DocuSign Signature Phase
DocuSign is the only electronic signature provider supported by symplr Contract.
Note that DocuSign’s file limitations differ from symplr Contract’s limitations.
How to Sign a Document (DocuSign)
To access the document for signature, go to the email you received asking you to review and sign the document or refer to the workflow banner for a link to DocuSign.
In the email, click the Review Document button.
If you’re a new DocuSign user, you’ll need to set up your signature in the Adopt Your Signature modal. Enter your full name and initials, then select a signature style or draw your signature. When you’re satisfied with your signature, click Adopt and Sign.
Review the document, then scroll to your signature field.
To sign the document, click Finish. The workflow will be routed to the next participant.
OR
To sign the document later, click on Other Actions, then select Finish Later.
Signatories will not see the Submit Signature button in symplr Contract.
How to Complete a DocuSign Signature Phase
On the workflow page, select Digital as the signature type.
Add any Other Party (external) Signatories:
Click the Other Party Signatories (+). A modal will open.
Select the vendor or provider associated with the Other Party Signatory.
If the signatory is already in the system, select their name in the Existing dropdown.
To add a new Other Party Signatory, enter their first name, last name, job title, and email address, then click Create Contact.
Click the Add Signatory button.
The Skip Participant feature is unavailable in the DocuSign Signature Phase.
To remove a participant, hover the cursor to the right of their name, then click the trash can.
Sequence the participants.
You must sequence the Signatories or they will be unable to sign the document(s). Unlike Internal Signatories, Other Party Signatories must be sequenced after they’ve been added.
Add any attachments.
Add any comments.
If needed, update the priority.
Click Start Phase. The DocuSign Settings modal will open.
Upon starting the phase, Signatories will receive an automated email notification prompting them to take action. To avoid confusing signatories with duplicative emails, Signatories using DocuSign will only receive emails from DocuSign regarding the need for their signatures.
To add a signature field for a Signatory, select their name in the list, then drag and drop the signature icon to where the signatory should sign. Do this for each Signatory.
To add other features, such as date fields, initial fields, checkboxes, and text boxes, select the Signatory, then drag and drop the appropriate icon.
Feature availability depends on your DocuSign account settings.
Do not send signatures simultaneously. symplr Contract does not support this feature.
When finished, click the Send button. You’ll see confirmation that the envelopes were sent.
When a Signatory submits their signature, the Phase Owner will receive an automated email notification.
Under Signatory Sequence, each completed signature is indicated by a checkmark.
Click Complete Phase. The workflow will proceed to the next phase.
Phase Owners, as well as phase participants who are currently in sequence (i.e. it’s their turn), can upload a new version of any document under review within the workflow.
DocuSign Envelopes
A DocuSign envelope is the collection of document(s) and the document data that is sent to recipients to view and/or sign.
When a Sender’s DocuSign account has administrative defaults set up, envelopes from symplr Contract defer to those settings. This applies to the following settings:
Initial email reminders and their frequency
Envelope expiration and the number of days before expiration to send a warning email
In the DocuSign Settings modal under the Documents to Include tab, Admins and Phase Managers can select (or deselect) which documents to include in the envelope.
By default, all documents are selected.
The user can deselect any documents.
The user can reselect a document if deselected in error.
If the phase is retracted, the modal will appear when the Admin or the Phase Manager starts the phase, and all settings will be set to the defaults.
In the DocuSign Settings modal under the Attachments to Include tab, Admins and Phase Managers can include attachments in the envelope.
Attachment versioning functionality is similar to document versioning functionality.
Selected attachments will load into the DocuSign UI, following the expected behavior for documents.
When the envelope is completed, the attachments will return as new versions of attachments, not as documents.
A user who has permissions to upload an attachment can upload a new version of an existing attachment.
Any user who can see and download attachments can view the Version history, including the existing abilities with documents. Users can view and download versions from Manage All > View > View History.
This feature applies to Vendors, Providers, Workflows (with the exception of the Initiation page), and Contracts.
The controls to upload a new version exist in the Attachments panel in the accordion. The user can access the control from the ellipsis next to the attachment or by clicking Manage All.
In the DocuSign Settings modal under the Miscellaneous tab, Admins and Phase Managers have the option to CC the Phase Manager on the DocuSign envelope.
Functionality for optionally CC’ing the Phase Manager is controlled by a toggle, which is defaulted to OFF.
Under the Application Settings tab in Admin > Application Settings, Admins will see an Off/On switch with the text Include Phase Owner/Mediator by default as a cc recipient on DocuSign envelopes.
An Admin can toggle the feature on or off, then save the selection.
The selection determines the default state in the Confirm DocuSign Settings modal. The modal has a checkbox where the user can decide whether or not to include the Phase Owner/Mediator as a CC recipient on the DocuSign envelope.
If the toggle is OFF, the checkbox will not be selected by default.
If the toggle is ON, the checkbox will be selected by default.
Managing and Sequencing Participants
Adding, Removing, or Resequencing Signatories
Admins and Phase Owners can:
Remove DocuSign Signatories who have not yet signed.
Add additional Signatories to an in-flight DocuSign envelope.
Resequence future Signatories. DocuSign tabs will be preserved, and resequenced Signatories will not be transformed into a free-form signer.
Phase Mediators can:
Remove DocuSign Signatories who have not yet signed and were added by that Phase Mediator (i.e., Phase Mediators cannot remove Signatories added by a trigger or by the workflow template).
Add additional Signatories to a in-flight DocuSign envelope.
These actions are performed in symplr Contract, and changes are propagated to the DocuSign envelope.
Signatories added to an in-flight envelope will become free-form Signatories, allowing them to add their signature anywhere on the document.
Non-Signatory Sequenced Participants
Non-Signatory sequenced participants (such as Reviewers, Approvers, Phase Owners, Phase Mediators, and Admins) can be added to the DocuSign envelope as Needs to View recipients. To complete their turn, they would need to view the document.
DocuSign does not enable a Decline feature for Needs to View recipients.
In the unlikely event that a decline action is necessary, consider converting the Needs to View user to a Needs to Sign role. The Needs to Sign user will be able use the Approve/Decline tabs that DocuSign provides, and the envelope will sync with symplr Contract.
If a Non-Signatory participant is sequenced:
Signatories will remain as Needs to Sign recipients.
Sequencing in DocuSign will match sequencing in symplr Contract.
The Complete Review button in symplr Contract will be removed, and users will be required to complete the review in DocuSign.
Internal Reviewers and Approvers will receive the email containing the link to the workflow phase.
Syncing behavior will match the existing Signatory behavior.
A green checkbox will appear after a Reviewer has reviewed the document.
All participants, including non-Signatories, must finish before phase completion.
When a Reviewer or an Approver opens the document during their turn, the Signatory will receive notifications to start their turn.
To prevent an error when starting a DocuSign Signature Phase, a user must check Enable needs to view role under Sending Settings > Recipient Roles in the account settings for DocuSign.
DocuSign Signature Status Check
In a DocuSign Signature Phase, an Admin or Phase Owner can click the Check Status button to request the status from DocuSign.
The Check Status button is available in a DocuSign Signature Phase that has been submitted for signatures but not completed.
Upon clicking Check Status, the user will see a loading indicator as symplr Contract retrieves the status from DocuSign.
If you click Check Status before anyone has completed a signature in DocuSign, then the document viewer will not display an updated version.
If you click Check Status after at least one person completed a signature in DocuSign, then the document viewer will display the most recently signed version.
If a Signatory has completed their signature, then a checkmark will display to the right of their name in the Signatory Sequence panel.
How to Prevent Signatories from Reassigning Envelopes or Forwarding Signature Requests
Log into DocuSign and click on the person icon in the top right corner.
In the dropdown, select Go to Admin.
On the admin screen, click on Signing Settings.
Ensure that the following boxes are NOT checked:
Allow recipients to change signing responsibility
Allow senders to override change signing responsibility
DocuSign Envelope Voiding with Retraction
When a Signature Phase with an in-flight DocuSign envelope is retracted, the associated DocuSign envelope is voided.
In case of multiple Signature Phases, only those meeting the retraction criteria will be voided.
For example, if a workflow has two Signature Phases and the Phase Owner retracts the workflow to the beginning of the second Signature Phase, the DocuSign envelopes in the first Signature Phase would be unaffected.
Signatories in retracted phases will receive both a retraction email from symplr and a voided electronic signature email from DocuSign.
If the Signatory already signed, they will be able to see the voided document in DocuSign. It will show a prominent VOID watermark.
New DocuSign envelopes will be created when the Signature Phase is restarted.
If the Signatory had not signed, they will be unable to see the document in DocuSign.
DocuSign Envelope Voiding with Reassignment
When a Signature Phase with an in-flight DocuSign envelope is reassigned, the associated DocuSign envelope is not voided. If you need to reassign a workflow with in-flight-envelopes, retract it to the start of the Signature Phase, and then reassign the workflow.
Decline to Sign Events
The Decline to Sign event notification appears in the workflow banner.
The text reads There has been a decline in DocuSign, and the envelope has been voided. You must retract or cancel the phase.
If the user retracts the phase, the banner will clear.
The Decline to Sign event and the reason for declining are listed in the workflow history and in the tooltip over the Declined status indicator in the Participant Sequence panel.
When a DocuSign Signatory declines to sign:
The Phase Owner or Mediator is inserted into the sequence as the active participant.
The Phase Owner or Mediator must cancel or retract the phase.
Email and in-app (bell) notifications are sent to applicable recipients.
The Complete Phase option is removed.