Data Mapping and Merge Mapping in Salesforce

Adobe Document Cloud eSign services (formerly EchoSign), the top-rated e-sign tool on the Salesforce AppExchange, brings the power of e-signatures and document management into the Salesforce platform for managing customer data. The Adobe tool is 100% native to Salesforce, so it blends seamlessly into the platform—users can prepare, send, track and manage signed documents without ever leaving Salesforce.

The most powerful feature of the tight integration is the ability to link data: You can merge existing Salesforce data into contracts and forms and map signer data back to Salesforce. This brings incredible efficiencies to business processes, with deals closed up to 5 times faster and records that automatically stay up-to-date. In this article, we show you how the merge mapping and data mapping features in Document Cloud eSign services work—so you can unlock the full potential of your Salesforce integration.

Quick installation and configuration

To start, download Document Cloud eSign services from the Salesforce AppExchange. After installation, a wizard takes you through a few simple steps to configure it for sending documents directly from Salesforce.

Agreement templates

Simplify sending in Salesforce

Adobe has provided a tool in Salesforce called Agreement Templates that makes it fast and easy to send documents for signature. This is where you can link your Salesforce and e-signature data.

Agreement templates do not require any code and are easy to configure within the Salesforce functional UI. The following are just some of the settings that you can predefine for your transaction”:

Merge mapping

Merge data from any standard or custom object

Configuring your agreement templates for automatic merge mapping and data mapping can save you a lot of time and reduce document and record error for NDAs, price quotes, sales contracts, employee onboarding forms and other contracts.

To set up merge mapping, follow these steps:

1. Place Text Tags on your document (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, .txt, .rtf or HTML file) for things like first name, last name, title and email address

2. Go to the Merge Mappings tab in Salesforce, and associate your Text Tags with data fields—these object fields can be from standard or custom objects or even objects from other apps downloaded from the AppExchange. There are no restrictions on what data can be merged or how many data points can be merged.

3. Next, tie everything together in the Agreement Templates tab. There, you’ll set up a new agreement template and add your documents, associated merge mapping and any settings for security, approval processes and so on. Review all your settings in the template prior to sending; your Text Tags will be merged with the Salesforce data fields when you send the form for signature.

Data mapping

Collect data and write it back to Salesforce

Utilize the Data Mapping tool to capture data from signed forms and push it back to your Salesforce records. Users commonly map contact information such as name, email address, phone number and mailing address. Other uses include mapping workflow fields such as Opportunity State—so that when a price quote gets signed, the Opportunity State changes to “Closed Won”, for example. This saves a workflow step and ensures that status is current in the opportunity and forecast.

Data mapping even allows you to configure where your agreement and accompanying PDF files are stored—so you can attach the files to any object in Salesforce.

Configuring transactions for data mapping is similar to configuring merge mapping.

To set up data mapping, follow these steps.

1. Place Text Tags on your document for the data you want to capture from signed forms.

2. Go to the Data Mappings tab in Salesforce and associate your Text Tags with object fields in Salesforce. You can use data mapping for any field on any object in Salesforce. As with merge mapping, there are no limits to what can be mapped, nor are there any limits on how much data can be mapped.

3. Bring it all together in the Agreement Templates tab. Add your data mapping to your agreement template with associated files, settings and so on. Be sure to review your agreement template settings before sending. Data mapping will occur after the agreement is signed.

Data flow in merge mapping and data mapping

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Advanced

Automatic Apex triggers

Because Document Cloud eSign services for Salesforce is completely built on the Salesforce platform, the advanced capabilities are endless. You can configure an agreement template to send a form for signature from an Apex trigger—it just takes one line of code. (Apex is the proprietary language the Salesforce platform runs on.) Automatic triggers can be tied to existing buttons, workflows or other events—alleviating user error and delay.
For example, a company whose business involves sensitive information can set up a trigger to automatically send an NDA once a prospect has submitted a lead form. You can also use Apex to create agreement templates that meet very complex business requirements.
Integration with APTTUS and other Salesforce packages Document Cloud eSign services integrates with other applications on the AppExchange,
complementing the extended Salesforce functionality with e-signature capabilities. For example, you can use APTTUS to generate advanced price quotes and then leverage the Adobe tool to get e-signatures on those quotes. Adobe also works with document-generation partners like Drawloop
to provide very complex data merging: Contracts generated in Drawloop can be easily sent for signature using eSign services in Document Cloud.

Additional Resources

eSign for Salesforce v16 Install & Customization Guide [PDF]
Creating forms with Text Tags [PDF]

eSign services & Salesforce quick demo

Installing eSign services in Salesforce

Sending an agreement for signature in Salesforce

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