Creating a New eSignature Document Template

Did you know that you can create a document "template" for files and documents that you need to send out for signing again and again?

You can create a template by adding fields for completion, arranging those fields on the document, and then saving them for future use.

Add The Document

To get started, go to eSignatures > Documents and then drop a file into the box in the center of the page to upload a new file.

Pro-tip: The eSignature module works best with PDF documents, so if you try to upload a large .doc or .docx file and experience a longer upload time, our best practice advice is to export that document into a PDF file type before you upload it into HR Partner.

The uploaded document will appear at the top of the list. First, you need to select the Document Type from the dropdown list. This designates the document's purpose to be for Employees or Applicants.

Once you've designated the Document Type, click on Add Signing Fields to add new fields.

Note: Already have a Document uploaded? Please follow the steps in our article Creating a Document for Multiple Signers (go to the Using an Existing Document section) before trying to make changes to its signing fields.

Add the Fields

The document will open in a new browser tab and all available fields are found on the right side toolbar.

Click and drag to add fields to your document.

Types of Fields

We've made multiple field options in our eSignature tool to make sending a document for electronic signature as easy as possible. You can add any of these fields to your eSignature document:

  • Text Field
  • Date Field
  • Checkbox Field
  • Signature Field
  • Initial Field
  • Merge Fields
    • Employee Fields
    • Employee Fields: Extra (any Custom Fields you create can be pre-populated onto your document)
    • Applicant Fields
    • Additional Fields

What are Merge Fields?

Merge fields are fields that you can add to any document and the field will be populated with the information automatically, based on who you send the document to. For example, if you've added a Merge Field for "Employee Name" and you send this document out to your employee Jane Smith, the system will autofill "Jane Smith" into that field.

Note: Merge Fields cannot be made 'mandatory' or 'optional' because the system will pre-fill this data for the Recipient. If you add any Merge Field to your eSignature document, that field will be completed automatically without allowing the Recipient to make edits to the field.

Customizing Your Fields

You can also add a number of new changes to your Fields after you've added them to the page. Double-click on any field to see what is available to edit or change based on your needs.

  • Field Name - edit the Field Name so that you can add in any type of field to be completed by the Recipient.
  • Mandatory - you can now mark a field as 'mandatory' to complete. ('Merge Fields' will be automatically completed by the system, so they cannot be marked as mandatory.)
  • Date Format - on the Date fields, you can edit the style of the date format based on your liking.
  • Ask When Assigning - you can now choose to fill in the contents of your Field when you are Assigning that Document out to an Employee for signature. Click on this checkbox and an Admin User can fill out the Contents of this field when sending this out to an Employee or Applicant for completion. This is great for things like 'Salary' or 'Remuneration' which may be specific to that eSignature Recipient.
  • Filled By - choose who needs to complete the field. This will default to who the Document Type belongs to (i.e. an Employee or Applicant). However, when you add Signing Party, you can opt for the other signer to fill out that field. (If you'd like to learn more about setting up your document for multiple signers, please reference our article Creating a Document for Multiple Signers.
  • Font Style - choose the style of Font that you want to use for this Field.
  • Font Size - choose the size of Font that you want to use for this Field.

Take a Second Look

Once all Fields have been added, you can move them around on the page and double-click to make sure that all of your custom edits are completed.

Use the green arrows at the bottom to tab through all of the pages in the Document before clicking on Save Layout to save the changes made.

Once saved, you will see a green message confirming that your signable document is ready to be sent out. You can see this Document Template in eSignatures > Documents and can send this out immediately.

Send It Out

To send out your Document Template, you can click on Request a Signature or click on the drop-down arrow and you can make more changes to the Template.

Clicking on Request a Signature will bring you to the eSignature workflow so that you can begin assigning the document out for completion.

You can also send out this template by going to eSignature > Request Signature and your document will be found in the second Option, where you can select from files that have already been uploaded:

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