Overview
Leverage FormAssembly’s Document and E-Signature steps to facilitate seamless document approvals, contract signing, and other essential workflows directly within the platform.
FormAssembly's E-Signature step is designed to comply with U.S. E-Signature Regulations, including the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). It is compliant with the E-Sign Act, which states that electronic signatures, when used in accordance with the law, are legally binding and valid to the same extent as signatures attached to paper documents.
This article covers the basics of selecting a generated PDF document from the Document step to be digitally signed in an E-Signature step.
Requirements
To use the E-Signature step, a FormAssembly user must
- be part of a Team plan or higher
- have Content Management user permissions enabled for their login
- specifically, the Enable E-Signature permission must be enabled for the user account
Document Template Signature Tags
The E-Signature step requires a document with signature tags from a Document step. The Document step article covers how to add tags to a template. To add an E-Signature to a generated document, at least one signature tag must be included in the template submitted to the Document step. Included signature tags will not be mapped during the Document step, but will be reserved for mapping in the E-Signature step.
The following signature tags can be included on a template in a Document step:
- {{signature}}
- {{signer_title}}
- {{signer_name}}
- {{signer_date}}
- {{signer_initials}}
- The {{signature}} tag is the only one that results in the ability to draw/type a signature. The other {{signer}} tags are informational text fields.
- A {{signer}} tag will not be accepted without a corresponding {{signature}} tag.
Adding Multiple Signers
With the proper tag formatting, multiple signers can be assigned to a single document. Tags will be grouped by matching tag suffixes to be assigned to a signer.
For example, if you wanted a manager and a director to sign and date a document in an E-Signature step, you might have the following tags in your document template:
- {{signature_manager}}
- {{signer_name_manager}}
- {{signer_date_manager}}
- {{signature_director}}
- {{signer_name_director}}
- {{signer_date_director}}
Add an E-Signature Step to a Workflow
- Select Add Step
- Select E-Signature
E-Signature Properties
Document Tab
A PDF generated by a Document step in the workflow can be selected for signature on the E-Signature step. Ensure the document you select has at least one signature tag to map.
Signer Tab
All signature tags uploaded on a document template will be assigned to a single signer. Use this tab to designate who that signer is using an email address gathered by a form field, value or formula, or variable.
Assign a Signer
- Select a form field, enter a value or formula, or select a variable
- Field: Use the list to search for and select a form field with email validation from the forms included in the workflow
- Value or Formula: Enter a value as text or open the formula editor to build a formula.
- Variable: Select an existing workflow variable from the dropdown
Assign Multiple Signers
All signature & signer tags uploaded on a document template with a unique suffix will be assigned to a signer. Select a form field with email validation, a static value or formula, or a workflow variable to be assigned to each signer.
E-Signature Step Behavior
Upon workflow execution, an email notification is sent to the designated email address of the signer with a link to sign the document.
The signer should be able to apply a digital signature, either by drawing or typing.
After each signer completes the document, an email will be sent to any subsequent signers in the order they appear in the document. The next signer will not receive an email notification until the previous signer completes their signature.
Once all parties have completed their signatures, all signers will receive an email with a link to download the final document.
Workflow Response
When the E-Signature step of a workflow runs, an E-Signature Card is created in the workflow response. The workflow owner and collaborators can view or download the signed document PDF or view the E-Signature record from this card.
Send a PDF File
The signed PDF document generated by an E-Signature step can be sent through connectors and the Email step.
The signed PDF document name can be chosen in the “Send file” dropdown of a file upload connector, such as the Salesforce, Google Drive, Microsoft SharePoint, Box, or Dropbox Connectors.