Signing & Acceptance - DocsAutomator

Every automation decides how it completes: what happens after DocsAutomator generates the document. You choose one of three options in the Signing & Acceptance card of the automation, under How it completes.

How it completes	What the recipient does	Use it for
Signature required	Opens the document, fills the signature fields from your template, and clicks Complete	Contracts and agreements where the other side expects to sign
Acceptance	Opens the document, reads it, and clicks Accept. No signature fields are needed	Quotes, offers, purchase orders, policy sign-offs, and HR acknowledgments
None	Nothing. The document is delivered as it is	Invoices, reports, certificates, and any document that needs no reply

If the other side expects to sign, use Signing. If you only need their yes, use Acceptance. Signature and acceptance run on the same rail. Both send the document by email or by link, both send reminders, both come back as a sealed PDF with a certificate on the last page, and both cost the same. The difference is what the recipient must do. A signature asks for fields in the document. An acceptance asks for one click on the whole document.

Get a document accepted with one click

Setup, what the recipient sees, the Certificate of Acceptance, and billing.

The rest of this page describes the Signature required option: signature fields, signers, emails, reminders, delivery, and webhooks. Most settings also apply to acceptance. The acceptance page lists the differences.

Feature Overview

Feature	Description
Multiple Signers	Unlimited signers per document
Signing Order	Parallel or sequential workflows
Field Types	Signatures, dates, text, checkboxes
Email Customization	Custom invitation, reminder, completion emails
Branding	Custom logo support
Reminders	Automated follow-up emails
Audit Trail	Complete signing activity record
Data Integration	Save PDFs and field values to data sources
Google Drive	Save signed PDFs to a Google Drive folder
Webhooks	POST notifications on completion
Landscape Support	Automatic zoom adjustment for landscape documents

Adding eSign Fields to Templates

Fields use the format: {{esign.TYPE_SIGNER}}

TYPE: Field type (signature, date, text, checkbox)
SIGNER: Signer number (1, 2, 3, etc.)

Field Types

Type	Example	Purpose
Signature	`{{esign.signature_1}}`	Full signature capture
Date	`{{esign.date_1}}`	Date picker — the calendar day the signer selects is rendered verbatim, no timezone conversion
Text	`{{esign.text_1_name}}`	Text input field (append `_name` for a unique label per field)
Checkbox	`{{esign.checkbox_1_label}}`	Agreement checkbox (append `_label` for a unique name per field)

Field Size

Signature, date, and text fields in the finished document scale with the font size of their tag in the template. For a bigger signature, make the {{esign.signature_1}} tag bigger. For example, a 24 to 30pt tag produces a signature roughly 2 to 3 times the standard size. The document reflows around the larger tag, so the space you see in the template is the space the signature will occupy. Tags at the standard body text size (11pt) or smaller render at the default size, and each tag is sized independently, so different signature spots in the same document can use different sizes. Checkbox size is fixed.

Choosing How it Completes

Open the Signing & Acceptance card of your automation. Under How it completes, pick Signature required, Acceptance, or None. While the choice is None, the card shows only the choice, and generated documents are delivered without a signing or acceptance request.

Adding {{esign.*}} tags to the template does not change the choice. Removing them does not change it either.
When the template has signing tags but the choice is Acceptance, the tags are left blank in the document. The card tells you so.
Through the API or MCP, set esignature.enabled to true or false, and esignature.closeType to signature or acceptance. Setting signers for the first time switches signing on. One more field applies to acceptance only: esignature.acceptanceRequireName (default true). The acceptance page explains it.

E-Sign Fields in Conditional Sections

E-sign fields placed inside a conditional section are automatically excluded from the signing workflow when that section is hidden. If all e-sign fields are in hidden sections, no signing session is created and no charge is billed. This lets you build a single template that supports both e-sign and wet-ink workflows by toggling a section.

Variable Number of Signers

When a signer’s block is hidden, that signer drops out of the signing session entirely — no invitation, no signing link, no charge for their fields. One template can serve documents with a different number of signers per record:

Put each optional signer’s block (signature, date, name fields) in its own conditional section.
Configure all signers in the Signing & Acceptance card. Only signers whose fields appear in the generated document are included in the session.
Toggle each section with a field in your data source (for example, a checkbox per co-signer).

Signer numbers do not have to be consecutive. If a signer must always sign — a countersigning agent, a company representative — give them a number above your highest optional slot and leave their block outside any section. A lease template with tenant blocks _1 to _6 in sections and the agent fixed at {{esign.signature_7}} generates sessions like 1, 2, 7 — and sequential signing follows the signers that are present, in number order.

Review Before Signing (skipEsign)

By default, generating a document from an e-sign-enabled automation starts the signing workflow immediately. To review a document first — for example, have your team check a contract before it goes out — pass skipEsign: true in the createDocument request:

{
  "docId": "YOUR_AUTOMATION_ID",
  "recId": "rec1234567890",
  "skipEsign": true
}

The document is generated and delivered normally (Drive save, email, webhook), but no signing session is created, no signing invitations are sent, and nothing is billed for e-signing. For Google Docs and Word templates, the {{esign.*}} tags remain visible in the output so reviewers can see where signature blocks will be placed; PDF templates simply leave those areas blank. Once the document is approved, run the same request again without skipEsign to send it for signing. This makes two-step approval flows easy to build — e.g. two Airtable buttons triggering the same automation: “Draft for Review” (with skipEsign: true) and “Send for Signing” (without it).

Configuring Signers

Required Information

Email: Signing invitation recipient
Name: Optional, displayed in signing portal

Dynamic Signer Information

Airtable / Google Sheets / SmartSuite
Other Sources

Select fields from the dropdown menu to dynamically populate signer information.

Use placeholders like {{buyer_email}}, {{client_name}} in your configuration.

Signing Order Options

Parallel Signing (Default)

All signers receive invitations simultaneously and can complete in any order. Faster for multi-party documents.

Sequential Signing

Signers receive invitations one at a time, in signer-number order. Each signer’s link activates when the previous signer completes. Gaps in the numbering are fine — the order follows the signers present in the document.

Email Configuration

Email Sender Options

Option	Details
DocsAutomator	Sent from `sign@esign.docsautomator.co`
Your Gmail	Sent from a connected Gmail account
Your Outlook	Sent from a connected Microsoft (Outlook) account

With Gmail or Outlook selected, you can additionally enable Send from the team member who generates the document: invitations, reminders, and completion emails are then sent from the generating member’s own connected account, with the configured account as the fallback. See Send Email for how matching works. If the connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox rejects a message, DocsAutomator sends it from its own address instead, and records that it did. Every e-sign email produces a delivery record with the provider, the sending mailbox and the message ID. See Email Delivery Outcomes.

Customizable Email Types

Invitation Email - Initial signature request
Reminder Email - Follow-up for unsigned documents
Completion Email - All parties have signed

Template Variables

All Emails:

{{documentName}} - Document name
{{signerName}} - Signer’s name
{{signerEmail}} - Signer’s email

Invitation & Reminder:

{{expirationDate}} - Link expiration date
{{signButton:text}} - Sign button
{{signLink:text}} - Sign link

Completion:

{{downloadButton:text}} - Download button
{{downloadLink:text}} - Download link

Reminder Settings

Setting	Default	Range
Enable Reminders	On	—
Reminder Interval	3 days	1-30 days
Maximum Reminders	3	1-10

Only unsigned documents receive reminders; they stop upon completion. Reminders are on by default for new automations. Existing automations keep their current setting.

Reminders are never sent for sessions using link delivery (deliveryMethod: "manual"), because you distribute those signing links yourself. See Tracking Open Requests.

Tracking Open Requests

The Waiting to be signed list appears on your home page and as a tab in Documents. It shows every open signing request, with a status that tells you where each one is stuck.

Status	Meaning	What usually helps
Not opened yet	Nobody has opened the signing link	Share the link through another channel
Read, not signed	A signer opened the document but did not finish	Send a reminder
Partly signed	At least one signer is done	Chase the remaining signers

Each row also shows how long the request has been waiting and how many reminders have already been sent, counting both scheduled reminders and any you triggered by hand.

Whether a document has been opened is the strongest signal of whether it will be signed. If nobody has opened a request after a few days, another email to the same address rarely helps. Use Copy link to send the signing link through a channel the recipient actually checks.

Requests nobody has opened after 72 hours are marked as going cold. This is a hint about the odds, not an expiry: the signing link stays valid for its full expiration period.

Actions

Action	Available when
Copy link	The request uses link delivery, or nobody has opened it yet
Remind	The request uses email delivery

Sessions using link delivery only ever offer Copy link, since DocsAutomator does not email those signers.

Branding

Custom Logo

Formats: PNG, JPG, WEBP, SVG
Maximum size: 2MB
Location: Top of signing page
Default: DocsAutomator logo if not provided

Expiration Settings

Setting	Default	Range
Link Expiration	30 days	1-365 days

After expiration, links become invalid and sessions change to “Expired” status. When a session expires without being completed, DocsAutomator sends an expiration email to the workspace’s notification recipients (falling back to workspace owners) and fires an esign.session_expired webhook if one is configured. Two days before a request expires, DocsAutomator sends the same recipients an expiry warning that lists who has not finished yet. Requests that run for two days or less get no warning.

The Signing Experience

Signer Interface

Document View - Full PDF with interactive field zones
Field Navigator - Progress indicator through fields
Signers Panel - Status of all signers

Field Completion

Signature: Draw via mouse, trackpad, or touch
Date: Calendar picker or manual selection
Text: Type required information
Checkbox: Toggle to select

Completion Flow

Complete all required fields
Click the Complete Signing button
Receive confirmation and download link

Signers can decline with optional reason. The session is marked as declined and administrator is notified.

Signed PDF Delivery

Save to Google Drive

Automatically save the signed PDF to a Google Drive folder after all signers complete.

Enable “Save to Google Drive” in the Signed PDF Delivery section
Select a Google Drive folder using the folder picker
The signed PDF is uploaded with a _signed suffix after all signatures are collected

This is separate from the “Save PDF in Google Drive” output action, which saves the unsigned PDF at generation time. The e-sign Google Drive option saves the signed PDF after the signing process completes.

Save to Data Source

Set this in the automation’s Signing & Acceptance card, under After signing → Save Signed PDF To. It is a separate setting from the PDF write-back in the Actions card, which saves the unsigned document at generation time.

Source	Save Method
Airtable	Attachment field
Notion	Files property
Google Sheets	HYPERLINK in cell
SmartSuite	File field
ClickUp	Task attachment or Files custom field

Saving Field Values

Open field mapping configuration
Select eSign fields to save
Choose destination data source fields
Values save automatically on completion

Mappable types:

Text fields → Text columns
Checkbox fields → Yes/No columns
Date fields → Date columns

Signature images are not mapped to data sources.

Webhook Integration

If your automation has a webhook URL configured, DocsAutomator will send webhook notifications for e-signature events. The webhook URL and webhookParams are the same ones configured in your automation’s output settings. Acceptance sessions fire the same events with the same payload keys. closeType is "signature" or "acceptance" on every session event. On an acceptance session, esign.signer_signed fires when a recipient clicks Accept, and the signer entries carry two extra fields: typedName (the name the recipient typed, or null) and acceptedAt.

Session Completed

Fires once when all signers complete and the final signed PDF is generated.

{
  "signedPdfUrl": "https://...",
  "sessionId": "unique-identifier",
  "documentName": "Document name",
  "closeType": "signature",
  "status": "completed",
  "completedAt": "ISO date string",
  "signers": [
    {
      "email": "signer@example.com",
      "name": "Signer Name",
      "signedAt": "ISO date string",
      "typedName": null,
      "acceptedAt": null
    }
  ],
  "fieldValues": {
    "text_1_field": {
      "type": "text",
      "value": "entered value"
    }
  },
  "googleDriveFileId": "1aBcDeFgHiJkLmNoPqRsTuVwXyZ",
  "googleDriveUrl": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aBcDeFgHiJkLmNoPqRsTuVwXyZ/view",
  "googleDriveFolderId": "0BxAbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWx",
  "sourceData": { },
  "webhookParams": { },
  "additionalParams": { }
}

The sourceData field contains the original data from your data source that was used to generate the document. The webhookParams field contains any webhookParams you passed in the API request; additionalParams is an identical copy that exists only for legacy reasons — use webhookParams in new integrations.The identifier of the triggering record is included automatically, so you can identify which record the e-sign session belongs to: recId for Airtable, SmartSuite, and Notion, taskId for ClickUp, and rowNumber for Google Sheets.

The googleDriveFileId, googleDriveUrl, and googleDriveFolderId fields are only included when the signed PDF is saved to Google Drive (i.e., “Save to Google Drive” is enabled in the Signed PDF Delivery section). If Google Drive is not configured, these fields are omitted from the payload.

Session Declined

Fires when a signer declines to sign the document.

{
  "event": "esign.session_declined",
  "sessionId": "unique-identifier",
  "documentName": "Document name",
  "closeType": "signature",
  "status": "declined",
  "declinedAt": "ISO date string",
  "declinedBy": {
    "email": "signer@example.com",
    "name": "Signer Name",
    "signerIndex": 1
  },
  "reason": "Optional reason provided by the signer",
  "sourceData": { },
  "webhookParams": { },
  "additionalParams": { }
}

The sourceData field contains the original data from your data source that was used to generate the document. The webhookParams field contains any webhookParams you passed in the API request, plus the automatically included trigger record identifier (recId for Airtable, SmartSuite, and Notion, taskId for ClickUp, rowNumber for Google Sheets). additionalParams is an identical copy that exists only for legacy reasons — use webhookParams in new integrations.

Signer Signed

Fires once every time a signer completes all of their required fields — including the final signer. Use this to track multi-party signing progress in real time without waiting for the Session Completed event.

{
  "event": "esign.signer_signed",
  "sessionId": "unique-identifier",
  "documentName": "Document name",
  "closeType": "signature",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "signer": {
    "email": "signer@example.com",
    "name": "Signer Name",
    "signerIndex": 1,
    "role": "buyer",
    "signedAt": "ISO date string",
    "typedName": null,
    "acceptedAt": null
  },
  "progress": {
    "completed": 1,
    "total": 2,
    "allSigned": false
  },
  "sourceData": { },
  "webhookParams": { },
  "additionalParams": { }
}

For the final signer, progress.allSigned is true, but the session status will still be in_progress at this point. The separate Session Completed webhook fires once the final signed PDF is generated.

Session Expired

Fires when a signing session expires before all signers complete it. An expiration email is also sent to your workspace’s notification recipients.

{
  "event": "esign.session_expired",
  "sessionId": "unique-identifier",
  "documentName": "Document name",
  "closeType": "signature",
  "status": "expired",
  "expiredAt": "ISO date string",
  "expiresAt": "ISO date string",
  "pendingSigners": [
    {
      "email": "signer@example.com",
      "name": "Signer Name",
      "signerIndex": 2,
      "status": "invited"
    }
  ],
  "sourceData": { },
  "webhookParams": { },
  "additionalParams": { }
}

pendingSigners lists signers who had not yet signed or declined when the session expired. If a session has already been declined, cancelled, or completed before the expiration time, this webhook does not fire.

Email Sent / Email Failed

Fires once per e-sign email (invitation, resend, reminder, completion, progress, decline, expiry_warning, expiration) with the outcome reported by the mail provider. The expiry_warning email goes to the sender two days before a request expires.

{
  "event": "esign.email_sent",
  "sessionId": "unique-identifier",
  "documentName": "Document name",
  "status": "pending",
  "email": {
    "kind": "invitation",
    "to": "signer@example.com",
    "signerIndex": 1,
    "outcome": "accepted",
    "provider": "gmail",
    "fromAccount": "jane@acme.com",
    "providerMessageId": "18f3a9c2b4d5e6f7",
    "providerThreadId": "18f3a9c2b4d5e6f7",
    "fallbackFrom": null,
    "fallbackReason": null,
    "error": null,
    "sentAt": "ISO date string"
  },
  "sourceData": { },
  "webhookParams": { },
  "additionalParams": { }
}

esign.email_failed has the same shape with outcome set to failed or unknown. See Email Delivery Outcomes for what each outcome means and how to integrate.

Signer Language

Localize the entire signing experience for your signers. The selected language applies to the signing page UI, email notifications, field labels, and date month names.

Supported Languages

Language	Code
English	`en`
Deutsch (German)	`de`
Español (Spanish)	`es`
Suomi (Finnish)	`fi`
Français (French)	`fr`
Português (Portuguese)	`pt`
עברית (Hebrew)	`he`
Nederlands (Dutch)	`nl`
Italiano (Italian)	`it`

How to Set

Open your automation
Open the Signing & Acceptance card in the automation editor
Select a Signer Language from the dropdown

The default language is English. The language setting affects the signing page, all email templates (invitation, reminder, completion), and date month name localization (e.g., MMMM renders as “januari” in Dutch).

Session Statuses

Status	Meaning
Pending	Created, awaiting signers
In Progress	At least one signer started
Completed	All signers finished
Expired	Link expired before completion
Cancelled	Admin cancelled
Declined	Signer declined

Acceptance requests use the same statuses. A recipient who accepted shows as Accepted in the app and as signed in the API.

Security Features

DocsAutomator eSign includes:

Secure access tokens
Time-limited signing links
Rate limiting
SHA-256 document integrity hashing
TLS encryption

Availability

E-signing and acceptance are included on all paid plans (Professional, Business, and Scale). No add-on subscription is required.

Plan	eSign Access
Free (test mode)	Preview/Test signing only
Paid (all plans)	Full production access at $0.50 / doc, charged on first open

How e-signing and acceptance are billed

You pay $0.50 per document, charged when the recipient first opens it;$ 0.35 per document above 500 a month. One document is one signing request or one acceptance request.
The charge happens when the first recipient opens the document. It is one charge per document, no matter how many recipients are on it.
A request that nobody opens is free.
A request that a recipient opens but does not finish still counts, also when it later expires or is declined.
The $0.35 rate applies to every document above 500 in a billing month. The count starts again with each billing month.
Test and preview requests are never charged.

Legacy Unlimited-plan customers keep their included unlimited signatures until they change plans.

FAQ

How many signers can I add?

Unlimited signers using incrementing field tags ({{esign.signature_1}}, {{esign.signature_2}}, etc.).

Can signers use mobile devices?

Yes. The portal is fully responsive with touch-based signature capture, and the “Complete Signing” button pins to the bottom of the screen as soon as all required fields are filled.

What happens if a signer doesn't complete?

Sessions remain pending/in progress until expiration. Enable reminders to prompt completion.

Can I cancel a signing request?

Yes, any uncompleted session. Cancelled links become invalid.

How long are signed documents stored?

Indefinitely. eSign-enabled automations automatically set PDF expiration to “never” for legal validity.

Acceptance

Get a document accepted with one click

Compliance & Legal Validity

Learn about legal standards and compliance

eSign API Reference

Programmatic control of signing sessions

Get a document accepted with one click

​Feature Overview

​Adding eSign Fields to Templates

​Field Types

​Field Size

​Choosing How it Completes

​E-Sign Fields in Conditional Sections

​Variable Number of Signers

​Review Before Signing (skipEsign)

​Configuring Signers

​Required Information

​Dynamic Signer Information

​Signing Order Options

Parallel Signing (Default)

Sequential Signing

​Email Configuration

​Email Sender Options

​Customizable Email Types

​Template Variables

​Reminder Settings

​Tracking Open Requests

​Actions

​Branding

​Custom Logo

​Expiration Settings

​The Signing Experience

​Signer Interface

​Field Completion

​Completion Flow

​Signed PDF Delivery

​Save to Google Drive

​Save to Data Source

​Saving Field Values

​Webhook Integration

​Session Completed

​Session Declined

​Signer Signed

​Session Expired

​Email Sent / Email Failed

​Signer Language

​Supported Languages

​How to Set

​Session Statuses

​Security Features

​Availability

​How e-signing and acceptance are billed

​FAQ

​Related Pages

Acceptance

Compliance & Legal Validity

eSign API Reference

Feature Overview

Adding eSign Fields to Templates

Field Types

Field Size

Choosing How it Completes

E-Sign Fields in Conditional Sections

Variable Number of Signers

Review Before Signing (skipEsign)

Configuring Signers

Required Information

Dynamic Signer Information

Signing Order Options

Email Configuration

Email Sender Options

Customizable Email Types

Template Variables

Reminder Settings

Tracking Open Requests

Actions

Branding

Custom Logo

Expiration Settings

The Signing Experience

Signer Interface

Field Completion

Completion Flow

Signed PDF Delivery

Save to Google Drive

Save to Data Source

Saving Field Values

Webhook Integration

Session Completed

Session Declined

Signer Signed

Session Expired

Email Sent / Email Failed

Signer Language

Supported Languages

How to Set

Session Statuses

Security Features

Availability

How e-signing and acceptance are billed

FAQ

Related Pages