Do you ever find yourself drowning in paperwork, wishing you had more time to focus on your core business? If so, you’re not alone.
In fact, according to WorkMarket’s research, 70% of business leaders acknowledge spending anywhere from 10% to 40% of their time on tedious and mundane tasks such as searching, modifying, and sending documents. This translates to approximately 45 minutes to over 3 hours spent every day on tasks that do not align with their primary job responsibilities.
Luckily, document automation software is here to revolutionize the way organizations process their documents by streamlining document workflows, saving time, and reducing errors.
To help you determine which document automation solution is the best fit for your organization, we’ve rounded up the seven best options on the market.
Ready? Let’s begin!
The 7 Best Document Automation Software
What is document automation software?
Document automation software is a solution used to automate and streamline document creation and workflows. It uses intelligent algorithms to generate, modify, edit, and manage documents based on various data points or predefined templates and rules.
A document automation tool can significantly reduce the time and effort required to create, process, and manage various types of documents, such as contracts, invoices, forms, and proposals.
As a result, document automation software has become a game-changer for businesses, offering increased efficiency and versatility. Let’s explore some of the main use cases for this technology.
Document automation software use cases
Document automation software has a wide range of use cases across various industries and business functions.
Examples include contract management, which involves automating the creation, review, and approval of contracts, as well as storing and managing them in the cloud. Additionally, the software can track changes and updates, and send reminders for contract renewals and deadlines.
Another popular use case is HR management, automating employee onboarding, performance evaluation, and generating HR reports and analytics.
Document automation systems are also widely used for legal document automation, enabling tasks such as automated data entry on contracts, agreements, and pleadings. Moreover, it can be also used in accounting and finance departments, for invoice processing, expense management, and tax preparation.
Regardless of the use case, the goal of document automation software is to save time and increase efficiency by automating repetitive tasks. In the next section, we will examine the best document automation software platforms, including their pros and cons, and applications.
7 best document automation software
1. Klippa DocHorizon
Klippa DocHorizon is an Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) solution that integrates OCR with cutting-edge AI technologies to carry out activities including document scanning, classification, anonymization, data extraction, and verification.
You can upload documents through email, web, or mobile applications when using Klippa DocHorizon. It can save your document processing time by up to 90% and cost by up to 60%, giving you a positive ROI.
With AI algorithms, DocHorizon can constantly learn from the documents that are uploaded to the engine and is able to understand the content in them resulting in high data extraction accuracy. The software can be integrated into your mobile applications or existing software systems via SDKs and APIs.
Pros
- Fields and line items capture
- EU and US Infrastructure
- Cloud and on-premise deployment
- Signature and picture extraction
- Data masking
- Image preprocessing
- Standard SLA
- Send files anytime, anywhere
- Integrable via API or SDK to third-party applications
- Document and data classification
- Cross-check with 3rd party databases
- Duplicate detection
- Document fraud detection
- Multiple output formats including JSON, PDF/A, CSV, XLM, XLSX, UBL
Cons
- No user interface yet
- No support for non-Latin alphabets
- No document storage
Best for
Klippa DocHorizon is the ideal solution for automating document-related workflows across multiple industries with a focus on accounting, retail, and identity documents.
For the Accounting industry, it automates the processing of invoices, receipts, and credit card statements. In the Retail industry, it facilitates the processing of receipts, price tags, and other retail-related documents. Klippa DocHorizon also automates Identity Verification by processing ID cards, passports, and driving licenses.
2. Tesseract OCR
Tesseract is an open-source Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software designed to accurately recognize and extract text from scanned documents, images, and other sources.
Despite its accuracy in recognizing text, particularly for printed or typed documents, Tesseract is limited to OCR, working as a stand-alone package. Solutions for automating document processes must be developed independently.
Tesseract OCR is freely available and can be customized and extended to meet specific needs or requirements.
Pros
- Free and open-source alternative
- Supports non-latin alphabets
- Image preprocessing
- Free to use
Cons
- It needs a lot of custom development
- Needs to be hosted and maintained in your own environment
- No cross-checks with 3rd party database
- No standard SLA
- No signature and picture extraction
- No data Masking
Best for
Tesseract OCR can be used in a wide range of industries and applications where automated text recognition is required.
It is particularly effective in office environments, recognizing and extracting text from documents such as invoices, purchase orders, income receipts, tax forms, and mortgage forms.
3. Xero
Xero is an online accounting software primarily designed for small businesses and their advisors. It offers a range of features such as invoicing with quotes, bank reconciliation, purchase order and expense management, and tax management.
With Xero, also available via mobile devices, you can receive monetary performance reports and easily connect your bank account for seamless integration. However, if you prefer live support, it may be better to consider an alternative provider.
Klippa has a seamless integration with Xero, allowing small businesses to streamline their accounting processes.
Pros
- It’s a cloud-based solution, so there’s no need for downloads or installation
- User-friendly interface and you can be connected with your own advisor
- Affordable alternative with a free 30-day trial to explore before making a decision to buy
- Real-time bank reconciliation
- Provides unlimited user access
Cons
- While it’s easy to install, it takes time to comprehend its features
- The purchasing, requisition, and inventory features are very simplistic
- The most expensive plan lacks adequate support for expense claims, projects, and multi-currency features
- Can become slow if your business is conducting a high volume of sales or running online
Best for
Xero is best used for small businesses that require user-friendly, cloud-based accounting software that can be accessed from anywhere.
It allows organizations to manage their expense claims by automating the process of capturing receipts and invoices. Additionally, it allows you to conveniently track inventory, generate custom invoices, and create purchase orders that can be linked to bills, all from your mobile device or tablet.
4. Documate
Documate is a no-code legal document management software with a user-friendly interface. It was created by a team of lawyers and engineers to assist legal aid non-profit organizations in creating client-facing processes.
Documate allows users to create custom online forms that automatically fill data into Word or PDF documents. Additionally, users can share their workflows or even embed them into a website, enabling them to create documents from external user input.
Pros
- Cross-platform compatibilities like Windows and Mac
- Provides users with better control over their data
- Easy-to-modify questionnaires
- Creates agreements and price lists
- Reduces human error
Cons
- Standard document management capabilities
- Doesn’t include all features in the first tier and it’s expensive to include more
- Extensive implementation procedure
- Doesn’t offer many options of design themes and colors
Best for
Documate works best for lawyers and professionals who require a no-code solution with a straightforward user interface.
5. Templafy
Templafy is an enterprise document assembly software that helps organizations create and process documents more efficiently. It is an important tool to centrally manage, update, and share information throughout the company.
By establishing permissions and ensuring that only authorized information is utilized, managers and compliance teams may regulate how information is used. Using their word processing software, Templafy makes it easy to generate important documents such as contracts, proposals, and sales materials.
Pros
- User-friendly interface for decision-making and results
- Customizable
- Easy to set up
- Good customer service
- Higher productivity
Cons
- Web-based interface
- Double authentication issues
- Focused on document generation rather than document process automation
- Costly for small enterprises
Best for
Templafy is a good fit for enterprises that seek centralized control over their content. Additionally, it can only be used by larger organizations as it requires a minimum of 50 users.
6. PandaDoc
PandaDoc is a document automation tool created especially to speed up the sales process. Users may simply create, review, approve, and sign various types of documents like proposals, quotations, and contracts.
New document creation is made simple by a drag-and-drop editor, one-click uploads, and a selection of carefully created templates. Furthermore, PandaDoc allows users to track customer engagement with documents they’ve sent out and get real-time notifications when a document needs attention.
Pros
- UI is simple and intuitive
- Accessible preloaded templates
- Easy to use
- A large variety of integration possibilities
- Highly flexible
- Seamless user performance and content reporting
Cons
- Poor CRM integration
- High cost for automation features
- Hard-to-edit text fields
- Requires several users
- Hard to change document processes
- Confusing menu designs
- Not suitable for document automation outside the sales process
Best for
PandaDoc is a sales-driven software that can be best used to close deals as your sales executives don’t need to waste time on dreading manual work and have a better overview of what prospects need.
7. Zenefits
Zenefits is an all-in-one HR document automation software designed to help small and mid-sized businesses simplify and automate administrative HR tasks.
It streamlines your HR workflow so you can focus on high-priority tasks, spending less time onboarding employees or managing payroll processes.
Zenefits offers a comprehensive suite of HR features, helping businesses manage their human resources needs, which can often be complicated and time-consuming.
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Affordable pricing
- Great range of third-party integrations
- Centralized organization management
- Cloud-based software
Cons
- All plans have a minimum of five employees
- Few learning management tools
- Lacks features for task management
- Limited customizability
Best for
Zenefits is a cloud-based HR document process automation software specially tailored for small and mid-sized companies that want to streamline their human resources processes, including benefits enrollment, payroll, compliance, and more.
Which of these document automation software should you choose?
Sadly, when it comes to document automation software there is no “best” option as each business has unique requirements for a document automation tool.
To find the best flexible, customizable platforms that fit your needs, it’s important to take into consideration the following criteria:
- Document types that your organization needs to process
- Use cases that your organization needs document automation for
- Scalability
- User-friendliness
- Price of the solution
- Customer support availability
Given a large number of document automation vendors in the market, the research required to make an informed decision can be extensive. However, if you are looking for a solution that can automate various document-related workflows, we recommend you to read further.
Automate your document processes with Klippa DocHorizon
Klippa DocHorizon is a document automation software that helps companies worldwide streamline their document-related processes.
It is a complete solution that can handle all of your document automation needs while also giving you the option to include human-in-the-loop for close to 100% accuracy.
The system comprises various modules that can be utilized together or separately. The solutions provided include:
- Mobile scanning – Scan documents from mobile devices at any place, any time.
- OCR – Turn scanned documents and images into text and structured data formats.
- Data extraction – Real-time extraction of important data points.
- Classification – Classify and sort documents according to your needs.
- Document conversion – Turn JPG, PNG, and PDF files to searchable text and export to formats like PDF or structured CSV, XSLX, XML, and JSON.
- Anonymization – Mask sensitive data, from anonymization to removal.
- Verification – Verify the authenticity and validity of documents and data.
At Klippa, we understand that every organization has unique document automation needs. That’s why we have a team of dedicated product experts who can work closely with you to understand your specific requirements and help you automate your document processes.
If you are curious about our solution, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also schedule a free online demo below.