Key Takeaway
- Who it’s for Small to mid-sized business owners, sales teams, and HR departments who send proposals, contracts, or employment documents regularly and need a professional, trackable process.
- Main result Replaced a chaotic email-print-sign-scan loop across multiple businesses. Proposals and contracts now go out in minutes, signed documents are stored properly, and clients take the process more seriously.
- Biggest strength Templates. Once you build them out, sending a fully branded, professional proposal takes minutes not hours.
- Biggest limitation Not suitable if your clients or industry require “wet ink” (handwritten) signatures due to compliance or regulation. PandaDoc is electronic only.
- Time saving High
- Best alternative DocuSign if you only need signing. Dropbox Sign if you want something simpler and cheaper.
- Rated #1 in proposals, eSignature, and contract management by G2 (as of early 2026).
Quick Verdict
Before PandaDoc, getting a client to sign something involved an email chain, a PDF attachment, a printer somewhere on their end, a pen, a scanner or camera, and then another email back. It was slow, it looked unprofessional, and things got lost. I’ve been running multiple businesses under the Carden group for years, and that process was holding us back.
PandaDoc changed that entirely. I use it to send client proposals across several of my businesses, get contracts signed, and handle internal HR documents including employment contracts and staff handbooks. The whole thing is electronic, tracked, stored, and completed in a fraction of the time.
It is not the cheapest tool on the market. And if your sector requires wet ink signatures for compliance reasons, this is not for you. But for the vast majority of business owners who just need a slicker, more professional way to get things signed and stored — PandaDoc does exactly what it promises.
Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you sign up for PandaDoc using my link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I personally use and genuinely rate. The views expressed are my own based on real usage across my businesses.
What PandaDoc actually is
PandaDoc is document management software that lets you create, send, sign, and store business documents electronically.
It is not just an e-signature tool. That is worth saying clearly because a lot of people come to it expecting something like Adobe Sign or DocuSign — tools that let you upload a PDF and collect a signature. PandaDoc does that, but it also lets you build documents from scratch using drag-and-drop templates, track whether recipients have opened or read them, collect payment on the same document, and store everything in one searchable place.
The core use case is proposals and contracts. A client needs a proposal? You pull up a template, fill in the relevant details, send it with a link, and they can sign it on any device. You get a notification when they open it, when they sign it, and a full audit trail is automatically generated.
For anyone running multiple businesses, or managing a team that sends a lot of documents, the time savings are significant. Building a template once means every future document takes minutes, not an hour of formatting and PDF-ing.
Why I use it, and where it fits in my week
The old process was an embarrassment for a business that presents itself as professional. PandaDoc fixed that almost immediately.
Before I moved to PandaDoc, every contract or proposal involved the same painful routine. I’d put a document together in Word or a PDF, email it, and then wait. The client would need to print it, find a pen, sign it, scan it or photograph it, and send it back. Sometimes that took days. Sometimes they’d send a blurry photo. Sometimes they’d email back saying they’d “sort it soon” and it never happened.
Now, across Carden IT Services and the wider group, the process is: open PandaDoc, pull the relevant template, update a few fields, send. The client gets a clean branded document with a big obvious “Sign Here” button. Most sign it within the hour.
I also use it for internal HR documents — employment contracts, staff handbooks, onboarding paperwork. Same principle. Everything is signed, stored, and searchable. No more rifling through email threads to find whether someone signed their contract.
The result: what used to take 30–60 minutes per document now takes under 10. And the documents look dramatically better.
Features and benefits (from basic to advanced)
PandaDoc is built around the full document lifecycle — not just the moment of signing.
| Feature | Benefit | Best use case | Time saving | Setup difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free eSign plan | Test the platform before committing — no card needed | Freelancers, sole traders, very low volume | Low | Low |
| Electronic signatures | Legally binding signatures on any device, no printing required | Any business sending contracts or proposals | High | Low |
| Document templates | Build once, reuse every time — consistent, branded output | Sales proposals, employment contracts, client agreements | High | Medium |
| Drag-and-drop editor | Create professional documents without design skills or outside help | Any team without a dedicated designer | Medium | Low |
| Document tracking & notifications | Know exactly when a document is opened, read, and signed | Sales follow-up, contract chasing | Medium | Low |
| Audit trail | Full timestamped history of every action on every document | Compliance, dispute resolution, HR records | Low | Low |
| Document storage | All signed documents stored and searchable in one place | Businesses with high document volume or multiple staff | Medium | Low |
| Multi-party signing | Assign signing order — document only moves when each party signs | Partnership agreements, multi-signatory contracts | Medium | Medium |
| Approval workflows | Documents go through internal sign-off before reaching the client | Teams where a manager needs to approve before sending | Medium | Medium |
| CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive) | Pull client data directly into documents — no manual re-entry | Sales teams with an active CRM | High | Medium |
| Payment collection (Stripe, PayPal) | Client can pay at the moment of signing — no separate invoice step | Service businesses, retainer agreements | High | Medium |
| CPQ (Configure Price Quote) for HubSpot | Generate accurate, dynamic quotes directly inside HubSpot | Sales teams with complex or configurable pricing | High | High |
The benefits that actually matter
Templates turned a 45-minute job into a 5-minute one
The situation
Across the Carden businesses, we send proposals to prospective clients regularly. IT services, telecoms, digital marketing — each one needs a tailored document that looks professional and reflects the company’s brand.
The friction
Every proposal used to start as a Word document or a copied-from-last-time PDF. Reformatting alone would eat 20 minutes. Forgetting to change a client name from the previous proposal was a constant risk. It looked amateur and it wasted hours each month.
What I did
I built one master proposal template per business inside PandaDoc. Standard sections, correct branding, dynamic fields for client name, company, and pricing. Once the template is right, it is right for every future send.
The result
A proposal that used to take 30–45 minutes now takes under 10. The documents look consistent and professional every time. Client errors (wrong names, wrong pricing format) dropped to zero.
Feature that made it happen: Document Templates + Drag-and-drop editor. The template stores the structure and branding permanently. Dynamic fields handle the personalisation without reformatting from scratch each time.
Caveat: Initial template setup does take time. If you run multiple businesses with different branding, you’re building multiple templates. Worth it, but budget a proper setup session per business.
Clients actually sign things now — and they do it quickly
The situation
Getting a signed contract back used to be the bottleneck at the start of any new client relationship. Work was sometimes starting before the paperwork was done simply because chasing it was exhausting.
The friction
Printing and scanning is a barrier. Clients would say they’d do it “later,” and later sometimes meant never. Chasing up felt unprofessional. Some deals slipped through the cracks entirely.
What I did
PandaDoc sends the document as a simple link. The client clicks it, sees a clean, well-presented document, and signs it with a click on any device — phone, tablet, laptop. No printing. No scanning. No accounts required on their end.
The result
The average time to signature dropped significantly. Most clients sign within the hour of receiving the link, rather than days later. I also receive a notification the moment they open the document, so I know when it’s the right moment to follow up if needed.
Feature that made it happen: Electronic signatures + Document tracking. Recipients can sign instantly on any device. The real-time open notification means follow-up is timely rather than pestering.
Caveat: Occasionally, PandaDoc’s outbound emails land in a client’s spam folder. Worth mentioning to clients to check junk if they don’t receive the link within a few minutes.
HR documentation became something I could actually trust
The situation
Employment contracts, staff handbooks, and onboarding paperwork are not optional. When you’re running multiple businesses including Growth MSP, getting HR documents signed properly and stored reliably is a compliance requirement, not a nice-to-have.
The friction
Paper-based HR documents were a mess. Printed copies went missing. Scanning was inconsistent. There was no single place to confirm whether a new hire had actually signed their contract. Chasing these documents during someone’s first week is the worst possible start to a working relationship.
What I did
I moved all HR templates into PandaDoc. Employment contracts, probation letters, and handbook acknowledgements are now standard templates. A new hire receives a link, signs each document, and everything is stored automatically with a full audit trail.
The result
Every signed HR document is now in one searchable place. I can confirm in seconds whether a document has been signed, when it was signed, and by whom. No more rifling through email threads or asking HR to dig out physical files.
Feature that made it happen: Templates + Audit trail + Document storage. The audit trail provides a legally solid record of exactly when and how each document was signed — crucial for employment law compliance in the UK.
Caveat: PandaDoc is not a dedicated HR system. It does not manage holiday, payroll, or performance records. It covers the document signing and storage piece well, nothing more.
Everything looks more professional — and that is not a small thing
The situation
First impressions matter in business, and the quality of your paperwork is a part of that impression. A proposal that looks like a reformatted Word doc says something. A clean, branded, professional document says something different.
The friction
Without PandaDoc, maintaining consistent branding across all proposals and contracts depended entirely on whoever was making the document at the time. The result was inconsistency.
What I did
Built properly branded templates with the correct logo, colour scheme, and layout for each business. Every document that goes out now looks like it was designed, not cobbled together.
The result
Client feedback on proposals has been noticeably more positive since the switch. Several clients have commented on how professional the signing process feels. It is a small thing in isolation but it compounds over time — it contributes to how the business is perceived overall.
Feature that made it happen: Custom branding + Template editor. The ability to embed logos, colour schemes, and consistent formatting into a template means professional output every time without effort.
Caveat: The level of design customisation has limits. PandaDoc is not Canva. If you need very elaborate visual layouts, you may find the editor constraining. For most business documents it is more than enough.
Signed contracts are stored, found, and never lost again
The situation
With multiple businesses, there are a lot of signed contracts. Client agreements, supplier terms, employment documents, service agreements. Keeping track of all of them used to be a problem waiting to happen.
The friction
Before PandaDoc, signed contracts lived in email inboxes, on local drives, and in folders that relied on whoever created the file to name it sensibly. Retrieving a specific contract from six months ago was a genuine time sink.
What I did
Every signed document in PandaDoc is automatically stored in the platform with its full metadata — who signed, when, which document, which version. Searching for a contract is a matter of typing a name.
The result
Retrieval time for a specific signed document dropped from what could be 15 minutes of digging to under 30 seconds. Every document also comes with a completion certificate and audit trail, which is useful if anything is ever disputed.
Feature that made it happen: Document storage + Audit trail + Digital completion certificates. Each completed document is automatically archived with a certificate confirming signing details, timestamp, and IP address.
Caveat: Document organisation depends somewhat on how you set up your workspaces and folders. If you do not create a consistent folder structure early on, the library can become difficult to navigate as document volume grows.
Benefit to feature map
| Benefit | Feature(s) that enabled it | Proof point (what changed) |
|---|---|---|
| Faster proposals | Templates + drag-and-drop editor | 30–45 min per proposal down to under 10 min |
| Faster client sign-off | Electronic signatures + document tracking | Most clients sign within the hour instead of days |
| HR document compliance | Templates + audit trail + storage | All contracts signed, stored, searchable — zero missing documents |
| More professional presentation | Custom branding + template editor | Consistent branded output across all businesses |
| Document retrieval | Document storage + digital certificates | Specific contract found in <30 seconds vs. 15+ minutes |
What I like, what I don’t, and what I’d improve
No tool is perfect. Here’s an honest breakdown.
What I like
- Templates are genuinely time-saving once set up properly
- The signing experience for clients is clean and simple — no account required on their end
- Real-time open and view notifications take the guesswork out of following up
- Audit trail and completion certificates give solid legal confidence
- Document storage means signed contracts are always findable
- Works well for HR as well as commercial documents — versatile
What I don’t like
- Template setup takes real time upfront — you cannot rush it
- Outgoing emails occasionally land in client spam filters
- The Business plan is not cheap, especially if you’re paying monthly
- The free plan now limits you to just five documents per month, which is restrictive
- Customer support routes you through a chatbot first
Pricing and whether it’s worth it
PandaDoc has a free plan, but the useful version of the product starts at the paid tiers.
Here is how the plans sit as of early 2026 (prices in USD, billed annually — monthly billing adds roughly 30–46% on top):
Free eSign
$0
forever
5 documents/month. Unlimited eSignatures. No templates, no analytics, no CRM.
Starter / Essentials
~$19
per user/month (annual)
Unlimited documents, templates, basic analytics. No CRM integrations.
Business ★
~$49
per user/month (annual)
CRM integrations, approval workflows, custom branding, advanced analytics.
Enterprise
Custom
contact sales
API access, SSO, data residency, custom user roles, dedicated support.
I am on the Business plan. For the volume of documents I send across multiple businesses, the CRM integrations, custom branding, and approval workflows justify the cost. If you are a single-person operation sending the occasional proposal, the Starter plan may be enough.
The free plan is worth a look if you just want to try the signing experience, but be aware it now limits you to five documents per month and does not include templates. That is enough to test the concept, but not enough to run a business on.
If you’re paying monthly rather than annually, the cost climbs meaningfully. Annual billing is the way to go if you are committing to it.
Best alternatives (and when to choose them)
PandaDoc is not the only option, and it is not right for every situation.
DocuSign
DocuSign is the best-known name in e-signatures and is deeply embedded in corporate and enterprise workflows. It handles signing extremely well. The gap versus PandaDoc is that it focuses almost entirely on the signing step — document creation, templates, and workflow management are limited compared to PandaDoc. Also worth noting: DocuSign caps the number of envelopes (documents) you can send on most plans, whereas PandaDoc offers unlimited sends.
When to choose it
If your clients or counterparties specifically request DocuSign, or if you are in a corporate environment where DocuSign integration is already baked into existing systems.
Adobe Acrobat Sign
Adobe Sign sits naturally in the Adobe ecosystem, which makes it a good fit for businesses already deep in Adobe products (Acrobat, Creative Cloud). It handles PDF workflows particularly well and has strong enterprise compliance credentials. For most small business owners, however, it is more complex than necessary and the pricing is not particularly competitive.
When to choose it
If your business already runs on Adobe products and your document workflow is PDF-heavy. Switching from Acrobat to Adobe Sign is a short step. Moving from scratch to Adobe Sign is a longer one.
Dropbox Sign (formerly HelloSign)
Dropbox Sign is simpler and more affordable than PandaDoc. It handles e-signatures well and has a clean, straightforward interface. It does not have PandaDoc’s document creation tools, advanced analytics, or the same depth of CRM integrations. It is, however, a solid option if all you need is a reliable, affordable way to get documents signed without the full document management layer.
When to choose it
If you only need e-signatures — not proposal creation, template management, or document tracking — and cost is a priority. It is the simplest option with the lowest barrier to entry.
Common mistakes when starting (so you don’t waste time)
Most of the frustration people have with PandaDoc comes from skipping the setup phase.
- Skipping template setup entirely. If you just use PandaDoc as an upload-and-sign tool, you are leaving the biggest time savings on the table. Build your templates properly at the start.
- Not setting a signing order for multi-party documents. If more than one person needs to sign, set the order in advance. Without it, the process gets confusing and slow.
- Forgetting to warn clients to check spam. PandaDoc’s outgoing emails occasionally hit spam filters. A quick heads-up to clients prevents a “I never got the link” conversation.
- Staying on monthly billing. If you know you’re using PandaDoc long-term, annual billing saves you close to a third of the cost. Switch early.
- Not organising your document library from day one. Create a consistent folder structure before you have 200 documents sitting in a flat list. It is much harder to sort out retrospectively.
- Building templates that are too rigid. Leave enough dynamic fields so the template can flex for different clients. Templates that require significant manual editing every time defeat the purpose.
- Assuming the free plan is representative. The free plan’s 5-document limit means you never see PandaDoc’s real value. The 14-day trial of the full plan is a more honest test.
FAQ
Answers to the questions that come up most often.
Is PandaDoc legally binding in the UK?
Yes. PandaDoc complies with UK eIDAS regulations and the Electronic Communications Act 2000. Electronic signatures created through PandaDoc are considered legally binding in the UK for the vast majority of commercial agreements. If you are dealing with specific regulated documents — certain property transactions, wills, or deeds — check with a solicitor, as some document types have specific requirements that go beyond standard e-signatures.
Does the person signing need a PandaDoc account?
No. Recipients can open, review, and sign a document through a link — no account, no app, and no download required. This removes the biggest friction point for clients and is one of PandaDoc’s genuine strengths.
What is the difference between PandaDoc and DocuSign?
DocuSign focuses primarily on the signing step. PandaDoc covers the full document workflow — creating documents from templates, collaborating, tracking engagement, collecting signatures, and storing everything in one place. PandaDoc also offers unlimited document sends on paid plans; DocuSign caps sends on most of its plans and charges per envelope beyond the limit.
Does PandaDoc work on mobile?
Yes, PandaDoc has iOS and Android apps. Recipients can also sign documents on any mobile browser without needing the app. The desktop interface is more fully featured than the mobile version, but for day-to-day sending and tracking, the mobile experience is functional.
Can you use PandaDoc for free?
There is a permanent free plan that allows up to five document sends per month. It includes unlimited e-signatures but no templates, analytics, or CRM integrations. There is also a 14-day free trial of the paid plans, which gives you a far better sense of what the platform can actually do — I would recommend starting there rather than the free plan if you are seriously evaluating it.
Which CRMs does PandaDoc integrate with?
PandaDoc integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, and others. CRM integration is available on the Business plan and above. It allows you to pull contact data directly into documents, which removes manual data entry and the errors that come with it.
Is PandaDoc secure?
PandaDoc is SOC 2 certified and HIPAA compliant. Documents are encrypted and every signed document comes with a digital certificate confirming the signer’s details, timestamp, and IP address. For the vast majority of business use cases this is more than sufficient.
What happens if a document needs amending after it’s been sent?
You can recall and correct a document before it is signed. Once it is signed by all parties, the document is locked — which is the point from a legal standpoint. If changes are needed post-signature, you would need to issue a new document. This is standard practice across all e-signature platforms.
Next reads: how I use PandaDoc in real life
These cluster posts go deeper on specific use cases — pick the one most relevant to where you are right now.
01
How I use PandaDoc to send client proposals across multiple businesses
A walkthrough of my exact proposal workflow — from template setup to the moment a client signs. Covers branding, dynamic fields, and what the client experience actually looks like.
Primary keyword: PandaDoc proposals for small business | URL: [PLACEHOLDER]
02
How I set up PandaDoc templates that actually save time
The setup process that most people rush and later regret. Covers building reusable templates, setting up dynamic fields, and structuring a template library that scales.
Primary keyword: PandaDoc template setup guide | URL: [PLACEHOLDER]
03
PandaDoc for HR: how I use it for employment contracts and staff handbooks
Everything I do with PandaDoc on the HR side — employment contracts, onboarding documents, handbook acknowledgements — and how it makes compliance less of a headache.
Primary keyword: PandaDoc employment contracts UK | URL: [PLACEHOLDER]
04
PandaDoc vs DocuSign: which one is right for your business?
A direct comparison based on real use — features, pricing, the signing experience, and when each one is the better choice. Not a regurgitation of feature lists.
Primary keyword: PandaDoc vs DocuSign for small business | URL: [PLACEHOLDER]
05
How I use PandaDoc to track whether clients have read a proposal
The document tracking and notification feature explained. How it works, how I use it in practice, and how it changes the follow-up conversation.
Primary keyword: PandaDoc document tracking | URL: [PLACEHOLDER]
06
PandaDoc Business plan: is it worth the upgrade?
An honest look at whether the Business plan’s extra features — CRM integrations, approval workflows, custom branding — justify the cost for a small or growing business.
Primary keyword: PandaDoc Business plan review | URL: [PLACEHOLDER]
My honest recommendation
If you send proposals or contracts to clients — or manage any kind of document signing process — PandaDoc will save you time, make your business look more professional, and give you a proper audit trail for everything. Start with the 14-day trial on a paid plan. The free plan does not show you enough of what this tool can do.
Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you sign up for PandaDoc using my link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I personally use and genuinely rate. The views expressed are my own based on real usage across my businesses.
