Automated Proposal, Contract, and Invoice Generation with PandaDocs and Make.com

Client: Freelance Creative Studio

Industry: Design & Digital Services

Platform: Make.com, PandaDoc, Webhooks, JSON, Google Sheets

Time to Build: 8–10 hours

Time Saved: 30+ minutes per client

Consulting Partner: Lumio Consulting

This freelance creative studio was losing time and momentum after every sales call. Each new project required manually creating a proposal, drafting a custom contract, and generating an invoice—three separate documents, all with repeated copy/paste fields and formatting quirks.

Even with templates, the process took 20–30 minutes per client and introduced human errors that occasionally delayed signatures and kickoff.

The client asked Lumio Consulting to help automate this entire document flow—from intake to send-ready documents—with minimal human involvement.

Goals of the Automation

The automation needed to:

  • Eliminate repetitive proposal and contract formatting

  • Dynamically fill in project-specific fields across all three documents

  • Reduce delays in sending out contracts and invoices

  • Maintain consistent branding and layout across docs

  • Keep a simple fallback path in case edits are needed

Solution Overview / Step-by-Step Breakdown

This Make.com automation receives data from an intake form via webhook and auto-generates PandaDoc proposals, contracts, and invoices—all in under 60 seconds.

Step 1: Trigger Intake from Form or CRM

  • Triggered via a custom webhook connected to the client’s lead form

  • Accepts inputs like project type, deliverables, client name, scope, and payment terms

  • Alternative Option: Trigger can also come from a CRM like Hubspot, Pipedrive, or Close

Step 2: Prepare JSON and Parse Inputs

  • Create JSON structures to align with PandaDoc’s variable requirements

  • Use two Iterators to walk through individual inputs (e.g., line items, milestone breakdowns)

  • Aggregate the data into an array format suitable for document merge

  • Optional: Filter certain inputs (e.g., skip empty sections, optional packages)

Step 3: Generate Branded Documents in PandaDoc

  • Use PandaDoc’s API to load a predefined template for:
    • Proposal
    • Contract
    • Invoice

  • Inject structured variables (client name, dates, scope, pricing, etc.) into all 3 docs

  • Optional: Include conditional sections like timeline or warranty clauses based on form logic

Step 4: Review or Send Documents

  • Optionally notify the team for a quick review (via Gmail or Slack)

  • Documents can be manually edited in PandaDoc or automatically sent for signature

  • Add internal notes if further approval is required before sending

Step 5: Log the Transaction

  • Save client metadata and doc status to Google Sheets for internal tracking

  • Optional: Trigger additional steps like sending a calendar invite, welcome email, or Slack alert

Challenges

We ran into several interesting problems during development:

  • Line item formatting: Required building a JSON object from scratch that matched PandaDoc’s variable structure

  • Conditional logic: Some clients needed different payment schedules, so we created fallback rules for different project types

  • Multi-doc sync: Ensuring all three documents used the same exact input fields, without duplication or mismatch

Results / Outcome / Time Saved

After deploying the automation, the team cut their admin workload by ~30 minutes per client. In one week alone, they saved 4+ hours by removing document busywork.

Now, proposals are sent the same day—while leads are still hot—and contracts/invoices follow instantly once approved. That increased their close rate, reduced editing errors, and sped up payment cycles.

Client Feedback

“Tom helped us automate the slowest part of our onboarding process—generating project documents. Now we go from form fill to send-ready proposals in less than a minute. Everything’s branded, accurate, and ready to go. Huge time saver.”
— Studio Owner

Additional Improvements

Since launch, we’ve added:

  • Pre-defined project packages (shortcuts for fixed-scope work)

  • Optional auto-send with email notifications

  • A button to re-generate the documents if the client edits their intake form

Tools, Plug-ins, and Platforms Used

  • Make.com – Automation builder and webhook handler

  • PandaDoc – Proposal, contract, and invoice generation

  • Google Sheets – Logging and template variable storage

  • Webhook (via client form) – Intake trigger

  • JSON Tools – Data formatting and merging

Interested in implementing this automation or a similar solution?

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