Create an e-sign template

An e-sign templateTemplate A reusable feed post, form, e-sign, note or task kept in the Library and copied onto cases. turns an agreement you send often, such as your retainer, into a document clients sign in their browser. You place the fields once and choose which role fills each one.

1. 1

   Start the template

   In Library › E-sign Templates, choose NEW. Fill in:

   • Title, such as Retainer Agreement. Use letters, numbers, spaces and dashes.
   • Who can use this template?: the roles that can send it from a case, such as Staff.
   • Notifications, if you like: reminders before the e-sign is due.
   • Description, if you like.

   Choose SAVE.

2. 2

   Add the document

   In Add a new page, choose From Upload and pick a PDF or Word file, or choose Blank page. A Word file is converted to PDF first, which takes a moment.

3. 3

   Place the fields

   Use the field tools in the toolbar, such as Add Signature Field, Add Text Box and Add Date Picker, to draw each field on the page. New fields are required. To make one optional, click it and untick Required under Advanced.

4. 4

   Choose who fills each field

   Click a field and choose Field Logic. Under Participants, pick the role that fills it, such as clients for the client's signature and staff for yours. To fill a field from the case, such as today's date or the client's name, pick it under Prefill data. Choose Save. Give every field a participant.

5. 5

   Check and close

   Choose Preview to see the document as a signer will. Your changes save as you go, and "All changes saved!" shows after each. If a save fails, the builder says "Your latest changes couldn't be saved." Choose Retry; it also tries again when your connection comes back. Closing while a save has failed offers Retry or Leave anyway. Choose Close when you're done.

6. 6

   Publish it

   In the list, when the template's Status reads Ready, switch on Publish. At least one field must have a participant.

What happens next

Staff send the template from a case; see Send a document for e-signature. A welcome rule can add it when a client joins a case; see Welcome clients automatically when they join a case.

On each case, a field goes to the people who hold its role on the case when the e-sign is added, and the e-sign is complete once each of them has signed. A field whose role nobody on the case holds has no signer, so add your team to the case first.

If something goes wrong

• SAVE stays greyed out. Fill in the title and Who can use this template?, and use only letters, numbers, spaces and dashes in the title.
• "We couldn't convert this document. Please attach a different file to continue." Attach another file. See Fix a document that won't convert.
• Publish is greyed out. Wait until Status reads Ready, and give at least one field a participant.
• "This template is used by an automation. Remove it from the automation first, then delete it." Take the template out of that automation first. The two starter templates are used by the sample cases' welcome rule.