10 Best Document Workflow Automation Tools

If you've ever spent a day buried under a mountain of paperwork—an avalanche of disorganized documents, outdated spreadsheets, and countless emails—you know how tedious and time-consuming document management can get. To make matters worse, the more files you have, the more time you waste and the more likely you are to make mistakes. 

Document workflow automation can help you reduce the number of files you need to manage by automating the processes that organize, store, and track your documents. This guide will explore how AI workflow management can help you tackle your document woes so you can return to the more critical aspects of your work.

Otio's AI research and writing partner can help you achieve your automation goals so you can write and research efficiently using AI tools. When you automate document workflows with Otio, you can reduce the tedious writing tasks that slow you down, like collecting source materials, organizing research, and creating outlines.

Table Of Contents

• Benefits of Document Workflow Automation

• How to Automate Documentation in 8 Simple Steps

• 10 Best Document Workflow Automation Tools

• Examples of Document Workflow Automation

• Supercharge Your Researching Ability With Otio — Try Otio for Free Today

Benefits of Document Workflow Automation

1. Increased Efficiency

Document workflow automation, or document automation, can significantly enhance operational efficiency. According to a study by McKinsey, automation can cut the time spent on document-related tasks by 30 to 50. Manual document creation involves repetitive tasks that can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Document automation streamlines this process by automating tasks like data entry, formatting, and content insertion. This newfound efficiency allows employees to focus on strategic initiatives and high-value tasks that contribute directly to the organization’s growth. 

2. Time Savings 

Generating documents manually is laborious, often taking hours or even days for complex documents. With document automation, the time required for document creation is significantly reduced. Templates can be customized with dynamic fields, generating documents in minutes, boosting productivity, and accelerating workflows. According to a report by AIIM, organizations that adopt document automation can reduce document processing times by an average of 80%. 

3. Reduced Errors  

Manual document creation leaves room for human errors, which can lead to costly mistakes and misunderstandings. Document automation minimizes these errors by accurately pulling data from reliable sources and populating it into templates. This ensures consistent and error-free documents, reducing the need for manual proofreading and editing. 

4. Scalability  

As businesses expand, the volume of documents also grows exponentially. Manual processes struggle to keep up with this demand, often resulting in bottlenecks and inconsistencies. Document automation systems are designed to handle large volumes of documents effortlessly, maintaining high-quality outputs even during peak periods. 

5. Improved Compliance  

Industries such as healthcare, finance, and legal require strict adherence to regulations and standards when creating documents. Manual processes can inadvertently lead to non-compliance. Document automation solutions integrate compliance rules into templates, ensuring that every document generated meets the requirements. 

6. Enhanced Collaboration  

Collaboration among team members on a single document can be challenging using traditional methods. Document automation platforms enable real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously. This eliminates version control issues and expedites the review and approval processes. 

7. Personalization  

Automated documents can be tailored to individual recipients while maintaining a standardized format. By incorporating dynamic fields, each document can be personalized with recipient-specific data, creating a more engaging and relevant experience for clients and customers. 

8. Consistency in Branding  

Maintaining a consistent brand image is essential for building brand recognition and trust. Document automation ensures that every document adheres to the brand's guidelines, including logo placement, color schemes, and font styles. This consistency reinforces the brand's identity and professionalism. 

9. Cost Savings  

Although implementing document automation involves an initial investment, the long-term cost savings are substantial. Manual document creation consumes valuable employee hours and is prone to errors that can be expensive to rectify. Automation reduces labor costs, minimizes errors, and optimizes resource allocation, contributing to significant cost savings over time. 

10. Accessibility and Security  

Cloud-based document automation solutions offer the advantage of accessibility from anywhere, at any time. Authorized users can access documents remotely, improving collaboration and expediting decision-making. These solutions also implement robust security measures to protect sensitive information, ensuring data confidentiality and compliance with data protection regulations. 

11. Analytics and Insights  

Document automation systems often have built-in analytics features that provide insights into document usage, generation trends, and user behavior. These insights enable organizations to identify optimization opportunities, track document workflows, and make data-driven decisions to enhance efficiency further. 

12. Improved Customer Experience  

Ultimately, document automation's benefits culminate in an improved customer experience. Faster response times, accurate information, and personalized documents cater to customer needs effectively. The streamlined processes resulting from document automation reflect positively on the organization's professionalism and dedication to customer satisfaction. 

How to Automate Documentation in 8 Simple Steps

1. Transform Your Writing Process with Otio

Knowledge workers, researchers, and students are overwhelmed by content overload and left to deal with it using fragmented, complex, and manual tooling. Otio solves this problem by providing researchers with one AI-native workspace. It helps them: 

1. Collect many data sources, from bookmarks, tweets, and extensive books to YouTube videos. 

2. Extract key takeaways with detailed AI-generated notes and source-grounded Q&A chat. 

3. Create draft outputs using the sources you’ve collected. Otio helps you to go from the reading list to the first draft faster. 

Along with this, Otio also enables you to write research papers/essays faster. Here are our top features that researchers love: AI-generated notes on all bookmarks (Youtube videos, PDFs, articles, etc.), Otio enables you to chat with individual links or entire knowledge bases, just like you chat with ChatGPT, as well as AI-assisted writing. Our tool has web scraping capabilities that allow you to access a wide range of data sources beyond traditional academic papers and search engines. This feature enables researchers to collect diverse information from sources like bookmarks, tweets, books, and YouTube videos, streamlining the process of curating and analyzing data for research purposes. Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner — try Otio for free today!

2. Identify the First Document Workflow to Automate

Start with the proper process. The first document workflow you choose to automate must balance its complexity (document flow, users involved, etc.) and importance to the organization. Ideally, choose a process directly related to the organization’s value proposition. This will motivate the team and help you see immediate results. But it should also be relatively simple to model. After all, it’s your first automated workflow, and you don’t want to become discouraged or frustrated.

3. Quickly Model Document Workflows

Recognize the main stages of the document workflow and don’t waste time on the details. The main thing here is to design a simple diagram using a precise -yet easily understandable- notation. We recommend using BPMN (BPM Notation), an intuitive international standard. Plus, there is a lot of information available about this notation. 

4. Identify Document Workflow Participants

Firstly, identify key users and roles working on the process. Next, define which user and role work on every workflow step. Finally, the permissions for users and roles must be specified. In other words, explain the access level of each participant: Reader, Editor, Assignee, etc.

5. Link Related Forms to Your Document Workflow

Identify the data types (or fields) relevant to the document workflow. For example, a vacation request approval workflow may involve a form for entering dates, details of the employee, etc. Define which form fields are visible, editable, or required at every workflow stage. Identify which information or fields should be searchable to filter or classify it. 

6. Define Attachments in Your Document Workflow

Define the files that can be attached along the document workflow. Define if it will be necessary to search through attachments. 

7. Select the Right Tool and Automate Your Document Workflow 

Select the right tool that covers your needs based on the abovementioned requirements. There are different types of Document-oriented: best suited for administrative use. 

Production-oriented

This is more suitable for industrial companies with integrated production machinery. It is not recommended for document workflows. 

Integration oriented

Suitable for less human interaction and multiple systems integrations. Not ideal for document workflows, but they can be integrated (for example, Zapier to connect with other Web Apps)

8. Measure Document Workflow Execution 

A month after automating your document workflow (following the above steps), measure the results using at least these KPIs: Processes initiated in a certain period. Average time required to complete a process The time needed for each stage. This allows you to detect possible bottlenecks. After improving and optimizing the document workflow, implement it again and repeat the measuring step one month later.

Related Reading

• Workflow Examples
• Marketing Automation Workflow
• AI Workflow Automation
• AI Agents Examples
• Enterprise Workflow Automation
• AI Web Scraping
• AI That Can Search the Web
• Marketing Automation Workflow Examples
• Types of AI Agents

10 Best Document Workflow Automation Tools

Document automation tools can reduce the friction of manual document processes and eliminate repetitive tasks. This helps to streamline workflows, cut down on errors, and free up valuable time for employees to focus on higher-level tasks. Here are some of the top document automation tools to help your business. 

1. Otio

Knowledge workers, researchers, and students are overwhelmed by content overload and left to deal with it using fragmented, complex, and manual tooling. Otio solves this problem by providing researchers with one AI-native workspace. It helps them: 

1. Collect many data sources, from bookmarks, tweets, and extensive books to YouTube videos. 

2. Extract key takeaways with detailed AI-generated notes and source-grounded Q&A chat. 

3. Create draft outputs using the sources you’ve collected. Otio helps you to go from the reading list to the first draft faster. 

Along with this, Otio also enables you to write research papers/essays faster. Here are our top features that researchers love: AI-generated notes on all bookmarks (Youtube videos, PDFs, articles, etc.), Otio enables you to chat with individual links or entire knowledge bases, just like you chat with ChatGPT, as well as AI-assisted writing. Our tool has web scraping capabilities that allow you to access a wide range of data sources beyond traditional academic papers and search engines. This feature enables researchers to collect diverse information from sources like bookmarks, tweets, books, and YouTube videos, streamlining the process of curating and analyzing data for research purposes. Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner — try Otio for free today!

2. Nanonets

Nanonets is an AI-driven platform designed to automate document processing and data extraction workflows, particularly benefiting finance, healthcare, and logistics industries. 

Pros

• Simple API for easy integration 

• Compatible with multiple programming languages 

• Data extraction features 

Cons

• It may not be suitable for more extensive machine-learning projects with massive datasets 

• Compared to more advanced tools, Nanonets offers fewer customization options 

3. Klippa Doc Horizon

Klippa DocHorizon is an AI-powered document workflow software that automates document processing tasks. Standout features include document verification to detect fraudulent documents, identity verification through AI algorithms, and a workflow builder that lets you create and manage document processing workflows tailored to your needs. These features work together to enhance your document management processes. 

Pros

• Supports multiple document formats for conversion 

• Automated document classification 

• Fraud detection capabilities 

Cons

• Documentation around the API could be improved 

• Limited customization options for specific workflows 

4. Notion

Notion is a versatile workspace tool integrating wiki, documentation, project management capabilities, and an AI assistant for writing and organization. I picked Notion: Notion's flexibility and customization options make it ideal for diverse organizational needs. Users can create custom tags, databases, and templates tailored to projects or team requirements. This level of customization ensures that the software can adapt to various workflows, whether for project management, content creation, or administrative tasks. 

Pros

• Extensive templates 

• Allows real-time collaboration 

• Highly versatile and customizable workspace platform 

Cons

• It can be time-consuming to setup 

• Occasional slow performance when working with complex pages 

5. Fluix

Fluix is a no-code document management and workflow automation platform. Field teams can use it for data collection and form processing purposes. Standout features include dynamic values that can be implemented in forms and used to customize your follow-up workflows. The workflow builder also allows conditional logic, connecting specific rules based on particular values entered in forms. Ready-made and custom templates are also available on the platform, helping you speed up your form creation process. 

Pros

• Form building, data collection, and workflow automation in one 

• Easy to learn, drag-and-drop interface 

• It can be used on any device 

Cons

• Some feature discrepancies between the mobile and desktop app 

• Some features come as paid add-ons 

6. OpenText

OpenText provides a wide array of software tools for business, including Document Centric Workflow, a cloud-based document management and workflow automation platform. Standout features include professional consulting services provided by the company. Small businesses or organizations with limited resources may benefit from outsourcing your document management strategy or process aspects. The company’s team of experts can help you implement their solution and ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations. 

Pros

• Product training available 

• Deployment support available 

• Consulting services are also available 

Cons 

• One of many software provided by the company (not specialized) 

• It may be too simplistic for some use cases 

7. Adobe Acrobat Sign

Acrobat Sign is a document management software that facilitates e-signatures and PDF management for businesses. Standout features include the mega sign feature, which allows you to bulk send a document to several recipients and personalize each one. You can then track the status of each file and get real-time notifications each time someone signs their copy. Identity authentication is also available through the software, giving you an added level of security when having essential documents signed. 

Pros 

• Comprehensive PDF management features are included in all plans 

• 34 languages available for forms and signing 

• Multiple pricing tiers for individual and team plans 

Cons

• Workflow builder is only included in the enterprise plan 

• Integrations only included in the enterprise plan

Examples of Document Workflow Automation

Transforming Invoice Processing with Automated Workflows

Businesses often find themselves inundated with invoices that require timely reviews, approvals, and processing. Document workflow automation can eliminate bottlenecks by automatically capturing, routing, and tracking invoices through predefined workflows. This speeds up the approval process and minimizes the risk of errors that can occur with manual entry. Therefore, you can ensure timely payments and better cash flow management.

Streamlining Contract Management with Automation

Most businesses deal with many contracts regularly, including vendor contracts, employment agreements, and client service level agreements. Managing these contracts can be a challenging and error-prone process, mainly if you're relying on manual, paper-based workflows. To streamline this, you can create automated workflows to generate contract templates based on predefined parameters, such as contract type, client information, and pricing details. You can then route the contract through the necessary approval processes, ensuring that all stakeholders review and sign off on the document before it's finalized.

Enhancing Employee Onboarding with Document Automation

When new employees are hired, they typically need to provide various documents such as identification proof, tax forms, and previous employment records. With workflow automation, these documents can be securely uploaded and routed through a predefined process. The system can automatically verify the documents, flag any issues, and notify the appropriate personnel. This enhances the new hire experience, reduces HR's administrative burden, and confirms that all necessary documents are collected and processed efficiently.

Automating Customer Onboarding for a Smooth Experience

Customer onboarding can often involve multiple steps, each requiring specific documentation. When a new customer signs up for your services, you can automate collecting and verifying necessary documents and information. This might include contracts, payment details, and compliance documents. By streamlining the onboarding process, you can provide a smoother experience for your customers, ensuring they receive timely communication and support as they use your services.

Boosting Marketing & Sales Collateral Production with Automation

Marketing and sales teams rely heavily on various collaterals, such as brochures, presentations, proposals, and case studies. These documents must be created and distributed efficiently to ensure consistency and brand messaging. Through automation, tasks such as content creation, design reviews, and final approvals can be efficiently managed, reducing manual errors and saving time. Automated workflows can guarantee that stakeholders are involved at each stage, leading to faster turnaround times and improved collaboration.

Improving Regulatory Compliance with Document Workflow Automation

By automating document workflows, you can create standardized procedures for handling sensitive information, tracking document versions, and enforcing access controls. This helps maintain data integrity and confidentiality, which are crucial to regulatory compliance. Additionally, automation can provide audit trails and logs for all document-related activities, facilitating transparency and accountability. This helps you meet regulatory requirements and reduces the risk of fines and penalties.

Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner—try Otio for free today! Knowledge workers, researchers, and students are overwhelmed by content overload and left to deal with it using fragmented, complex, and manual tooling. Otio solves this problem by providing researchers with one AI-native workspace. It helps them: 

1. Collect many data sources, from bookmarks, tweets, and extensive books to YouTube videos. 

2. Extract key takeaways with detailed AI-generated notes and source-grounded Q&A chat. 

3. Create draft outputs using the sources you’ve collected. Otio helps you to go from the reading list to the first draft faster. 

Along with this, Otio also enables you to write research papers/essays faster. Here are our top features that researchers love: AI-generated notes on all bookmarks (Youtube videos, PDFs, articles, etc.), Otio enables you to chat with individual links or entire knowledge bases, just like you chat with ChatGPT, as well as AI-assisted writing. 

Related Reading

• AI Business Automation
• How to Automate Tasks
• How to Build Workflows
• Workflow Automation Tools
• AI Productivity Tools
• AI Workflow Management
• CRM Workflow Automation
• Workflow Apps
• AI Automation Tools
• AI Workflows

Supercharge Your Researching Ability With Otio — Try Otio for Free Today

Knowledge workers today face more content than they can handle. Researchers, students, and other academic professionals are especially vulnerable to this overwhelming information overload. As more people create content with AI tools and other tech, the material available to researchers will only grow. This problem wouldn’t be so bad if researchers had reliable data analysis methods. Instead, they struggle with fragmented, manual tooling that disrupts their workflows. Most settle for stitching together complicated bookmarking, read-it-later, and note-taking apps to get through the process. This patchwork approach is frustrating and inefficient. 

How Otio Helps Researchers Overcome Content Overload

Otio is an AI-powered workflow management tool that helps researchers consolidate their content analysis processes. With Otio, researchers can collect, analyze, and create research papers faster for a more efficient workflow.  Let’s take a closer look at how Otio helps researchers overcome content overload. 

Collect a Wide Range of Data Sources

Otio provides one centralized workspace for researchers to collect a wide range of data sources, from bookmarks, tweets, and extensive books to YouTube videos. Instead of wasting time sifting through endless documents and organizing their findings across multiple tools, Otio helps researchers gather and manage their content efficiently. 

Extract Key Takeaways with AI

The next step in the research process is extracting key takeaways so you can write your paper. Otio speeds up this process significantly, providing detailed AI-generated notes on all bookmarks. Researchers can even chat with individual links or entire knowledge bases, just like they chat with ChatGPT, to gather relevant information for their projects. 

Create Draft Outputs Using Your Sources

Otio helps you go from the reading list to the first draft faster. Along with this, Otio also enables you to write research papers/essays faster. With Otio, you can create draft outputs using your collected sources. Then, you can organize and analyze the information to write your paper more efficiently.

Related Reading

• AI Tools for Finance
• HR Workflow Automation
• Low Code Workflow Automation
• AI Workflow Tools
• AI Financial Statement Analysis
• Sales Workflow Automation
• Marketing Workflow Automation
• Best AI Agents
• Workflow Automation for Small Business