Signing

Sending for Signature

Send for Signature (action contracts.send) freezes the exact wording with its SHA-256 fingerprint and emails the first signer. Before it sends, it checks that every field is filled in, there is at least one signer, and Contracts Settings has a From address. After it is sent, the wording never changes.

Signing in Order

Signers sign one at a time, in the order listed. When one signs, the next gets their email. When the last one signs, the contract is Signed, every signer gets the signed PDF by email, and your team is told (Contracts Settings).

The Signing Email

Each signer's email states who sent it and why, names the contract, says which signer they are, and says until when the link works. Its Review and Sign button opens their private link. The link is signed so it cannot be guessed or changed, works only for that signer, and stops working when it expires (30 days at first), when the contract is voided, or when someone declines.

The Signing Page

The link opens the whole document, with no account or sign-in. Below it, the signing form stays locked until the signer scrolls to the end of the document. Then they:

1. Type their full name (and their title if they like).
2. Tick the box agreeing to sign electronically and receive records electronically.
3. Tick the box agreeing to the contract.
4. Select Sign.

Signing is refused until the page has reported reaching the end of the document, so the scroll cannot be skipped. If the wording changed since the page opened, signing is refused and the signer opens the link again.

The Audit Trail of Each Signature

Each signature records, once, and never changes:

• the name typed, title, and email the link was sent to;
• when the invitation went out, when the link was first opened, when the signer reached the end of the document, and when they signed (in UTC);
• their IP address, location (from the IP address), and browser;
• the SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact document they saw;
• the exact wording of both boxes they ticked.

The same details are copied to a Signatures record, which cannot be changed once it has a signing time.

Declining

A signer can select Decline to sign and give a reason. The contract becomes Declined, the other links stop working, and your team is told.

Sending the Invitation Again

Send Invitation Again (action contracts.remind) emails the signer whose turn it is again, and their link works for another full period.

Voiding

Void (action contracts.void) withdraws a contract that is not signed yet. It needs a reason. Its links stop working and nothing more is sent; the contract and its audit trail are kept. A signed contract cannot be voided; set its end date instead.

The Signed PDF

Once everyone has signed, Download Signed PDF on the contract shows Preparing with a spinner until the file is ready. Signers download it from their link too, and it is attached to their signed copy email. It holds the document as signed, the signatures, and a Signature Certificate page with the fingerprint, each signer's audit trail, the exact wording agreed to, and every event. It is made from the recorded signatures each time, so it always comes out the same.

Emails

Every email says why it was sent, uses Arial, and every link carries tags (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, and utm_content) so you can tell which email a visit came from.