vs. Document Automation
Powerful engines. Zero CRE knowledge.
HotDocs, Contract Express, and other document-automation engines do real work for legal teams — but they're blank slates. You'd need to build all the commercial real estate logic yourself.
Credit where it's due
HotDocs and Contract Express are mature document-automation engines with deep adoption across legal. They assemble documents from conditional logic and user inputs cleanly.
The question isn't whether they're good tools. It's whether building CRE-specific logic from scratch makes sense when ten years of CRE logic already exists in another product.
10+ years of lease logic, ready to use
This is what you'd need to build from scratch with a generic automation platform.
№ 01
Percentage Rent
- Natural vs. artificial breakpoints
- Gross sales definitions
- Proration calculations
- Audit provisions
№ 02
CAM & Operating Expenses
- Controllable expense caps
- Gross-up provisions
- Administrative fee structures
- Year-over-year reconciliation
№ 03
Tenant Improvements
- Allowance calculations
- Disbursement schedules
- Lien waiver requirements
- Completion deadlines
№ 04
Rent Escalations
- Fixed increases
- CPI adjustments
- Fair market resets
- Compounding logic
And that's just the start. Co-tenancy logic, date calculations, defined-term management, state-specific disclosures, and more.
Generic automation vs. CRE-native
The record
Generic Automation
LeasePilot
§ CRE Logic
- Percentage rent calculationsBuild from scratchYes
- CAM reconciliation logicBuild from scratchYes
- TI allowance provisionsBuild from scratchYes
- Co-tenancy clause handlingBuild from scratchYes
- State-specific requirementsResearch & buildYes
§ Platform
- Document assembly engineYesYes
- Conditional logicYesYes
- Template builderYesYes
- Post-generation changesBack to WordStill in the platform
§ Implementation
- Time to first lease3-6 months6 weeks
- Ongoing maintenanceYour teamIncluded
- CRE product updatesNoYes
01Percentage rent calculations
02CAM reconciliation logic
03TI allowance provisions
04Co-tenancy clause handling
05State-specific requirements
06Document assembly engine
07Conditional logic
08Template builder
09Post-generation changes
10Time to first lease
11Ongoing maintenance
12CRE product updates
The true cost of custom CRE logic
Build on generic automation
Start with LeasePilot
- 3–6 months to build initial templates6 weeks to live with your templates
- Dedicated developer or consultant costsPredictable subscription cost
- Ongoing maintenance as requirements changeTemplate changes handled by our team
- Encode state-specific requirements yourselfState requirements already built-in
Platforms we're often compared to
- HotDocsLong-running document automation engine
- Contract ExpressThomson Reuters document automation
- DocassembleOpen-source interview platform
- LegitoModern document lifecycle platform
At your service
Skip the build. Start drafting.
10+ years of CRE calculation logic, ready to use. Your templates encoded in weeks, not months of custom development.