How to Create a Proposal Template in Salesforce with Dochly
What is a Salesforce proposal template?
A Salesforce proposal template is a reusable document blueprint that pulls live data from Salesforce records — Opportunity name, Account details, pricing, contact information, product line items — and generates a fully formatted, branded proposal document on demand.
Unlike a Word document someone manually updates for each deal, a Salesforce proposal template is connected directly to your CRM data. Every time it's used, it produces an accurate, consistent document without anyone copying and pasting a single field.
Company & contact info
Account name, billing address, primary contact — pulled directly from Account and Contact records.
Deal-specific data
Opportunity amount, close date, products, and custom fields populated automatically at generation.
Dynamic line item tables
Pricing tables that expand automatically to match the number of products on the Opportunity.
Conditional sections
Different terms for different deal types, regions, or tiers — handled by one smart template.
Branded formatting
Headers, footers, logos, fonts, and colors — consistent on every proposal. See building a branded template.
E-signature blocks
Interactive signing fields for both parties — connected to Dochly's native e-signature for one-click signing.
Why build your proposal template natively in Salesforce?
Most teams still create proposals in Word or Google Docs — copying data from Salesforce, formatting manually, saving files outside the CRM. This approach creates four problems that compound as deal volume grows.
Copy-paste introduces mistakes on pricing, names, and dates — errors that reach the customer at the worst possible moment in the sales cycle.
Multiple proposal versions saved across email attachments, shared drives, and local folders — with no clear record of what was actually sent.
Managers can't see proposal status, track what was sent, or know whether a customer has opened or reviewed a proposal.
Signed proposals don't automatically update Salesforce records — requiring someone to manually download, upload, and update stages every time.
A native Salesforce proposal template built with Dochly eliminates all four. Documents are generated from live CRM data, stored on the Opportunity record, and connected to automated workflows — no manual steps, no errors, no file hunting.
Before you build: what to prepare in Salesforce
Before opening the template editor, make sure your Salesforce data is ready. Skipping this step is the most common cause of merge field errors and broken proposals in production.
Audit your Opportunity fields
Confirm Opportunity Name, Account Name, Close Date, Amount, Owner Name, and any custom fields like Contract_Type__c or Billing_Region__c exist and are consistently populated.
Check Contact & Account records
Proposals pull billing address, primary contact name, and email from related records. Make sure these are clean, complete, and consistently formatted across your org.
Confirm product/line item setup
If your proposals include a pricing table, verify that Opportunity Products are set up correctly and populated on your Opportunities. See adding merge fields.
Define your conditional requirements
List all variations your proposal needs to handle — pricing tiers, region-specific legal terms, service descriptions by product line. These become conditional sections in the template.
Step-by-step: building your proposal template in Dochly
Building proposal templates inside Salesforce — merge fields, conditional logic, and dynamic tables all in one editor
Open the Dochly template editor
Navigate to the Dochly app inside Salesforce. Go to Templates → New Template. Name your template (e.g. "Enterprise Proposal" or "Standard Sales Proposal") and select Opportunity as the primary object. This determines which merge fields are available throughout the template.
See the full guide: Create a document template in Salesforce with Dochly
Add your company header
Insert your company logo, name, and contact details at the top of the template. Use static content for your company information — it's the same on every proposal. Add a styled header bar to separate it from the proposal body.
For branding guidance: Build a branded document template in Dochly
Insert the "Prepared For" section
This section pulls customer information from the Opportunity and its related records. Every field populates from live Salesforce data at generation — no manual entry, no copy-paste errors:
Contact: {{Contact.FirstName}} {{Contact.LastName}}
Email: {{Contact.Email}}
Address: {{Account.BillingStreet}}, {{Account.BillingCity}}, {{Account.BillingState}}
For merge field setup: Add Salesforce merge fields to a document template
Add the proposal date and expiry
The {{TODAY}} field auto-populates with today's date every time the document generates — so the proposal is always correctly dated without any manual input:
Valid Until: {{Opportunity.CloseDate}}
Reference: {{Opportunity.Name}}
Write the executive summary section
Use a mix of static copy (your standard pitch language) and merge fields for deal-specific personalization. Keep this 2–3 paragraphs. The merge fields make every proposal feel personalized without any manual work per deal:
Based on our conversations with {{Contact.FirstName}}, we have prepared
the following solution designed to address your requirements.
Build the pricing table with dynamic line items
Use Dochly's repeating row feature to pull from Opportunity Products. The table expands automatically — one product, ten products, it adjusts without any manual work. Map each column to the corresponding Opportunity Line Item field:
{{OpportunityLineItem.Name}} | {{OpportunityLineItem.Quantity}} | {{OpportunityLineItem.UnitPrice}} | {{OpportunityLineItem.TotalPrice}}
Subtotal: {{Opportunity.Amount}}
Add conditional sections
Conditional sections appear or disappear based on Salesforce field values. This is how one master template handles dozens of proposal variations without requiring separate templates for each scenario:
[Enterprise Service Level Agreement terms]
{END IF}
{IF Account.BillingCountry = "Germany"}
[EU-specific data processing language]
{END IF}
{IF Opportunity.Payment_Terms__c = "Installments"}
[Installment payment schedule and terms]
{END IF}
Add the signature block
Place signature blocks at the end of the proposal for both parties. When connected to Dochly's native e-signature, these become interactive signing fields — signers click to apply their digital signature without any external platform:
{{Contact.FirstName}} {{Contact.LastName}}
Approved by: ________________ Date: ________________
[Your Company Name]
Preview and test
Use Dochly's live preview to generate test documents from real Opportunity records before publishing. Test all four scenarios before going live:
Opportunity with multiple products (5+). Then test with zero products — confirm the table handles gracefully with no blank rows.
Opportunities that trigger each conditional section. Then test with missing optional fields — confirm no "null" text appears in the output.
For troubleshooting help: Template editor troubleshooting — common errors and fixes
Publish and connect to automation
Once testing is complete, publish the template. Connect it to automation so generation happens without admin involvement:
Add a "Generate Proposal" button to the Opportunity page layout for one-click generation by any sales rep.
Auto-generate when the Opportunity stage reaches "Proposal Ready". See trigger from Flow guide.
Connecting your proposal template to e-signature
Once the proposal is generated, the next step is getting it signed. Dochly's native e-signature keeps the entire signing workflow inside Salesforce — no downloading, no re-uploading, no chasing signatures through email threads.
Proposals sent for e-signature directly from Salesforce — customers sign on any device without creating an account
One click or automated Flow trigger creates the proposal from live Opportunity data and attaches it to the record.
The primary Opportunity contact receives a secure signing link via email — sent directly from Salesforce.
The customer opens the proposal, reviews it, and signs — no external account, no software download, fully mobile-friendly.
Signature status updates in real time on the Salesforce Opportunity record — visible to the entire team without leaving Salesforce.
The fully executed proposal with complete audit trail is stored on the Opportunity record automatically. Opportunity stage updates. No manual steps required.
Native Salesforce proposal generation, e-signatures & workflow automation
Common proposal template mistakes to avoid
Templates built on inconsistent Salesforce data produce inconsistent proposals. Audit your Opportunity, Account, and Contact fields before writing a single merge field.
Use conditional logic to handle variations in a single master template instead of maintaining one template per deal type. See managing multiple templates.
Always test with real records — including edge cases like missing fields, zero line items, and unusual field values — before publishing. See troubleshooting guide.
A template without a trigger is still a manual process. Connect it to a Flow, approval process, or at minimum a button click so generation happens without admin involvement.
Test the e-signature experience on mobile before going live. Many customers sign proposals on their phones — a poor mobile experience delays signatures and deals.
When you update pricing or legal terms, create a new version rather than overwriting. See editing and updating templates.
Best practices for Salesforce proposal templates
- Review your executive summary copy quarterly — make sure your pitch language reflects your current product and positioning
- Use consistent branding — logo, colors, and fonts in the template header should match your website and other sales materials. See building a branded template
- Set a Valid Until date on every proposal — tie it to the Opportunity Close Date or a custom field to create urgency and drive faster decisions
- Add an internal reference number — include the Opportunity ID or a custom proposal reference field for easy tracking
- Version your templates — when you update terms or pricing, create a new version. See editing and updating an existing template
- Use the proposal as the base for your contract — proposals that convert to contracts shouldn't require a completely new document. See creating a contract template
- Test on mobile every time — verify the proposal renders correctly and the signing experience is smooth on iOS and Android before each major template update
Frequently asked questions
A well-built Salesforce proposal template — connected to live CRM data, powered by conditional logic, and linked to native e-signature — transforms proposals from a manual time sink into a fully automated revenue step. Ready to build your first template? Start with creating a document template in Salesforce, then use this guide to add merge fields. If you run into issues, the troubleshooting guide has you covered.
Rated 5 stars · Native Salesforce app · Free to install