Requesting e-signatures

Esqase lets you collect legally binding electronic signatures on a PDF without leaving the app. You place signature fields on the document, decide who needs to sign, then either sign it yourself or send each signer a secure link. This page walks through the whole flow, from opening a document to managing the request afterward.

Before you begin

• E-signatures work on PDF files only. If you want a signature on a document you wrote in the file editor, export or save it as a PDF and upload it first. See Editing documents (the file editor) and The documents workspace.
• You need a document already uploaded. To add one, open Documents in the sidebar and upload your PDF.
• Placing fields, adding signers, sending links, and signing all require Update access for documents. If your role does not include it, you will see the document but not the signing controls. Anyone with View access can open a request to review it. Firm owners always have full access. See Roles and permissions.

Open the document and start a signature request

You set up a signature request inside the full-screen preview of the PDF, using the Signatures panel on the right.

1. In the sidebar, click Documents.
2. Find your PDF in the file list and click it to open the full-screen preview.
3. When the file is a PDF, the right-hand panel opens on the Signatures tab automatically. (If you are on Details, Versions, or Activities, click the Signatures tab to switch back.)
4. The main area shows your PDF page by page. The Signatures panel on the right is where you add signers and choose which field to place.

Add signers (a firm member, a contact, or an external email)

A signer is anyone who needs to sign: a colleague at your firm, a client or other contact in your address book, or someone outside the firm you only have an email address for.

1. In the Signatures panel, under Signers, click Add signer (or the + button if you already have signers).
2. The Add signers dialog opens. It invites you to "Pick members or contacts, or type an email address." In the Signers box, start typing.
   • Members and Contacts that match appear in a dropdown, grouped under those headings. The list searches as you type and loads more people as you scroll, so you do not have to load everyone first. Click a name to add it. A member is a colleague at your firm; a contact is a person from your contacts list (for example a client).
   • To add someone who is not a member or contact, type their full email address and choose Use '...' (or press Enter). This adds them as an external email signer. As the dialog notes, external email signers receive a secure link to sign.
3. Each person you pick appears as a chip in the box. Remove one with the small x on its chip, or press Backspace to remove the last one.
4. Click Add signer (or Add signers if you selected more than one) to add them to the request. Click Cancel to discard.

Every signer you add appears in the Signers list, each with its own color. That color is used for the fields you place for that person, so you can tell at a glance which field belongs to whom. The number badge next to a signer counts how many fields are currently assigned to them.

• To make a signer the one you are placing fields for, click their row in the Signers list. The selected signer is highlighted.
• To remove a signer, click the x on their row. Removing a signer also removes any fields you placed for them.

Place signer fields on the document

Once you have at least one signer selected, you place the fields each signer needs to fill in. Fields are positioned directly on the PDF pages.

1. In the Signers list, click the signer you are placing fields for so they are selected.
2. Under Fields, choose the field type you want to drop. The available types are:
   • Signature: where the signer draws, types, or uploads their signature.
   • Initials: a smaller mark for initialing pages or clauses.
   • Date signed: fills in automatically with the date the signer signs.
   • Full name: the signer's typed name.
   • Text: a free-text box the signer types into.
   • Checkbox: a box the signer can check (for example, to acknowledge a clause).
3. With a field type selected, click the spot on the page where you want it. A colored box appears in that signer's color, labeled with the field type.
4. Repeat for every field that signer needs. Switch signers in the Signers list and place their fields the same way. Each signer's fields stay in their own color.

To adjust a field after placing it:

• Move it: drag the box to a new position on the page.
• Resize it: drag a corner or edge.
• Select it: click the box. A small toolbar appears with a copy icon (duplicate the field nearby) and a trash icon (delete it). You can also delete a selected field by pressing Delete or Backspace.
• Reassign or require it: with a field selected, the Signatures panel shows a small editor. Use Assigned signer to move the field to a different signer, and toggle the Required checkbox. Required fields must be completed before signing; a field marked required shows an asterisk on the page.

Choose how it will be signed (in person or sent out)

Esqase decides how the request behaves based on who you added, so there is no separate setting to toggle:

• Sign it yourself, in the app. If you added yourself as a member signer and placed at least one field for yourself, a Sign document button appears after you save (see Sign a document internally below). This is the fastest path when the people signing are at your firm and present.
• Send it to a client or outside party. If any signer is a contact or an external email, the request is set up to go out by link. When you generate the links, Esqase emails each outside signer their secure link for you, and shows you every link so you can copy and resend if needed (see Send and copy signing links).

You can do both from the same request: sign your own fields in the app and send the other signers their links.

Save and reuse a signature layout

Saving stores your signers and field placements on the document as a reusable layout. You must save before you can send links or sign.

1. After adding signers and placing their fields, click Save at the bottom of the Signatures panel.
2. A "Layout saved" confirmation appears. The send and sign actions (Generate links, and Sign document when it applies) now appear at the top of the panel.

What the saved layout gives you:

• The layout stays attached to this document. If you close the preview and reopen the same PDF later, your signers and fields are already in place, ready to send or to adjust.
• If you change anything (add a signer, move a field, toggle Required) after saving, the send and sign actions hide again until you click Save to capture the change. This keeps links and signing in sync with what is actually on the page.

Send and copy signing links

Use signing links to send the document to signers, including clients and outside parties. Each signer gets their own private link. When you generate the links, Esqase emails each outside signer their link for you, and also shows you every link so you can copy and resend if you need to.

1. With a saved layout, click Generate links in the Signatures panel.
2. Esqase emails each outside signer (clients, other contacts, and external email signers) their own signing link, so you do not have to send them yourself. Members who sign in the app are not emailed a link, since they sign from the dashboard.
3. The Signing links ready dialog opens. Each signer is listed with their name and email. Expand a signer to see their Link.
4. Click the copy icon next to a link to copy it to your clipboard. A "Link copied" confirmation appears. Copying is there for when you want to send a link again or through a different channel; the first send already went out by email.
5. Share any link you copied with the matching signer if you need to. The dialog explains that to open and sign, a signer confirms the email address on their link.
6. Click Done when you are finished.

If the document is connected to a matter, each signing-link email Esqase sent is recorded on that matter's Communications tab as a read-only Email row, so your team can see who was sent a link and when. See Logging communications.

Sign a document internally as a member

When you are one of the signers and you placed fields for yourself, you can sign in the app right away without sending yourself a link.

1. Save the layout, then click Sign document in the Signatures panel. (This button only appears when at least one placed field is assigned to you.)
2. The document opens in signing mode. The side panel shows Signing as with your name. Each field assigned to you is highlighted on the page; required fields that still need attention pulse so they are easy to find. The panel also tells you how many required fields are left.
3. Click a field to fill it:
   • Signature or Initials: a dialog opens to adopt your mark. Use the Draw, Type, or Upload tab, then apply it. Your adopted mark is applied to every matching field of that type for you.
   • Date signed: pick a date (it defaults to today).
   • Full name: prefilled with your name; you can edit it.
   • Text: type your entry.
   • Checkbox: click to check or uncheck.
4. Review the e-signature consent disclosure in the side panel and accept it. You must scroll the disclosure all the way to the bottom before the consent checkbox can be ticked: until then it is greyed out and a "Scroll down to continue" hint shows at the foot of the box. You cannot sign until the disclosure is accepted and all required fields are complete. The wording of this disclosure reflects your firm's country (see the note below), and the exact text you agree to is recorded with your signature.
5. Click Adopt & Sign. Your signature is recorded. If you were the last signer, the document is completed; otherwise the panel confirms your signature was recorded and the remaining signers can still sign.

If you do not want to sign, click Decline in the header. You can add an optional reason. Declining stops the signing request for everyone.

Manage the request afterward

Every signature request you create is listed on the Signatures page, where you can track progress and take action.

1. In the sidebar, open Documents, then go to Signatures. (You can also reach it from the breadcrumb above the signatures list.)
2. Use the tabs to filter by status:
   • All: every request, including cancelled ones.
   • Pending: requests where not everyone has signed yet.
   • Complete: requests where every signer has signed.
   • Declined: requests where a signer declined.
3. Each row shows the document name, how many signers have signed (for example "1/3 signed"), the status, who last updated it, and when. Use the search box to find a request by name.

Per-row actions:

• View: opens the document so you can review the request and its fields.
• More actions (the menu next to View) offers, for a request that is still open:
  • Sign document: sign your own fields in the app (if you have any).
  • Generate link: regenerate and copy signing links.
  • Cancel request: cancel a request that has not been completed. Once cancelled it can no longer be signed, and this cannot be undone.
• For a completed request, the menu instead offers:
  • Download signed document: download the final sealed, signed PDF.
  • Verify integrity: confirm the signed document still matches its recorded fingerprint (and the cryptographic seal, if configured).
  • Certificate of completion: open the certificate that records who signed, when, and how.

To select multiple open requests at once and cancel them together, use the checkboxes on the left and the batch Cancel action in the toolbar.

For more on viewing a request's full history, status changes, and signer events, see Managing signature requests.

Common questions

• Can I get a signature on a Word or rich-text document? Not directly. Signatures are placed on PDFs. Save or export your document as a PDF and upload it, then start the request on the PDF.
• A signer says their link does not open. What should I check? Confirm you sent them the correct, complete link, and that they are confirming the same email address the link was generated for. If the request was cancelled, the link no longer works.
• Can I change fields after sending? Editing the layout (adding a signer, moving a field) hides the send and sign actions until you save again, which keeps signing in sync. If signing is already underway and you need different terms, cancel the request and start a new one.
• Where do clients actually sign? Clients open their secure link and sign on a guided page outside the firm dashboard. See How clients sign documents.
• What does the client see? A walkthrough of the client signing experience is covered in How clients sign documents.

Related

• Managing signature requests
• The documents workspace
• Sharing documents
• Editing documents (the file editor)
• How clients sign documents
• Logging communications
• Roles and permissions