforce - like when an Opportunity moves to “Closed Won,” or a Contract moves to “Draft.”

Automating your contract creation workflows can increase your team’s efficiency, give them more time to do what they do best - and get deals closed faster.

Contract Acceptance: Get It In (Electronic) Writing

One of the core requirements of a valid contract is acceptance: an expressed willingness to be bound by the terms of the contract.

Technically, a handshake or verbal “Yes” work - but for best results, requiring all parties to sign the document is the way to go. If you’re already using document automation, there’s no better way to request signatures than with a proprietary e-signature solution for one seamless transaction.

With the help of S-Docs and S-Sign, you can automatically generate and send your contracts for signature using one smooth user interface - and even write any data input by the signer directly back to Salesforce.

The best part - both S-Docs and S-Sign are 100% native to Salesforce. That means they execute faster, are easier to use, and never send your data outside the protections of your org.

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Create Contracts in Salesforce Faster with S-Docs & S-Sign

Contract creation is more efficient and scalable with document automation for Salesforce. Implementing S-Docs and S-Sign for contracts gives you:

• Consistency - the same style/language/components pulled in every time
• Reduced Errors - data pulled from Salesforce, not input manually
• Speed - 100% native document generation creates & sends contracts quicker
• Security - your data never leaves Salesforce
• Happy Clients - a faster contract process leads to happier teams all around

If you’re ready to see how 100% native document generation and e-signature for Salesforce can improve your contract creation workflows, give us a shout - request a demo here or contact sales@sdocs.com. Happy contracting!

At S-Docs, it’s no secret that our customers come first.

That doesn’t just mean providing the best solution for generating and e-signing documents in Salesforce. It also means ensuring anyone - from new admins to seasoned developers - can get the most out of our products.

Our team has been hard at work designing a streamlined documentation experience that makes it easier than ever to get answers, troubleshoot issues, and discover new features to make you even more efficient.

Let’s dive into it. Welcome to the S-Docs Knowledge base.

A Redesigned Homepage

The knowledge base homepage is your hub for all online technical resources at S-Docs. You’ll find links to articles, videos, troubleshooting tips, and more. Accessible from our resources tab, the new homepage is a game-changer. Let’s take a look at its components.

Choose Your Product

When you reach the knowledge base homepage, you can choose whether you want to view content for S-Docs Document Generation or S-Sign E-Signature. Links throughout the page will update based on which product you select.

Find Content 

After choosing your product, you’ll be able to dive into all the knowledge base has to offer. The 3 main tiles will direct you to:

1. Our redesigned help documentation, which makes it easier than ever for new and experienced users to find the articles they need (more on this later)
2. Our tutorial videos, which guide you through setting up S-Docs and implementing features like automation and batch document generation
3. Our new troubleshooting resource, which allows you to quickly resolve issues

In addition, the keyword cloud lets you click a word to find documentation articles tagged with that feature - based upon which product is selected.

Discover What Others Find Helpful

Below the main content, you’ll be able to see which articles and videos are most popular with our users. You can also discover new features through our list of recently published articles.

Collectively, the knowledge base homepage is your one-stop-shop for our online technical resources. We designed it with you in mind - we want it to be as easy as possible to reach the content you need.

A Reimagined Documentation Structure

It’s true, the new knowledge base homepage is pretty cool - but we didn’t stop there. We also overhauled the structure of our documentation articles for S-Docs and S-Sign, from how they’re categorized to how you navigate through individual articles themselves.

But don’t worry! The articles from our previous documentation still exist - they’re just a whole lot easier to find and use.

A More Logical Structure

We redesigned how articles are categorized by mirroring the natural flow our users follow when working with S-Docs and S-Sign. After installing S-Docs, for example, the next step is to create a template, which includes inserting data and optionally applying logic. Once a template is created, a document can be generated - followed by emailing or storing that document.

Our articles are now grouped into these intuitive categories, making it easier to find what you’re looking for quickly. You can also find subcategories within each category if you want to drill down even further.

A Refined Search Experience

The new search bar suggests articles to you as you type - pretty helpful, right?

If you want to view the full search results, you’ll now see a preview under each article title that displays where your search term appears in that article, giving you context to help quickly choose the right content.

Seamless Article Navigation

Documentation articles look a bit different now - but they’re easier than ever to use.

The top of an article displays the categories it’s nested under, and allows you to click back into those categories to find related articles.

Every article is also tagged by feature, and those tags can be clicked to find other articles that share the same tag.

The table of contents never leaves your screen - allowing you to easily jump between article sections at any time.

And as you scroll down an article, the table of contents will highlight to show you which section you’re viewing.

Give Feedback

When you reach the end of an article, you can let us know whether or not it was helpful - which helps us improve our resources so that you can continue to get the most out of them.

And if you’re looking to dig a little deeper on a topic, you can now find a list of related articles at the bottom of every article. It’s all connected!

See For Yourself

If you’re already an S-Docs user, it’s now easier than ever to find and configure the features that will best help your business succeed.

If you haven’t given us a try yet, there’s never been a better time to download S-Docs and hit the ground running like a pro. Our new knowledge base is here to help no matter your level of expertise.

So what are you waiting for? You can have S-Docs installed and configured today! And when you’re ready to walk through its full potential for your business, request a customized demo from our team of experts by clicking here - or contact sales@sdocs.com. 

Emails - they’re pretty important. In 2020, the world collectively sent over 300 billion per day.

Our world - public and private, commercial and personal - still relies heavily on this tried-and-true modus operandi for communicating online. You can love them or hate them, but in today’s business world, you need to be good at them.

We’re not just talking snappy subject lines or overdone tips you can find with a quick Google search.

Sending great emails also involves zooming out and looking at how email fits into your business workflows in Salesforce. Can your team easily send personalized emails from Salesforce? Are they following email content best practices? Is the process simple or confusing?

If you’re asking these questions, you’ve come to the right place. This article will explore:

1. How to send emails from Salesforce (and which Salesforce email tool is best for you)
2. Which Salesforce email template builder to use
3. Email best practices (for both copy and design)
4. Protecting your email reputation (to ensure your messages get delivered!)

After perusing this information, you’ll be well on your way to sending stronger emails from Salesforce (and hey, if it helps - consider emailing this article to a colleague in need!).

You Might Also Like: How To Create Immaculate Invoices In Salesforce

How To Send Emails From Salesforce: 4 Options

The purpose of email is simple: to communicate. Getting from Point A (writing) to Point B (delivered & opened) is more complicated, which is why Salesforce provides several options for traversing the gap.

1. Send Emails from Salesforce Through Gmail or Office 365
2. Send Emails Through Salesforce
3. Use Salesforce Email Relay
4. Use An AppExchange App

Send Emails From Salesforce Through Gmail or Office 365

Using Lightning Experience? You can send emails from “Salesforce” that actually go through your Gmail or Office 365 account. 

Source: Trailhead.com

They’ll look no different to your recipients than the ones you send from Gmail or Office 365, which can improve open rates and deliverability. However, you should consider:

• Emails are not logged in the Salesforce Activity History
• Bounce management is not supported
• You can’t send mass emails (list emails)

If your team relies heavily on their external email accounts and on Salesforce, this method eliminates perpetual tab switching. But if you require important features like bounce management, or wish to track email activity in Salesforce - this method may not be for you.

Learn how to set it up here.

Send Emails Through Salesforce 

Whether you’re using Lightning or Classic, you can always send emails through Salesforce’s servers. It’s easy to set up, doesn’t require integrating with an external email service, and lets you track everything in the Salesforce Activity History.

Plus, you can send mass emails and take advantage of bounce management. The more features the better, right?

However, be aware - your emails may look “spoofed” (it looks like you’re not who you say you are). This may be a deal breaker for some businesses.

Learn how to set up sending emails through Salesforce here.

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Use Salesforce Email Relay

If your company owns an email domain (@companyname.com, or something similar), you can route your emails through your email server with Email Relay. 

This one’s pretty cool, especially if you’re big on compliance. For one, you can store copies of your emails locally, and they’ll appear in your email client’s “Sent” folder. This is a must for industries bound by government regulations. 

You can also apply content filters and antivirus scanning. Oh, and your emails won’t appear spoofed, meaning it’s much less likely that they’ll end up in your customer’s spam folder.

The downside is that it requires some technical expertise to get going - but if you follow this guide, you shouldn’t have many problems.

Use An AppExchange App

If none of the above options work for you, you can always turn to the AppExchange for an email distribution solution. AppExchange email tools can be useful if you’re looking to get around Salesforce’s daily email limits (which still apply even if you use Email Relay).

All in all, there are pros and cons to each method for Salesforce email distribution. To make things a bit easier, refer to this flowchart by Salesforce.

Source: Salesforce.com

Salesforce Email Template Tools: Which One To Choose?

After nailing down how to send emails from Salesforce, the next thing to figure out is how you’ll actually create the emails themselves.

Remember the statistic from the beginning of this article? We’re sending and receiving 300 billion+ emails daily. So unless you’re Barbara Blackburn - the fastest typist in the world - a team with high-volume communication requirements needs to use email templates to stay productive. 

Email templates let you send preformatted emails populated with Salesforce data in just a few clicks - and they can be used in wider process automation to make things even easier. Here are your options.

1. Classic Email Templates
2. Lightning Email Templates
3. Email Template Builder
4. AppExchange Solutions

Salesforce Classic Email Templates

If you’re still using Salesforce Classic, and you don’t want to branch out to the AppExchange, you have to use Classic email templates. The four different types (text, HTML, HTML with Classic Letterhead, and Visualforce) let you include text, merge fields, and attachments.

Source: Salesforce.com

If you’re a Visualforce expert, you can get pretty creative with Salesforce Classic email templates - otherwise, these will satisfy only basic requirements.

Salesforce Lightning Email Templates

Lightning Email templates are the modernized version of Classic email templates. They allow you to do a bit more with content & design (like using Enhanced Letterhead). If your organization requires simple email responses with a bit of flair every once in a while, these should do the trick.

Source: Salesforce.com

Email Template Builder

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. Introduced in the Winter ‘21 release, the Salesforce Lightning Email Template Builder allows you to create emails with a drag-and-drop tool.

Source: Salesforce.com

This tool makes it easy to create emails that merge in more complex Salesforce data, and it lets you get pretty creative with the design, too. However, it’s still fairly new and has its limitations - for example, you can’t do much with conditional logic, and cross-object merge fields are not supported. 

AppExchange Solutions

The AppExchange is the holy grail for Salesforce email tools - that exact search term brings up over 500 of them. 

There are email tools built specifically for marketing, sales, service - you name it, you can probably find it.

Email apps for Salesforce generally allow you to do much more with your data than Salesforce email templates do, which is why we recommend using the AppExchange if you need to create complex, data-driven emails - both one-to-one and en masse.

Here’s a lesser-known tip that may help you cut through the noise: use Salesforce document generation apps for your Salesforce email needs. 

Our reasoning?

While Salesforce document generation apps like S-Docs allow you to merge your Salesforce data into complex business documents, you can also leverage their powerful engines to design stunning emails and merge in data that’s just as complex.

Take this email we designed, for example:

As you can see, you won’t run into many problems merging in the data you need when you use a document generator. In fact, you can merge any queryable data from Salesforce into your emails - that is, if you use a 100% native (built on the platform) solution like S-Docs. We can’t make any promises about the other options available! Plus, you can dig into the HTML source to really customize your templates.

You Might Also Like: Supercharge Salesforce Reporting With Document Generation

All in all, Salesforce document generation apps are the best choice for building emails in Salesforce for a variety of use cases. They’re not a replacement for a marketing automation solution, but they’ll exceed your requirements in most situations that require email templates in Salesforce.

Email Design & Content Best Practices

After deciding how to send emails in Salesforce and what tool to use to build email templates in Salesforce, you’re probably ready to roll up your sleeves and build your templates.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to email template design, we have a few universal best practices you can use as a guiding star in many different situations.

1. Email Sender
2. Email Subject
3. Email Body Layout
4. Email Body Copy
5. Visual Content

Email Sender

The email sender (the name that appears in the From field) is likely the first thing your customer/prospect will check before deciding whether or not to open your email. Therefore, we recommend keeping this as personal as possible.

Generally, using someone’s name is the way to go - both for one-to-one and mass emails. Whenever possible, keep the sender to the logged in user!

Email Subject

After checking who sent the email, your recipient’s eyes jump directly to the subject line. You can approach this from a number of different angles, but keep in mind that your email subject should add value while being concise. Does it accurately describe the contents of your email, and why your recipient should care? Does it intrigue the recipient with relevant information?

Additionally, is your subject personalized? Adding your recipient's name, company name, or other creative, personal details can have a dramatic effect on your open rates. Use merge fields (placeholders for dynamic data) in your email subject lines to give them a personal touch.

Finally, try free tools like this Headline Analyzer to give your subject lines an extra boost!

Email Body Layout

If you’ve piqued your recipient’s interest enough for them to open your email, congratulations - but the work has just begun! The meat of your email lives in the body, and before your recipient can consume your content, they’re going to notice the layout.

Your email layout is how the content of your email is organized. It should be logical, easy to read, and guide your recipient to the action you want them to take. For example, the Inverted Pyramid layout is great for pushing recipients toward a CTA. Check out this email we designed with S-Docs.

Alternatively, the single-column layout is great for one-to-one emails, or emails where the copy is the main focus.

There are many different layouts you can choose from, but remember - clear, concise, and focused! Don’t be afraid to use white space liberally.

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Email Body Copy

Depending on the purpose of your email template, your copy will vary widely. However, you should be sure to follow these best practices.

Be Concise: If you have a choice between saying it in 10 words or saying it in 5, say it in 5. Show your recipient you value their time.

Stay On-Brand: Use a tone that complements your brand. 

Personalize: In most cases, you don’t want your recipient to feel like they’re receiving an email template. Add more than just a first name - incorporate as much data as you can, and consider using conditional logic to dynamically change the email content or formatting depending on who it’s being sent to (this is where using a Salesforce document generation app can really help you out).

Visual Content

Images and other visual content can really spice up your emails - but be sure to include them with a purpose. In addition, try not to make images the main message of your email, since it’s not guaranteed that all email clients will display them. If your email doesn’t make sense without an image, that’s not a good sign.

If you follow these tips for designing emails in Salesforce, you’ll be well on your way to upping your open and reply rates - all while making your users’ lives easier at the same time.

Protect Your Email Reputation

None of the tips in this article matter if your emails get funneled straight into spam, so protecting the reputation of your domain and IP is just as important as designing great emails themselves.

Build A Good Reputation: Email reputations are built over time. You can build a better reputation by:

• Avoid sending emails to invalid email addresses
• Avoid “spammy” keywords
• Send content that your recipients want. Your email reputation increases when your emails are opened and read

Luckily, Salesforce also monitors more than 50 international blocklists, and if any of their IPs are blocked, they work with the blocklist owner to resolve the issue.

Get Permission From Recipients: In other words, don’t spam. Send emails to individuals that have opted to receive communications from you, and quickly honor opt-out requests.

Include A Familiar Name In The Subject Line: Recipients are more likely to report an email as spam if they don’t recognize the sender. Make sure they’re familiar with you - or add your company name in the subject line of the email.

Monitor Bounced Emails: Sending emails to invalid addresses damages your reputation. You should regularly remove invalid addresses and, if available, take advantage of Salesforce’s bounce management feature.

Check out this Salesforce Help article for more information about protecting your email reputation in Salesforce.

Send Better Emails From Salesforce With S-Docs

Now that you’re equipped with a throng of Salesforce email tips and best practices, why not take the next step toward building data-driven, dynamic emails in Salesforce? S-Docs is the only 100% native document generation and e-signature solution for Salesforce. It lets you design sophisticated, stunning business documents and emails with one easy solution.

Merge any data from Salesforce, include conditional logic, and use your email templates in large process automation with ease.

Interested in learning more? Contact our team today at sales@sdocs.com, or request a custom demo here. Now let’s get those open rates up!