Document Generation Pipeline

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When to Use This Pattern

Use a document generation pipeline when:

You need to produce standardized documents (contracts, proposals, reports, letters)

The document content comes from multiple data sources (forms, databases, APIs)

Documents need review and approval before they're finalized

You want to eliminate manual copy-paste into Word/PDF templates

How It Works

Stage	What Happens	Output
1. Collect	Gather data from form submissions, databases, APIs	Structured data set
2. Merge	Insert data into a document template	Draft document
3. Review	Route draft to reviewers for editing/feedback	Reviewed document
4. Approve	Final approval gate before distribution	Approved document
5. Distribute	Send, store, and archive the final document	Completed

Implementation Guide

Step 1: Design the Document Template

Create a Word or PDF template with merge fields:

Use placeholder tokens like {{CustomerName}}, {{ContractDate}}, {{TotalAmount}}
Include conditional sections — show/hide paragraphs based on data values
Add repeating sections for line items, deliverables, or terms
Include a signature block if e-signatures are needed

Step 2: Collect the Data

Build a form or configure triggers to gather all required data:

Primary form — the requestor fills in the key details
Database lookups — pull customer info, pricing, product details
Calculated fields — totals, dates, reference numbers
Attachments — supporting documents to append

Step 3: Generate the Document

Use Nintex Document Generation to:

Select the template
Map form/data fields to template placeholders
Generate the output (Word, PDF, or both)
Store the draft in a document library

Step 4: Route for Review

Send the generated document for review:

Assign a review task to the appropriate team (legal, compliance, sales ops)
Allow reviewers to annotate or edit the document
Capture review comments in a structured way
If changes are needed, loop back to regenerate

Step 5: Final Approval

Route the reviewed document through standard approval:

Use a Serial Approval Chain for hierarchical sign-off
Use Parallel Approval for committee decisions

Step 6: Distribute and Archive

Once approved:

Convert to PDF (if generated as Word) for tamper-proof distribution
Send to recipients via email with the PDF attached
Store in the document management system with metadata (type, date, parties, amount)
Update the source record (e.g., set contract status to "Executed" in CRM)
Trigger downstream workflows (e.g., provisioning, onboarding)

Example: Sales Proposal Generation

Sales rep fills out a Proposal Request form (customer, products, pricing)

Workflow pulls customer details from Salesforce + product specs from internal DB

Document Generation creates a branded PDF proposal using the company template

Proposal is routed to sales manager for review

Manager approves → proposal is emailed to the customer and saved to Salesforce

Tips & Best Practices

Tip

Design your templates in Word using the Nintex Document Generation add-in. It lets you insert merge fields, repeating sections, and conditional blocks directly in the Word UI.

Version your templates. Store templates in a document library with versioning enabled. When you update the template, old workflows still use the version they were configured with.

Handle missing data gracefully. If a merge field has no value, show "N/A" or hide the section entirely — don't leave blank placeholders in the final document.

Watermark drafts. Add a "DRAFT" watermark during review so nobody mistakes an unapproved document for a final version.

Include a cover page. For complex documents, generate a cover page with metadata: document type, version, date, approvers, status.

Related patterns

Contract Lifecycle Management

Document Classification with OCR

Visual Flow

When to Use This Pattern

How It Works

Implementation Guide

Example: Sales Proposal Generation

Tips & Best Practices

E-Signature Routing