Documents are included with Nutshell's Proposals and Invoices add-on.
Getting agreements signed is a normal part of closing deals. But jumping between your CRM, a separate document tool, and your email to get a contract out the door slows everything down.
Documents let you manage that whole process directly in Nutshell. Build a reusable PDF template once, generate a personalized copy for any lead, send it to your contact for e-signature, and track exactly where things stand — all from the lead page.
Getting started
Before your team can start sending documents, your Nutshell account administrator will need to set up a document template. Here is what to check first:
Confirm your account has the Proposals and Invoices add-on under Setup > Billing
Grant your team the right permissions under Setup > Users and teams so they can create, view, and send documents to leads
Head to Sales > Documents > Templates to create your first template
Set up your document template
Templates are the foundation of how documents work. You build one once and your whole team can use it to generate a personalized document for any lead. Note: You can also create more than one document template.
To create a template, go to Sales > Documents > Templates and upload a PDF.
Before adding fields to your document, give your template a name and description from the Settings tab.
Template name — give your template a clear name so your team knows what it is for, for example Supplier Renewal Contract or Service Agreement
Description — add a short description to help your team pick the right template when creating a document from a lead
You will also find the Publish template toggle here. Keep this off while you are building your template and turn it on when it is ready to use on leads.
Adding fields to your template
Once your settings are saved, click into the template editor to start placing fields on your PDF. The panel on the right has two tabs:
Fields — where you drag fields onto your document
Summary — an overview of all the fields you have added
In the Fields tab, fields are split into two sections depending on who fills them in:
Completed by the sender — your team fills these in before sending the document:
Text — for written content like a company name, address, terms etc
Signature — for where your team needs to sign
Date — for where a date needs to be added by your team
Completed by the recipient — the person signing fills these in themselves:
Text — for information the recipient needs to provide
Signature — for where the recipient needs to sign
Date — for where the recipient needs to add a date
To place a field, drag it from the panel and drop it onto the relevant spot on your PDF. Once a field is placed you can configure it with a label and set whether it is required. For sender fields, you can also set a Pre-fill with option to pull data in automatically from the lead or contact record. The available pre-fill options include:
Person name
Person email
Company name
Company email
Lead value
Custom fields
any custom fields you have set up in your Nutshell account will also appear here, making it easy to pull in specific data points your team captures on leads and contacts
This means that when a rep generates a document for a lead, sender fields are already filled in with the right information, saving time and reducing the chance of errors.
Once your template is ready, hit Save and close and head back to the Settings tab and turn on the Publish template toggle to make it available on leads.
Create and send a document from a lead
Once you have a published template, getting a document out to a lead is straightforward. You can do this from any lead page using the Sales documents widget in the lead sidebar.
Click +Add > Add a document
Pick the document you’re looking to use
Choose the recipient — a contact or company on the lead
Fill in any required sender fields on the prepare page. If any data is missing for this lead you can enter it manually right there
Set a Valid through date if you want the signing link to expire after a certain point
Click Mark as ready
Once the document is ready, click Send document to share it with your contact. You will see the following options:
Send via email — sends the document link directly to your recipient from Nutshell
Mark as sent — if you have shared the document another way, use this to update the status manually
Copy link to document — grab a shareable link to send through any channel you prefer
Download PDF — download a copy of the document for your own records
Sending via email from Nutshell
If you choose Send via email, a Prepare to send screen will appear before the email goes out. This gives you a chance to review and confirm all the key details, you can also add an optional message for the recipient.
You can also Share manually using the document link from this screen if you decide to send it another way instead.
What your recipient sees
Your recipient gets an email with a link to open and review the document.
Once they open it they can:
Read through the full document
Fill in any fields assigned to them
Sign where required
Before completing, they confirm that their electronic signature is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature. Once they accept, Nutshell records the date, time, IP address, and browser, and the document status updates to Accepted. Your recipient can download their signed copy straight away.
Understanding document statuses
Each document moves through a series of statuses as it progresses. You can keep track of any document from Sales > Documents > Overview or from the Sales documents widget on a lead.
Draft — the document has been created and sender fields are still being filled in
Ready — all sender fields are complete and the document is ready to send
Sent — the recipient has a signing link
Accepted — the recipient has signed
Revoked — the recipient can no longer view or sign
Expired — the valid-through date has passed
Removed — deleted while in Draft or Revoked status
Manage all your documents in one place
You can get a full picture of document activity across your whole team from Sales > Documents > Overview.
At the top of the page you will see three key numbers at a glance:
Drafts created — the total number of documents that have been started
Documents sent — how many have been sent to recipients
Documents accepted — how many have been signed and accepted
The chart below breaks this down visually over time, showing sent and accepted documents by day, week, month, quarter, or year. This makes it easy to spot patterns in your team's document activity and see whether deals are moving through to acceptance.
Below the chart you will find a full list of every document, showing:
Document number — a unique reference for each document
Lead — the lead the document is associated with, click through to go straight to that lead
Owner — the team member who created the document
Status — where the document currently sits in the process
Last update — when the document was last updated
You can filter the list by Status or Owner to narrow things down, making it easy to find documents that need attention or follow up.
Combine a quote and a document for signing
For some deals, you need more than just a quote. You might need your lead to sign the quote and then work through a supporting contract or agreement before everything is locked in. You can set this up at the quote template level using Quote acceptance rules.
There are three options to choose from:
Accept with one click — recipients review and accept the quote with a single click, no signature needed
Require a signature to accept — recipients must sign the quote before they can accept it
Require a signed document to accept — recipients sign the quote first, and must then complete and sign an attached document before the quote is fully accepted
The third option is where documents come in. Think of it as a two step flow: the recipient signs the quote, then works through the attached contract or agreement. Both need to be completed before the quote and contract moves to accepted.
To set this up, go to your quote template, open Quote acceptance rules, select Require a signed document to accept, and choose the document template you want to attach.
Stay on top of your documents with notifications
Nutshell can notify you when there is activity on a document so you never miss a beat. To set up your document notifications, go to Your settings > Notifications and look for the Documents section.
You can choose to be notified when:
Any document is viewed — get alerted whenever a document is opened by a recipient
Any document is accepted — get alerted whenever a recipient completes and signs a document
A document on one of your leads is viewed — get notified when a document on a lead you own is opened
A document on one of your leads is accepted — get notified when a document on a lead you own is signed and accepted
Each notification can be checked on or off depending on how closely you want to track document activity. These notifications are turned off by default, so head to your settings to turn on the ones that are most useful for you.
Sale documents FAQs
Do I need a separate add-on for documents?
No. Documents are included with the Proposals and Invoices add-on, the same one used for quotes and invoices.
Can I send a document without using email?
Yes. After marking a document ready, copy the link to the document and send it through any channel you prefer.
What field types can I place on a PDF template?
Text, Signature, and Date. These are available for both the sender and the recipient.
What happens if I revoke a document after sending it?
The recipient can no longer view or sign it. You can only remove a document that is still in Draft status.
Can a quote require a signed document before it is accepted?
Yes. On the quote template, set Quote acceptance rules to Require a signed document to accept and select your document template.