Document workflow automation: Examples and best practices
Without the right document workflow solutions, minor issues can become crises. Typos can lead to rewrites. Missed deadlines even become renegotiations. Managing documents doesn’t have to be hard.
When relying only on human effort to keep workflows running becomes unsustainable, document workflow automation can help. By facilitating a faster, more reliable flow of tasks and information throughout your organization, you’ll optimize complex business processes.
Let’s explore the key characteristics of automated document workflows, along with examples and best practices for managing content throughout its lifecycle.
Key highlights:
- Document workflow automation is the use of technology to streamline document-related processes such as creation, management, and routing
- Examples of automated document workflows include employee onboarding, electronic contract signing, compliance monitoring, and document routing
- By automating document workflows, you improve content accuracy, enhance collaboration with stakeholders, and save time otherwise spent on revisions
- With Box, you get an intelligent platform for document workflow automation — offering pre-built templates, real-time tracking, unlimited e-signatures, and content management to keep processes efficient and compliant
What is document workflow automation?
Document workflow automation is the use of technology to automate and optimize tasks within a document-driven process. It involves implementing rule-based systems to reduce manual intervention in activities like extracting data from lengthy reports or routing contracts for electronic signature.
The result? More efficient document management and approval, which not only saves time but also lets you:
- Scale business operations by enabling your team to handle increased document volumes without the need for additional resources
- Enhance customer experiences by delivering faster, more accurate proposals, onboarding materials, and support documentation
- Strengthen compliance checks with automated tracking and document audit trails
Discover how to get started with enterprise workflow automation.
Why you should automate document workflows
Gartner predicts that 30% of enterprises will automate more than half of their network activities by 2026, up from less than 10% in mid-2023. This shift means companies are looking to generate more insights from data and use intelligent content to make faster, more informed decisions.
Automated content workflows allow you to adapt to growing data volumes efficiently by routing documents and getting notifications of any changes in real time — so teams can stay on top of their tasks and streamline approvals without the complexity of manually tracking updates.
With workflow automation for documents, you:
- Reduce typos and data entry errors with formatting rules that help maintain content accuracy
- Foster collaboration in the workplace with tools and centralized file access for team members and external partners
- Increase transparency by tracking document statuses throughout the workflow
- Simplify the content review process of legal contracts, marketing materials, and other business documents by providing version control and co-editing capabilities
Explore co-editing tips to improve collaboration in your organization.
Examples of automated document workflows for businesses
The role of automation in streamlining workflows has become critical for many industries to remain competitive. To make content management processes more agile, explore examples of what you can automate with document workflow solutions.
| Examples of automated document workflows | How automation works in each case |
| Document creation and formatting | Document workflow systems automatically generate and format files based on data inputs and templates |
| Contract management | Content workflow software offers templates, e-signatures, and automated reminders to speed up contract creation, review, and approval |
| Document categorization | A document workflow management system groups files based on content, characteristics, or purpose |
| HR onboarding | Document management workflow software automates the collection, review, and processing of new hire documents |
| Electronic contract signing | E-signature platforms enable secure signing of contracts by offering detailed audit trails that track each step of the process |
| Intelligent document processing | Intelligent tools automate document workflows by extracting and processing data for faster analysis |
| Compliance monitoring | A document workflow automation platform uses classification rules to enforce compliance with standards and regulations |
Understand why digital workflow automation is more important than ever for businesses.
Best practices to automate your document workflows
Reduce the back and forth in revisions and approvals with these four best practices to effectively automate document workflows.
1. Look for a platform powered by document automation tools
Many companies are still learning how to build effective workflows — the Association for Intelligent Information Management (AIIM) reports that only 29% of organizations view their process and workflow design skills as advanced or expert.
If you’re planning to implement a document management system, make sure it comes with robust file workflow automation tools, plenty of training resources, and dedicated support that help your team get up to speed quickly and make the most of the system’s capabilities.
When evaluating document automation tools, prioritize these key features:
- Event-triggered actions: Automating subsequent steps in a workflow speeds up document processes. For example, once you approve a contract, an automated notification goes to a legal team member to review, or upon a specific data entry, you route an invoice to the finance department.
- Workflow templates: Pre-built, standardized process flows drastically reduce setup time, so you can quickly define approval hierarchies and deadlines based on your needs.
- Document version control: By maintaining a complete history of all document revisions, you allow users to track changes and revert to previous editions when necessary. When everyone works with the latest version, you streamline collaboration and minimize confusion caused by multiple copies.
- Push notifications: Real-time alerts keep users informed of new tasks, updates, or deadlines related to documents. You can set up email or in-app alerts to notify stakeholders when a contract is ready for their signature.
- Enterprise metadata management: Keeping metadata consistent allows automation systems to act on documents based on their specific properties. For instance, a document tagged with a “contract” metadata type can automatically trigger a workflow to route it for legal review.
Discover the benefits of implementing a workflow management system.
2. Connect your solution with existing systems
If your document workflow management software can’t easily integrate with your existing CRM system or storage platform, you’ll face more headaches in the long run. According to Camunda’s State of Process Orchestration and Automation 2025, 85% of organizations find process management more complex when combining automated tasks, with 56% attributing this complexity to legacy systems that are challenging to connect.
Look for solutions that offer cloud app integration and workflow APIs that allow seamless data flow between the systems you already use.
Explore the most common types of APIs and their benefits for businesses.
3. Implement robust security controls
With so many document workflows being digitized, security should be a top priority. You don’t want information to be vulnerable to breaches, compliance violations, or even loss due to system failures.
Make sure the platform you choose offers enterprise-grade security controls like data classification and digital watermarking, as these features help label sensitive files at scale and prevent unauthorized changes.
4. Choose document workflow solutions that scale with your business
Imagine implementing document workflow automation software that can’t handle large volumes of content, slowing down performance, and frustrating users. Without scalable cloud data storage, you’ll hit a wall fast, especially when working with complex multimedia files.
Look for solutions that support high-resolution digital assets and multiple users at once. This way, you don’t have to worry about access restrictions and workflow disruptions.
Speed up work with the best document workflow software
Automating a business document workflow doesn’t have to be a one-size-fits-all process. With Box, you get a centralized platform to create, store, and organize your business documents securely — leveraging automation tools to build and personalize your content workflows with ease.
As the Intelligent Content Management leader, we equip you with a range of solutions to automate document-centric workflows:
- Pre-built templates, activity tracking, and APIs to speed up processes with Box Relay
- Document management software with unlimited storage and AI-powered alerts to identify potential security threats
- Dynamic document generation for any process with Box Doc Gen
- Unlimited e-signatures at no added cost with Box Sign
- Event-based retention and flexible schedules to maintain control over document lifecycles with Box Governance
Contact us and let’s discuss how to customize document workflow automation to your needs.
*While we maintain our steadfast commitment to offering products and services with best-in-class privacy, security, and compliance, the information provided in this blog post is not intended to constitute legal advice. We strongly encourage prospective and current customers to perform their own due diligence when assessing compliance with applicable laws.