Hi everyone,
I’m searching for cost-effective ways to send contracts using our Airtable CRM. We’re a small business handling 5-10 contracts monthly. Our setup already has all the necessary info, but we need a way to fill in templates and send them out without breaking the bank.
I’ve looked into Zapier and DropboxSign, but they seem pricey for our needs. Are there any cheaper tools or Airtable extensions that could help us streamline this process? We’re not planning to increase our contract volume soon, so a simple solution would be perfect.
Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!
Have you considered using Airtable’s built-in automation features? They’re included in most plans and can be quite powerful for your needs. You could set up an automation that triggers when a specific field is updated, then uses that data to populate a contract template. For sending, you might integrate with a free email service like Gmail.
Another option is to explore Make (formerly Integromat). It’s generally more affordable than Zapier for lower volumes and offers good Airtable integration. You could create a scenario that pulls data from Airtable, fills a template, and sends it via email or even a free e-signature service.
Lastly, if you’re comfortable with a bit of coding, you could write a simple script using Airtable’s API to handle the contract generation and dispatch. This would be the most cost-effective but requires some technical know-how.
hey, check out Formstack Documents. it integrates with airtable and can automate contract creation pretty cheap. you could also try using google docs with apps script - bit more diy but free. or look into pandadoc’s API if ur tech-savvy. might be overkill but could work. good luck!
I’ve been in a similar situation and found a great workaround using Google Sheets and Google Docs. Here’s what I did:
Set up a Google Sheet that mirrors your Airtable data structure. Use Airtable’s API to sync data to this sheet automatically.
Create a contract template in Google Docs with placeholders for variables.
Use Google Apps Script to create a function that pulls data from the Sheet, populates the Doc template, and emails it as a PDF.
Trigger this function when new rows are added to your Sheet.
This solution is essentially free if you’re already using Google Workspace. It took me about a day to set up, but now it runs smoothly for our 15-20 monthly contracts. The learning curve for Apps Script isn’t too steep, and there are plenty of resources online to help.
Just remember to test thoroughly before going live. Good luck with your automation journey!