Requesting signatures
Sending a PDF for one or more people to sign in order. Who can do it, where it lives, reminders, what happens if someone rejects, and how to change the order.
From the Signatures tab in Documents you send a PDF for one or more people to sign and follow each signature.
What you need to get right is the order, because it can’t be changed afterwards.
Before you start
Who can do this. Requesting signatures requires the electronic signatures permission. By default only the administrator has it: neither the default Manager role nor the default HR role includes it. If you are a manager and need someone on your team to sign something, ask HR or an administrator, or have your company give you that permission. With it, you can send documents for signature to anyone in the company, not just your team.
It is included in every plan. Electronic signature isn’t a separate add-on.
Where it lives. It has no menu entry of its own: it is the Signatures tab inside Documents, and the page is titled Electronic signatures. A request also opens when you upload a document for someone with Signature required ticked: see Team documents.
Signing is sequential and the order is fixed
Signers sign one after another, in the order you add them. Only the first one is notified; each gets their turn when the previous one signs. The order is set when the request is created, and signers can’t be added or removed afterwards.
Creating a signature request
- In Documents, open the Signatures tab and select New request.
- Enter the Document title and, if you like, a message for the signers.
- Upload the Document (PDF). Only PDF files are accepted.
- Add the Signers in the order they should sign.
- Set the Expiration or leave No expiration.
- Select Send for signature.
Following progress
The All, In progress, Expiring soon, Completed, Rejected and Canceled tabs split the requests up. Each row shows progress, such as 2/3 signed. Opening one shows whose turn it is and the audit trail: the send, each signature, the reminders and the certificate.
Reminders. When a request is 48 hours or less from expiring, Orquiva reminds the signer whose turn it is, at most about once every 22 hours. If a request expires in less than 24 hours, the screen warns you with Send reminder, and you can send one at any time: it only goes to the current signer.
On completion. Once everyone has signed, you can Download document (signed) and Download certificate (of completion). There is no certificate before that.
One rejection closes the whole request
If a signer rejects, the request becomes Rejected and closes: the signatures already collected don’t complete anything. The same goes for Cancel request: pending signers can no longer sign.
Changing the order or the signers
A sent request can’t be edited. Cancel it and use Duplicate: it opens a new request with the same title and the same signers in their order, which you can change before sending. You have to upload the PDF again. On a rejected request, Resend does the same.
Request statuses
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending | Waiting for the first signer |
| Partially signed | Some signatures collected, others still missing |
| Completed | All signed: document and certificate available |
| Rejected | A signer rejected and the request closed |
| Canceled | Canceled before it was completed |
| Expired | The expiration date passed before it was completed |
If something goes wrong
I can’t find where to request signatures. It is in Documents, Signatures tab. If you don’t see the tab, you don’t hold the electronic signatures permission: ask an administrator.
A signer says nothing has arrived. With sequential signing, only the person whose turn it is gets notified. Check the detail to see who that is.
I need a different order or to add someone. Cancel the request and create another with Duplicate.
The document expired. It is now Expired. Duplicate it with a more generous expiration date.
The employee doesn’t know where to sign. They sign from their signatures.
What the other side sees
The same feature, from the other side:
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