Bulk-create documents from Excel (Automations)

Automations create many documents in one go. You choose a template, fill an Excel file with one row per document, and fynk creates the documents with the parties, signatories and dynamic field values from the file. Then you can send all of them for signing with one click.

Available on Essential, Business and Pro · Owners, Admins and Editors

Typical uses: contract amendments for all employees, the same agreement with many partners, or yearly confirmations.

Before you start

You need a published template with:

• the parties and signature blocks

• dynamic fields for everything that changes from document to document

• the signature type set

See Create and publish a template.

Create an automation

1. Go to Automations in the sidebar and click Create automation.

2. Enter a name. Created documents are named after it, followed by details such as the parties.

3. Choose the template.

4. Optional: choose teams and tags for all documents. Access follows the usual document rules, including the template's access settings, teams, signatories and checkpoint approvers. The automation creator becomes the owner of each generated document.

5. Click Continue.

Fill in the Excel file

1. Download the Excel template. It has a column for each party, signatory and dynamic field.

2. Fill in one row per document.

3. Save the file and upload it under Upload your data.

4. Click Start automation.

To avoid upload errors:

• Always use the Excel file you downloaded, and don't change its structure: don't move, add or delete columns, and don't change rows 2 and 3.

• Write dates as YYYY-MM-DD, for example 2026-01-31.

• Avoid line breaks, double spaces, and spaces at the start or end of a value.

• Don't leave empty rows, and delete unused rows below your data completely instead of just clearing them.

• Use plain values, not formulas. If your source spreadsheet contains formulas, copy their results and paste them as values before uploading.

• Format all cells as Text, including phone numbers.

• In the entity type column, enter person or business.

• Give each party a name and an address. Without them, the party's signatory can't be added.

• If one email address belongs to two parties, use an alias such as name+1@example.com for one of them.

• Delete the example data before you upload the file.

• Avoid special characters that come in through copy and paste, and don't add extra formatting.

If an upload fails, copy your data into a fresh copy of the Excel template and try again.

Bring an existing Excel contract register into fynk

If you already track contracts and metadata in Excel, you can use an automation to bring that data into fynk before adding the actual contract PDFs. The automation creates a placeholder document for each row, with your existing parties and metadata.

1. Prepare a migration template. Add party fields and dynamic fields for the values in your register, such as a contract reference, start and end dates, renewal details and notice periods.

2. Link the dynamic fields to metadata. Use the corresponding existing metadata fields and create custom metadata where needed. Link contract dates, renewal details and notice periods to the appropriate fields so fynk can use them for deadline tracking.

3. Set up reminders and access in the template. Check the notification rules and recipients for end dates, renewals and notice deadlines. Documents created from the template inherit its setup.

4. Publish the template and create an automation. Download its Excel template, then copy your existing register into the matching columns. Follow the formatting rules above and use one row per contract.

5. Test with a few rows. Check the created documents, parties, metadata, calculated deadlines and reminder recipients before processing the remaining rows.

6. Run the remaining batches. This creates placeholder documents containing the data you already have. For existing contracts, use the document-creation step without sending new signing invitations.

7. Add the actual contract later. Open the matching placeholder document and use Upload revision to add the PDF of the actual contract, quote or other document as a new revision. Check that the metadata and deadline setup still match the contract.

This workflow brings your spreadsheet data into fynk; the automation does not attach the actual contract PDFs from the spreadsheet. Keep a unique contract reference in each row so you can match each PDF to the correct document afterwards.

Optional: turn each register entry into a readable contract summary

Place the dynamic fields in the migration template's document body as well as linking them to metadata. The automation then fills those fields with the values from Excel, so the existing information is readable directly in each generated document.

For example, build a simple summary with a heading and a two-column table: a label on the left and the corresponding dynamic field on the right. Include the contract reference, counterparty, start and end dates, renewal terms, notice period and contract value. Use party placeholders for party details where appropriate.

This is particularly useful when you don't have the original PDFs: the generated document provides a readable record of the information you already have, while the linked metadata supports filtering and deadline tracking. A polished layout takes a little more template preparation, but you only need to design it once for the whole import.

Label it clearly as a Contract register summary so colleagues can distinguish it from the original contract. You can keep using the summary if no PDF is available, and add the original later when you have it.

See Metadata explained and Renewal and deadline reminders.

Send the documents

After the automation has run, you see a list of all created documents with their stage, teams and users. You can open and check each one, then move all documents to the next stage at once, for example to Signing. All signatories then get their signing invitation by email.

Documents can only move on if:

• there are no open or rejected checkpoints

• all signature blocks are placed

• all mandatory dynamic fields are filled

• a signature type is selected

• no document is in edit mode

Limits

An automation creates up to 250 documents per run. Signing invitations go out in batches of about 100 emails, so move documents to Signing in groups of about 75.

Good to know

• Documents created by an automation take over the template's content, metadata, dynamic fields, signature settings, checkpoints and party setup.

• Members of the teams you choose on the automation get access to the created documents. Team assignment alone does not subscribe them to notifications. Notifications target document users; team recipients can be selected on individual documents.

• Signatories are invited when the documents reach Signing. If documents should go to Review first, collaborators from the Excel file are invited then.

• Each created document counts as a document in your account.

• To create documents automatically from other systems instead of Excel, use the API or a CRM integration. See Integrations overview.

Related articles

• Create and publish a template

• Dynamic fields: types, visibility, mandatory fields

• Send a document for signature