When working with Salesforce Revenue Cloud, one of the most common requirements is generating professional quote documents for customers. Whether you’re sending a formal proposal, creating a contract attachment, or simply providing pricing details, having well-formatted PDF documents is essential for a polished sales process.
Document Builder is Salesforce’s native solution for creating quote PDFs in Revenue Cloud. It provides a drag-and-drop template builder that allows administrators to design professional documents without writing any code. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through the complete setup process—from enabling the feature to generating your first quote PDF.
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be able to:
- Enable and configure Document Builder in your org
- Create customized quote document templates
- Work with all standard components (grids, tables, images, rich text)
- Generate and distribute quote PDFs to customers
Document Generation Options in Revenue Cloud
Before diving into Document Builder, it’s important to understand that Revenue Cloud offers two document generation solutions. Choosing the right one depends on your template complexity and customization needs.
| Feature | Document Builder | OmniStudio Document Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Template Design | Drag-and-drop builder in Salesforce | Microsoft Word/PowerPoint templates |
| Coding Required | No (unless using custom LWC sections) | Minimal (template syntax) |
| Data Sources | Quote object and related records | Multiple objects via DataRaptors |
| Merge Field Logic | Basic field insertion | Complex conditional logic |
| Best For | Standard quote documents with consistent layouts | Complex documents with conditional content |
Recommendation: Start with Document Builder for most quote document needs. It’s faster to set up and easier to maintain. Only move to OmniStudio Document Generation if you need complex conditional logic or multi-object data merging.
What is Document Builder?
Document Builder is a professional document generation solution that creates beautiful, formatted documents that meet your business and customer requirements. It’s part of Revenue Cloud’s Transaction Management capabilities.
Key Capabilities
- Drag-and-Drop Interface: Build templates visually without code
- Standard Components: Pre-built elements for common document sections
- Field Integration: Pull data from Quote and related objects
- Grid Layouts: Create multi-column document layouts
- Preview & Generate: See your document before creating the final PDF
- Custom LWC Support: Extend functionality with Lightning Web Components
Standard Components Available
- Company Details — Displays company information pulled from the running user’s record
- Quote Line Items — Shows a hierarchical table of quote line items with quantity and price details
- Quote Line Groups and Items — Displays quote lines organized by their groups (useful for ramp deals)
- Related Record Table — Create custom tables from any child object with full control over columns
- Grid — Create multi-column layouts using a 12-column grid system
- Rich Text — Add formatted text content
- Image & Image Gallery — Insert logos and product images
- Page Numbers — Add automatic page numbering
Prerequisites
Before setting up Document Builder, ensure you have the following:
- Revenue Cloud License — Available in Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer Editions with Revenue Cloud enabled
- Transaction Management Enabled — Document Builder requires Transaction Management to be active (see my Revenue Cloud setup guide)
- Customize Application Permission — Required to enable the Document Builder feature
- Existing Quotes — You’ll need at least one quote record to test document generation
Step 1: Enable Document Builder
The first step is to turn on the Document Builder feature in your org’s Revenue Settings.
- Navigate to Revenue Settings — From Setup, enter “Revenue Settings” in the Quick Find box
- Find Document Builder Setting — Use Ctrl+F to search for “Document Builder” on the page
- Enable the Feature — Toggle the Document Builder setting to Enabled
- Refresh the Page — After enabling, refresh your Setup page. Document Builder will now appear as a new option in the Setup menu under Revenue Cloud
Important: You need the “Customize Application” permission to enable Document Builder. If you don’t see this option, check your user permissions or contact your Salesforce administrator.
Step 2: Assign the Permission Set
Users who need to create templates or generate quote documents must have the Document Builder User permission set assigned.
- Navigate to Your User Record — Go to Setup → Users → Users
- Edit Permission Set Assignments — Scroll to Permission Set Assignments and click Edit Assignments
- Add Document Builder User — Find “Document Builder User” in the Available Permission Sets list and move it to Enabled Permission Sets
- Save — Click Save to apply the permission set
User Information Note: The Company Details component pulls information from the running user’s record—not from the Company Information page in Setup. Make sure the Company and Address fields on your user records are accurate.
Step 3: Create a Quote Document Template
With Document Builder enabled and permissions assigned, you can now create your first template.
- Open Document Builder — From Setup, enter “Document Builder” in the Quick Find box
- Create New Template — Click the New Template button
- Name Your Template — Enter a descriptive name (e.g., “Standard Quote Template”)
- Select the Quote Object — From the Object dropdown, select Quote
- Choose a Starting Point — Select Default Quote Template (pre-configured) or Blank Template
- Build Your Template — Drag components from the left panel onto the canvas
Tip: Start with the Default Quote Template to see how components are structured, then customize from there.
Customizing Quote Line Item Tables
One of the most important parts of any quote document is the line items table. Document Builder offers three approaches:
Option 1: Standard Quote Line Items Component
The simplest option with pre-defined columns showing quantity and price details in a hierarchy. Limitation: You cannot customize which columns appear.
Option 2: Quote Line Groups and Items
Use this when you have quote line groups (for ramp deals or segmented pricing). Line items are displayed organized by their groups.
Option 3: Related Record Table (Recommended for Customization)
For full control over your line items display, use the Related Record Table component. This approach allows you to:
- Choose exactly which fields appear as columns
- Add custom fields from Quote Line Item
- Configure sort order
- Add filters (e.g., separate tables for Hardware vs Software products)
- Enable “Hide when empty” for conditional display
Pro Tip: Create multiple Related Record Tables filtered by Product Family to show hardware, software, and services in separate sections of your document.
Activating Your Template
Once you’ve designed your template, you need to save and activate it before it can be used.
- Save Your Template — Click Save to preserve your work
- Activate the Template — Click Activate
- Set as Org Default — Select “Assign as Org Default” and click Save
Note: Currently, Document Builder supports only one active template. The “Generate PDF Document” button will always use the org default template.
Generating Quote PDFs
With your template activated, you can now generate PDF documents from quotes.
Configure the Quote Page Layout
- Add the Generate PDF Button — Go to Object Manager → Quote → Page Layouts. In the Mobile & Lightning Actions section, add the “Generate PDF Document” button
- Add the Quote PDFs Related List — In the Related Lists section, add “Quote PDFs” to display generated documents
- Save the Layout
Generate a Quote Document
- Navigate to a Quote record
- From the action menu, select “Generate PDF Document”
- Click “Preview PDF” to see the rendered document
- Click “Create PDF” when satisfied
- Access your PDF from the Quote’s Related tab under “Quote PDFs”
Tips and Best Practices
Template Design Tips
- Start with the Default Template: It’s easier to modify than building from scratch
- Use Grids for Layout: Create professional multi-column layouts
- Test with Real Data: Always preview with actual quotes that have varied data
- Keep It Simple: White space improves readability
Data Considerations
- User Information: Company Details pulls from the running user’s record
- Quote Visibility Field: Child products only appear if their Quote Visibility field is set to “Always” or “Quote Document Only”
- Empty Tables: Use “Hide when empty” for filtered tables
Common Issues and Solutions
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Document Builder not appearing in Setup | Refresh the page after enabling in Revenue Settings |
| Generate PDF button not visible | Add it to the Quote page layout’s Mobile & Lightning Actions |
| Wrong company information showing | Update the Company and Address fields on the user’s record |
| Child products not appearing | Check the Quote Visibility field on Product Relationships |
| Cannot customize Quote Line Items columns | Use Related Record Table component instead |
Extending with Custom LWC Sections
While Document Builder’s standard components cover most use cases, some scenarios require custom solutions. Document Builder supports custom Lightning Web Component sections for advanced requirements such as:
- Quote Line Item Attributes: Display product configuration attributes alongside line items
- Usage-Based Pricing: Show rate cards and tier tables for usage products
- Complex Calculations: Display custom pricing breakdowns or discount summaries
- Related Record Hierarchies: Show data from grandchild objects
Deep Dive Available: Building custom LWC sections requires Apex and Lightning Web Component development. Check out my complete walkthrough on building custom LWC sections for Document Builder for step-by-step instructions.
Summary
Document Builder is a powerful, no-code solution for generating professional quote PDFs in Salesforce Revenue Cloud. The key steps are:
- Enable Feature — Turn on Document Builder in Revenue Settings
- Assign Permissions — Add Document Builder User permission set
- Build Template — Use drag-and-drop components to design your document
- Customize Tables — Use Related Record Table for full column control
- Activate — Save and set as org default
- Generate PDFs — Preview and create documents from any quote
Document Builder is significantly better than the legacy quote PDF feature and should be your go-to solution for quote documents in Revenue Cloud. For more complex document generation needs, consider OmniStudio Document Generation or custom LWC sections.