How to Integrate Hellosign with Salesforce for Faster Sales Contract Approvals

If you’re tired of sales deals getting stuck in “contract limbo,” you’re in the right place. This guide is for sales ops folks, Salesforce admins, and anyone who actually has to make e-signature tools work with Salesforce, not just talk about it in meetings. By the end, you’ll have Hellosign and Salesforce playing nicely together, so you spend less time chasing signatures and more time moving deals forward.

Let’s get into the nuts and bolts—what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid the common headaches.

Why Bother Integrating Hellosign with Salesforce?

If you’re reading this, you probably already know: sending PDFs back and forth, versioning docs, and tracking signatures in email is a mess. Integrating Hellosign with Salesforce means:

• Sales reps can send contracts for signature without leaving Salesforce.
• You can track contract status inside the opportunity or account.
• Signed docs show up auto-magically—no more digging through inboxes.
• Approval cycles speed up, mainly because there’s less “where is it?” and “who signed?” confusion.

But here’s the honest bit: integrations don’t solve bad processes. If your contracts are a mess or your Salesforce data is junk, expect some hiccups.

What You Need Before You Start

Don’t skip this part—missing anything here will stall you later.

• Hellosign Business Plan or higher: Only these allow Salesforce integration. The free/cheap plans don’t cut it.
• Salesforce Edition: You’ll need Salesforce Enterprise, Unlimited, or Developer Edition. Professional Edition can work, but it’s trickier.
• Admin access: Both in Salesforce and Hellosign.
• A test Salesforce sandbox: Don’t risk blowing up your production org first.
• A clear idea of your contract process: Who sends what, when, and how? Sketch it on a napkin if you have to.

Pro tip: If your IT team controls app installs, buy them a coffee now. You’ll need their help.

Step 1: Install the Hellosign for Salesforce App

1. Get the AppExchange package.
2. Go to the Salesforce AppExchange and search for “Hellosign for Salesforce.”
3. Click “Get It Now” and pick your sandbox (not production—yet).
4. Follow the install wizard.
5. You’ll need to approve third-party access. Hellosign needs to talk to its own servers, so this is normal.
6. Choose “Install for Admins Only” at first. You can open it up to users later.
7. Wait for the email from Salesforce saying the install is done.
8. Sometimes it’s instant. Sometimes you’ll have enough time for a coffee. Be patient.

What people mess up: Skipping the sandbox. Always test in a sandbox first so you don’t break real deals.

Step 2: Connect Hellosign to Salesforce

1. Open the Hellosign app in Salesforce.
2. Look for the “Hellosign” tab. If you don’t see it, check “All Tabs (+)” or add it to your app launcher.
3. Authenticate your Hellosign account.
4. You’ll be prompted to log into your Hellosign account.
5. Make sure you’re using a business/enterprise account, not a personal/free one.
6. Allow permissions.
7. You’re granting Salesforce permission to send contracts, fetch status, and pull signed docs from Hellosign.

What goes wrong here: Using the wrong Hellosign plan, or mixing up sandbox and production credentials. Double-check you’re in the right environment.

Step 3: Configure User Permissions in Salesforce

Don’t skip this, or your reps will get “permission denied” errors.

1. Assign Hellosign permission sets.
2. Go to Setup > Permission Sets.
3. Find the “Hellosign User” and “Hellosign Admin” sets (these come with the package).
4. Assign “Hellosign User” to your sales team, “Hellosign Admin” to whoever will manage the integration.
5. Double-check object and field access.
6. Some orgs lock down access by default. Make sure users can see/edit Opportunities, Accounts, and any custom objects you want to use.
7. Test with a dummy user.
8. Log in as a regular user (not admin) and try sending a test contract.

Pro tip: If you get weird errors, it’s usually a permissions thing. Salesforce is picky.

Step 4: Set Up Contract Templates

Templates are where you save your team from uploading the same file 300 times.

1. Create a contract template in Hellosign.
2. Log into Hellosign, go to Templates, and upload your standard contract.
3. Add signature, date, and any other fields your recipients need to fill.
4. Map Salesforce fields to Hellosign fields.
5. In the Hellosign for Salesforce app, you can link fields like “Client Name” or “Amount” so they auto-fill from Salesforce.
6. This is where you avoid typos and busywork.
7. Save and test your template.
8. Back in Salesforce, try generating a contract from an Opportunity or Account record.

What’s overrated: Getting fancy with too many templates or wild field mappings. Start simple. You can always add later.

Step 5: Automate Sending Contracts (Optional, but Powerful)

You can automate sending contracts with Salesforce flows or process builder, but don’t go overboard until you’re confident the basics work.

1. Decide your trigger.
2. Example: When Opportunity Stage = “Contract Sent,” fire off the Hellosign request.
3. Build a Flow or Process.
4. Use Salesforce Flow or Process Builder to set the conditions and actions.
5. Action = “Send with Hellosign,” using your mapped template.
6. Test it like crazy.
7. Make sure it only sends when you want it to.
8. Double-check the right doc goes to the right person.

What to ignore: Automating everything on day one. Start manual, get the kinks out, then automate.

Step 6: Tracking Status and Signed Contracts in Salesforce

Here’s where the integration pays off.

• Status updates: The Hellosign app writes back the signature status (Sent, Viewed, Signed) to the Salesforce record.
• Signed PDF attachments: Once a contract is signed, it’s attached to the record automatically.
• Reporting: Build reports or dashboards on contract status—no more guessing which deals are stuck.

Heads up: Sometimes the sync lags a minute or two. Don’t panic if a status isn’t instant. If it’s way off, check your integration settings.

Honest Pros and Cons (What They Don’t Tell You)

What works: - Cuts out busywork. You’ll really spend less time chasing signatures. - Keeps contracts tied to deals—no more searching your inbox. - Decent out-of-the-box experience if you keep it simple.

What doesn’t: - Custom processes can get hairy. If you’ve got lots of approval steps or custom objects, expect some fiddling. - Error messages are sometimes vague. Permission errors are especially cryptic. - Support from Hellosign is decent, but not instant—plan ahead.

Skip this stuff: - Don’t bother with heavy customization until the basics work. - Ignore “gee-whiz” features that aren’t part of your core contract flow.

Troubleshooting: Common Pitfalls

• Contracts not sending? Check user permissions and template mappings.
• Signed docs not attaching? Make sure the integration user has file/object access.
• Fields not populating? Double-check your field mapping—field names must match exactly.
• Weird errors after updates? Sometimes re-authenticating Hellosign fixes things after package upgrades.

When in doubt, go back to basics: permissions, field access, and making sure you’re in the right Salesforce environment.

Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Later

Integrating Hellosign with Salesforce speeds up contract approvals and cuts the admin noise—but only if you keep your setup simple to start. Get one contract template working. Make sure your team can actually send and sign contracts. Then, and only then, get fancy with automation or extra bells and whistles.

Don’t let the perfect get in the way of “done.” Once your sales team is closing deals faster, you’ll have plenty of time to tweak things.