Automate Your Proposal → Contract → Invoice Workflow in Dubsado
One of the simplest ways to elevate your client experience—and cut down on back-and-forth—is by automating your proposal, contract, and invoice flow in Dubsado.
With just a few strategic clicks, you can send one seamless file that books clients faster and sets the tone for a smooth project.
In this post, I’ll walk you through how to:
Build a proposal that connects to a contract and invoice
Automate the send-off inside your workflow
Set Up the Surrounding Client Experience (ex: canned emails)
Whether you’re refining an existing workflow or starting fresh, this setup is foundational to a pro-level Dubsado system.
Step 1: Create Your Proposal, Contract, INVOICE, & CANNED EMAILS
Before you can automate anything, you'll need these four components built:
Proposal – Use either a template or custom layout. Add packages, options, and lead info.
Contract – Use either a template or custom build it. Add all the terms and conditions of your service.
Invoice – You don’t need to pre-build this. Dubsado will auto-generate it based on the proposal selections.
Canned Emails – Use either an available template or create a custom message.
Step 2: Combine your proposal, contract & invoice Into a Smart File
Open your proposal. On the left hand side you will see a gear icon–click that.
You’ll see an option to “Include Contract” and “Include Invoice.” When you turn on the contract option, you must chose the contract you want to attach to this proposal.
Hit Save & Close
Now you’ve got a Smart File that sends all 3 steps at once.
Step 3: Set Up the Surrounding Client Experience
Once your proposal → contract → invoice file is ready to go, don’t forget everything that supports it behind the scenes. These details are what take your workflow from functional to a premium experience:
CANNED EMAILS — You will need a few Canned Emails prepared before you automate the send of your Smart File in a workflow.
Proposal Delivery Email – Create a warm, professional message introducing the file and guiding them through the steps.
Booking Confirmation Email – Recap what they’ve booked, next steps, and anything they should prep for.
Follow-up Nudges – If your clients tend to ghost at this stage, create reminder emails triggered if the proposal isn’t completed within a day or two. Create more than one reminder email if you want to give 2 or 3 reminders before changing the project status to “Cold Lead”.
Invoice payment reminders – If the proposal will be connected to a payment plan, you will need to create the reminder emails. Create more than one reminder email if you want to give 2 or 3 reminders before, on, or after their payment due date.
✨ Tip: Personalize emails with smart fields like client name, project date, or even package selected (if applicable).
Option: Dubsado has a lot of templates already built. If you would like to use them or modify them instead of starting from scratch you can find them under Templates > Canned Emails > If you don’t find them in the visible list, there is a button at the top “Edit Templates” with Dubsado’s standard templates.
INVOICE REMINDERS — To add the Invoice payment reminder emails you made in the previous step, you need to create a Payment Plan Template first.
Within each payment plan option you create, toggle on “automatic reminders” — these emails send before and after the due date according to your preferences. You can select your Invoice payment reminder emails from the template list.
PROJECT STATUSES — If you want to change your project status based on if/when the proposal, contract and invoice are signed, you will need to create the statuses in advance.
Click on “Projects” on the left hand menu bar
Click on “Customize” on the RIGHT hand side, just above the project lists.
Here you can add, delete, change and customize your statuses
These makes it easier to filter, track, and trigger the next part of your workflow.
Suggested Statuses: Inquiry, Booked, Cold Lead, Contract Signed, Invoice paid
Step 4: Automate the Send-Off in a Workflow
(Templates > Workflows) Create a new workflow or Edit the workflow you want to send the proposal from:
Click “Add action”
Select “Send Form” from dropdown action options
Set the trigger: “After Lead Capture Form is Completed” or “After Project is Created” or “After a scheduled appointment ends” — depending on how you onboard. (
Choose “Requires Approval” (if applicable, usually for custom proposals)
Choose your Smart File (proposal w/ contract + invoice) form from the dropdown
Choose the email you created in your Canned Emails
Click “Apply”
The action will appear at the end of the workflow, move it to it’s correct spot in the workflow
You don’t need to automate everything at once — just plan for what happens after they book so the experience feels polished, not like it suddenly stops.
✨ Tip: Add a delay (ex: 5 min) if you want to give a breather between form submission and proposal delivery.
Optional: Follow it with a “Start Workflow” or “Change Project Status” to keep automation flowing post-booking.
That’s it!
You now have a seamless system that sends your proposal, contract, and invoice in one polished file—without lifting a finger.
