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Manual document generation can be exhausting.
Many office workers spend more time on document generation tasks than on actual work. Interestingly, a report from Nitro shows that employees spend an average of 50% of their time creating and preparing documents.
These documents are prone to human errors which means you need to send them back for correction. This restarts the whole document lifecycle again, wasting time and resources.
But what if you lose the documents?
You need to recreate them. Hence, having physical documents, storing them in dedicated places, and maintaining them is not worth it anymore. This only hinders your productivity and revenue.
Instead, you should delegate these tasks to automated document generation systems so you can focus more on strategic planning and scaling your business.
In this article, we’ll review the 7 best document generation software for small businesses in 2024.
Let’s get started.
How to Choose the Best Document Generation Software?
When looking for document generation software, here are the key points you should keep in mind:
a) Automate the Document Generation Processes
The software should have the capability to automate document generation processes.
One of the main reasons for choosing a document generation software for your small business is to go paperless and have a more hands-free document creation experience. If it can’t automate the processes, then it won’t serve that purpose.
b) Generates Specific Types of Documents
The document generation software must generate the type of document you need. Whether you need to produce DOCX files, PDF files, HTML files, XML documents, or other formats, the tool should provide you with that flexibility.
The more file formats it supports, the better. However, being able to generate the most common documents is crucial.
c) Integration With Existing Solutions
The document generation tool should integrate with the software you’re already using. Especially with other document management software, sales software, and CRM software.
This will allow you to automate your document processes, and provide a more productive document generation workflow for your team.
1. hipCV
hipCV is a drag-and-drop professional CV and resume builder platform.
It offers a simple and visual resume builder in addition to dozens of resume templates to choose from to help you quickly build professional resumes in record time.
All the templates are Application Tracking System (ATS) friendly so you don’t need to worry about getting noticed. This makes hipCV one of the best document generation software for resume building.
It provides a job application tracker to handle notes, salaries, follow-up dates, and locations of your applications.
On top of creating resumes, you can also create beautiful cover letters with the intuitive resume builder. In the more competitive job market in 2024, writing professional cover letters is extremely important and that’s exactly what hipCV is helping you with.
For a simple yet powerful resume builder for your job search, hipCV is our top recommendation in this category.
Best Features:
- Advanced analytics to see if employers saw your resume. You can also track the number of visits to your resume with time and location.
- Pre-written sentences and phrases that you can choose and put in the resume for faster generation.
- Easily shareable in different formats including mobile mobile-friendly website, PDF, and as a link.
Pricing
Starting plan: Free forever.
2. Publuu
Publuu offers a streamlined solution for converting PDF files into interactive flipbooks, ideal for digital creators and businesses.
Once created, each flipbook can be branded with a logo and enriched with a custom background. A standout feature of Publuu is surely the real-time statistics panel, which tracks engagement metrics such as page popularity and link clicks, offering valuable insights into content performance.
Unique to Publuu is the ability to embed lead generation forms within flipbooks, turning readers into potential customers.
Publuu’s focus on creating high-quality flip books sets it apart from other platforms.
It enhances the reading experience by adding realistic effects like reflections and shadows to each page. Users can also embed flipbooks on websites using an iframe, and share them in the form of links and QR codes.
Moreover, the platform offers the option to organize publications on a virtual bookshelf, further improving the reader experience.
Best Features:
- Enhance each page of your online flipbook with reflections and shadows, mimicking the feel of a real book.
- Embed your flipbook on any website using a copy-paste iframe code
- Organize and display your flipbooks, brochures, magazines, and catalogs on a virtual bookshelf, improving the overall reader experience.
Pricing
Starting plan: $7 per month.
3. Documill
Documill is a sales-centric document management and automation solution.
With predefined workflows, a built-in tasking system, collaborative document creation functionalities, and customizable document automation, it allows you to handle your core sales processes more efficiently.
Documill allows e-signing which means you can collect digital signatures and distribute the packaged documents automatically.
This allows you to standardize and unify your sales processes for greater efficiency and compliance.
It also helps you better collaborate with your teammates through the built-in document editor designed for sales processes. You can invite others to make use of private comments online.
Integration with the popular document, communication, drive, and CRM platforms enables you to extend its functionality and improve your productivity.
The combination of custom approval processes, secure sharing, and e-signing allows you to minimize misinterpretations and stick to the rules, policies, and guidelines as required.
For its focus on sales and deal closing, we included Documill in this list of the best document generation software for those purposes.
Best Features:
- Single-click document generation inside Salesforce using the template library and drag-and-drop interface.
- Automation of task assignments and reminders without manual input and follow-ups.
- Solution designer tools to create document workflows tailored to your company’s real-life work processes and work habits.
Pricing
Starting plan: Contact Documill for pricing.
4. HelpSmith
HelpSmith is an XML-based tool for creating help files, manuals, and documentation.
Whether you want to generate CHM HTML Help files, Adobe PDF, Web Help systems, Microsoft Word, Printed Manuals, ePub eBooks, or Markdown documentation, HelpSmith can tackle them all.
The built-in word processor contains a spell checker and dictionaries that are available in multiple languages so you can easily create accurate manuals.
You can also import content from existing help files and documents in multiple formats including Microsoft Word documents, HTML files, RTF documents, compiled CHM files, text files, etc, making HelpSmith one of the best document generation software.
It’s also noteworthy that HelpSmith supports a responsive layout compatible with desktop computers and mobile devices.
Though a bit niche, it’s going to be a great choice for people who want to create manuals and other online help materials and so it got included in this list.
Best Features:
- Provided topic templates allow you to create beautiful designs for the help topics. You can edit and update them or create new ones from scratch.
- Dynamic Styles for Formatting Attributes for reusing fonts and alignment attributes.
- Adding control annotations for user interface elements with the built-in Image Tool allows creating automatic help for the User Interface.
Pricing
Starting plan: $199 one time.
5. Actual Reports
Actual Reports is a document generation and automation platform.
It provides you with two document generation tools — PDF Generator API for developers and Printout Designer for eCommerce merchants. Both tools are suitable for small businesses.
PDF Generator API allows you to create all kinds of PDFs such as invoices, packing slips, and contract documents from pre-built templates using JSON data.
You can create separate workspaces so that your users can store and manage templates.
The mathematical and logical expressions help you manipulate and customize values that are displayed in the components. You can also use a wide range of operators and functions.
With Printout Designer, you can quickly generate invoices, packing slips, labels, and other order fulfillment documents. Additionally, you can create automation rules that allow you to email and print your custom invoices automatically when orders are created or updated.
Having a versatile collection of tools for both development and eCommerce scenarios makes Actual Reports one of the best document generation software.
Best Features:
- A wide variety of smart components (Text, table, barcode) to define the formatting for number and date values.
- Merge PDF templates with data from your application using a powerful Web API. Send the template identifier and JSON data to generate the PDF.
- Component designing such as barcodes, QR codes, images, industry standard signs and symbols, and formatting tools.
Pricing
Starting plan: $59 per month for PDF Generator API and $4.99 per month for Printout Designer
Conclusion
Document generation tools are indispensable.
For any business that relies on documents, it’s no secret that having an automated document generation workflow is crucial.
Even in 2024, a lot of companies are not incorporating digitalized document generation workflows, which is alarming. In fact, Forrester reports that 97% of organizations had minimal digital document generation capabilities.
Imagine the edge you will gain against your competitors if you apply digital document management to your workflows.
So here’s what you can do.
From this list of the best document generation software, you can pick the one that fits your needs perfectly.
If your business is heavily focused on email marketing and newsletters, then opt for Stripo to craft the best-in-class emails.
If your company needs to generate documents in all departments and for all processes, Business Power Tools is a better match for your business.
Lastly, if you’re a job seeker searching for a tool to generate attractive resumes to impress employers, then hipCV is your ideal choice.
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