10 Best Document Workflows for HubSpot

Every time Portant generates a document from HubSpot, a Document record is created directly inside HubSpot. That record holds real-time data: the document's status, how many times it's been viewed, when it was last opened, which workflow created it, and more.

Most teams know about the Document Object. Fewer teams actually do anything with it.

That's a missed opportunity. Because with HubSpot's native workflow engine, you can turn that data into automations that alert reps at exactly the right moment, move deals through your pipeline automatically, and catch stalled proposals before they go cold. And with HubSpot's reporting tools, you can build dashboards that show exactly where proposals are stalling, which templates perform best, and how long it takes your team to get a signature.

Here are 10 things you can set up today: 5 automations and 5 dashboards, all powered by Portant when installed for HubSpot.

The building blocks: Portant's Document Object properties

Before diving in, here's a quick look at the key properties that Portant syncs to HubSpot. These are the fields you'll use as triggers, filters, and report dimensions:

• Document Status: tracks the lifecycle of each document. Values include: Pending, Draft, Approved, Sent, Signature Requested, Partially Signed, Signed, Completed, and Error.
• Number of Times Viewed: how many times the recipient has opened the document.
• Date Last Viewed: the timestamp of the most recent view.
• Document Created: when the document was generated.
• Portant Workflow Name: which Portant workflow produced the document.
• Document Link: a direct link to the generated document.

These properties are added automatically when you run your first Portant workflow. You can find them grouped under the Portant section in your HubSpot Deal, Contact, Company, or Ticket properties. To learn how to access them, check out our guide on viewing created documents in HubSpot.

Now let's put them to work.

Part 1: Automations (signal-based actions)

These five automations use HubSpot Workflows triggered by changes in your Portant Document properties. Each one helps the right person take the right action at the right time, without anyone needing to remember to check.

For a walkthrough on setting up workflow enrolment triggers using Portant properties, see our guide on triggering HubSpot Workflows from Portant.

1. Hot Prospect alert: document viewed 3+ times

If someone has opened your proposal three times, they're either building a business case internally or comparing you against a competitor. Either way, this is the moment for a rep to reach out with a quick "saw you were reviewing the proposal, anything I can clarify?" touch.

Trigger: The Number of Times Viewed property on the Document Object reaches 3.

What to build:

1. Create a deal-based HubSpot Workflow.
2. Set the enrolment trigger to: Portant > Number of Times Viewed is equal to 3.
3. Add actions: send a Slack message to the deal owner, create a HubSpot notification, and auto-create a Task with the subject "Call within 1 hour: proposal viewed 3 times."
4. Include the deal name, contact name, document link, and view count in the notification message.

That kind of timing turns interest into conversations.

2. Gone Cold re-engagement: no views after 48 hours

This catches the deals that slip through the cracks after a proposal goes out. A rep sends a proposal on Tuesday, gets pulled into three other deals, and by Thursday that contact has forgotten about it entirely. This automation makes sure no sent proposal sits unopened without someone being nudged to follow up.

Trigger: Document Status = Sent AND Date Last Viewed is unknown (or Document Created is more than 48 hours ago with zero views).

What to build:

1. Create a deal-based workflow.
2. Set enrolment triggers using a combination of Document Status = Sent and a date filter on Document Created (more than 2 days ago).
3. Add a branch: check if Number of Times Viewed is still 0.
4. If true: enrol the contact in a follow-up sequence, send a Slack notification to the deal owner, and create a task: "Follow up: proposal not yet opened."

3. Signature stall alert: partially signed for 24+ hours

Multi-party contracts often stall silently. One person signs, the other forgets. Maybe they're on leave, maybe it fell to the bottom of their inbox, maybe they're waiting for internal sign-off. A timely nudge from the rep to the outstanding signer can shave days off the close cycle.

Trigger: Document Status changes to Partially Signed and remains there for 24+ hours.

What to build:

1. Create a deal-based workflow.
2. Set the enrolment trigger to: Document Status = Partially Signed.
3. Add a delay of 24 hours.
4. Add a branch: re-check if Document Status is still Partially Signed.
5. If true: notify the deal owner via Slack or email, including which signer hasn't completed.

Without this automation, these deals silently stall while everyone assumes the other party is handling it.

4. Deal stage auto-progression

This eliminates manual deal stage updates entirely. Reps don't need to remember to drag a deal card across the board after sending a contract. The pipeline updates itself, which means your forecasts and reports are always accurate, not two days behind because someone forgot to update a stage.

Trigger: Changes to the Document Status property.

What to build:

Create separate deal-based workflows (or one workflow with branches) for each status change:

• Sent: Move deal to "Proposal Sent" stage
• Signature Requested: Move deal to "Contract Sent"
• Signed or Completed: Move deal to "Closed Won"
• Error: Send an immediate notification to the deal owner

You can also add Deal Tags based on Document Status for extra visibility on your pipeline board.

5. Buyer Interest Spike: multiple views in a short window

This is distinct from the 3-view alert because it captures urgency. Someone reviewing a proposal multiple times in quick succession is likely in a decision meeting or comparing options right now. This is the "drop everything and call" moment. The difference between reaching them during that window versus calling the next morning can be the difference between winning and losing.

Trigger: 2+ views within a 1-hour window.

What to build:

1. Create a deal-based workflow.
2. Set the enrolment trigger using Number of Times Viewed combined with Date Last Viewed (within the last hour).
3. Add a high-priority Slack alert flagged as "Active buyer: engage now."
4. Include the deal name, contact name, and document link.

Part 2: Dashboards (pipeline intelligence)

These five dashboards use HubSpot's reporting tools with Portant's Document Object properties. They give managers and reps real-time visibility into how proposals are performing, so you can spot problems early and double down on what's working.

6. Proposal engagement funnel

This gives managers instant visibility into where proposals are stalling. If you're creating 50 proposals a month but only 20 get viewed, the problem is upstream. Maybe your delivery timing is off, or emails are landing in spam. If 40 get viewed but only 5 get signed, it's more likely a content or pricing issue. This report tells you where to focus your energy.

What to build: A funnel-style report showing the journey of your documents through each stage:

Documents Created, Sent, Viewed (1+), Viewed (3+), Signature Requested, Signed, Completed

How to set it up:

1. In HubSpot, go to Reports > Create Report.
2. Choose a funnel or pipeline-style report.
3. Use the Document Status property as your stage dimension.
4. Filter by date range to see trends over time.

7. Time to Sign leaderboard

This highlights which reps are best at driving urgency after a proposal goes out. It creates healthy competition and surfaces best practices. If one rep's average time-to-sign is 2 days and another's is 12, there's a coaching opportunity there. You can also slice by template to see which proposal formats get signed fastest, useful data when you're deciding whether to update or retire a template.

What to build: A report showing average time from Document Created to Document Status = Signed, broken down by rep.

How to set it up:

1. Create a custom report using Deal properties.
2. Use Document Created as the start date and filter for Document Status = Signed.
3. Calculate the average duration.
4. Break it down by Deal Owner.
5. Optionally, add a second dimension for deal size or Portant Workflow Name to see which proposal formats close fastest.

8. Stale proposals board

This is the manager's weekly pipeline hygiene tool. A single view of every deal with an outstanding proposal that's gone quiet. Review it in your Monday pipeline meeting, assign follow-up actions, and watch fewer deals slip through the cracks. It takes five minutes a week and can save deals worth thousands.

What to build: A list view of all deals where Document Status = Sent or Signature Requested, but Date Last Viewed is older than 7 days.

How to set it up:

1. Create a deal list or saved view.
2. Filter for: Document Status is any of Sent or Signature Requested.
3. AND Date Last Viewed is more than 7 days ago.
4. Include columns for Deal Name, Deal Owner, Amount, and Last Viewed date.

9. Document engagement heatmap

This helps reps optimise their send timing. If you find that proposals sent on Tuesday mornings get three times the engagement of Friday afternoon sends, that's a straightforward behavioural shift for the whole team. Small changes in timing can have an outsized impact on open rates and response times. It's one of the easiest wins you can get from this data.

What to build: A time-based chart showing when documents are being viewed, broken down by day of the week and time of day.

How to set it up:

1. Create a custom report using Date Last Viewed.
2. Group by day of the week on one axis and time of day on the other.
3. Count total views for each cell to create a heatmap effect.

10. Signing completion rate by workflow template

This reveals which proposal or contract templates are performing best, and which might need reworking. If your Enterprise Agreement template has a 40% sign rate but Standard Proposal hits 75%, that's a clear signal. Maybe the enterprise version is too long, too complex, or missing key information. This data turns template updates from guesswork into evidence-based decisions.

What to build: A conversion rate report from Signature Requested to Signed, broken down by Portant Workflow Name.

How to set it up:

1. Create a custom report.
2. Filter for documents where Document Status reached Signature Requested.
3. Calculate the percentage that reached Signed.
4. Break it down by Portant Workflow Name (which maps to your template).

Getting started

Everything in this article builds on the same foundation: Portant is already saving document data to HubSpot as custom properties on your deals. If you've run at least one Portant workflow, the properties are there. You just need to start using them.

Here's how to get moving:

1. Check your properties. Open any deal in HubSpot, click "View all properties," and scroll to the Portant group. You'll see Document Status, Number of Times Viewed, Date Last Viewed, and the rest.
2. Pick one automation and one dashboard. You don't need to build all 10 at once. Start with the one that solves your biggest current pain. If deals keep stalling after proposals go out, start with the Gone Cold re-engagement (#2) and the Stale Proposals Board (#8).
3. Use HubSpot Workflows. Go to Automation > Workflows, create a new deal-based workflow, and set your enrolment trigger using Portant's document properties. Our step-by-step guide walks you through the setup.
4. Build your first report. Go to Reports > Create Report and use the Portant document properties as your filters and dimensions.

The data is already there. Now it's time to make it work for you.

If you're not using Portant yet, you can start for free and generate your first automated document in minutes. Every document you create becomes a record in HubSpot, and every record is another data point for the automations and dashboards above.