Most e-signature delays are not caused by the signature tool itself. They happen because the document was not ready: the wrong person was assigned, a required field was missing, the signer did not know what to do, or the final PDF did not match the approved version.
For sales, HR, legal, procurement, and small-business teams, a little preparation can prevent a lot of rework. Use the checklist below before sending contracts, offer letters, vendor forms, order forms, NDAs, change orders, or statements of work for e-signature.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice; requirements for electronic signatures and contract formation vary by jurisdiction and document type.
Before adding signature fields, make sure you are working from the final version that has been approved for signature.
Check for:
- All comments, tracked changes, and unresolved redlines removed or accepted
- Correct counterparty name, legal entity, address, and contact details
- Accurate pricing, dates, scope, exhibits, schedules, and attachments
- No placeholder text such as TBD, insert name, or lorem ipsum
- Correct template version, especially for frequently reused forms
- Internal approval completed, if your process requires it
A common mistake is preparing a signature packet from a draft that looks final but still contains a hidden comment or an outdated commercial term. If your team uses a contract lifecycle management system, compare the document against the approved record before sending.
Do not start with email addresses. Start with roles.
For each party, determine:
- Who must sign
- Whether anyone must approve before signature
- Whether a witness, countersigner, or internal representative is needed
- Whether the signer has authority under your company process
- Whether the signer is an individual or signing on behalf of an organization
A simple table helps:
| Party | Role | Name | Email | Action |
|---|
| Your company | Authorized signer | Name | Email | Sign |
| Customer | Authorized signer | Name | Email | Sign |
| Finance | Internal approver | Name | Email | Approve only |
Avoid sending to shared inboxes unless your workflow specifically supports them. If the signature needs to come from a named person, use that person’s email address.
Some contracts can be signed in parallel. Others need a sequence.
Use parallel signing when:
- Either party can sign first
- There are no dependencies between signatures
- Speed matters more than order
Use sequential signing when:
- An internal approver must review before external signature
- One signer fills in information another signer must see
- The document requires company signature after customer acceptance
- A countersignature should only happen after all other fields are completed
Be careful with sequential workflows that are too rigid. If five people must act in a precise order, one unavailable person can block the whole transaction. Keep the sequence only as strict as the document requires.
Signature packets fail when signers cannot tell what they are supposed to complete. Field placement should be obvious and consistent.
Common fields include:
- Signature
- Full name
- Job title
- Company name
- Date signed
- Initials
- Checkbox acknowledgments
- Text fields for limited signer-provided information
Best practices:
- Put fields directly on the relevant signature block or clause
- Make required fields clearly required
- Avoid asking signers to type information already present in the contract
- Use read-only or pre-filled fields where possible
- Keep optional fields visibly optional
- Make field labels specific, such as Customer authorized signer title instead of Title
For contracts with multiple signers, assign each field to the correct signer. A missing assignment can allow the wrong person to complete a field or leave the document incomplete.
Dates cause more confusion than almost any other contract field.
Decide which dates should be:
- Pre-filled before sending
- Automatically captured at signing
- Entered manually by a signer
- Left out entirely
For many signature blocks, an automatically captured signing date is cleaner than a blank date field. But some agreements distinguish between effective date, signature date, start date, renewal date, or delivery date. Make sure these are not accidentally treated as the same thing.
If the contract says the agreement is effective as of a specific date, confirm that date is already correct in the document. Do not rely on signers to fix legal or commercial dates during signing.
If the agreement refers to an exhibit, schedule, order form, statement of work, data processing addendum, purchase terms, or policy attachment, confirm whether it must be included in the signature packet.
Before sending, check:
- Are all referenced attachments included?
- Are attachment names consistent with the agreement text?
- Are page numbers or document order clear?
- Are attachments incorporated by reference or separately signed?
- Are any external links stable and accessible?
If an attachment is missing, the signer may execute a contract that refers to a document they never received. That creates confusion and may require a corrected packet.
A contract that looked fine in Word can behave differently after conversion to PDF. Before sending, open the final file as the recipient will see it.
Look for:
- Broken page breaks
- Cut-off tables
- Missing headers or footers
- Wrong fonts or symbols
- Signature blocks split across pages
- Incorrect page orientation
- Very large file size
- Scanned pages that are blurry or rotated
If you are combining documents, confirm the order. If you are using a scanned PDF, consider whether OCR is needed for searchability and internal records. For documents that will be archived, a clean final PDF is much easier to manage later.
The email or signing message should tell the recipient exactly what they are receiving and what action is needed. Do not rely on a generic please sign message for important agreements.
A good message includes:
- Document name
- Reason for signature
- Deadline, if applicable
- Who to contact with questions
- Whether any fields must be completed before signing
Example:
Please review and sign the attached Mutual NDA for the upcoming vendor evaluation. The fields assigned to you are the signature, name, title, and signing date. If the legal entity name or contact details are incorrect, please reply before signing.
Keep the message short. Long explanations can distract from the required action.
Different documents call for different levels of signer verification. Your process may use email-based signing, access codes, identity checks, single sign-on, or other controls depending on the document type and risk level.
Consider:
- Is the recipient email address verified?
- Is the document sensitive enough to require additional access controls?
- Should the link expire after a period of time?
- Should recipients be allowed to delegate signing?
- Should signers receive a completed copy automatically?
Avoid overcomplicating low-risk documents, but do not use the lightest process for sensitive employment, finance, or high-value commercial agreements without checking your internal policy.
One advantage of e-signature workflows is that they can create a structured record of signing events. The details vary by platform and configuration, but a good completion record may include timestamps, signer information, email events, IP-related metadata, document history, and a certificate or audit log.
Before standardizing a workflow, confirm:
- What completion evidence is generated
- Where the signed document and audit record are stored
- Who can access them later
- Whether the record is attached to the contract repository
- Whether retention settings match company policy
Do not wait until a dispute, renewal, or audit to find out where signed records are stored.
If you send the same document repeatedly, create a reusable template. But test it before rolling it out.
Run a test packet to confirm:
- Fields are assigned to the right roles
- The signing order works
- Required fields cannot be skipped
- The final PDF looks correct
- The completion email contains the right information
- Internal storage or routing works as expected
Template errors scale quickly. One misplaced field in a high-volume sales order form can create dozens of bad packets in a single week.
Teams that send contracts frequently should use a short checklist instead of relying on memory.
A practical pre-send checklist might include:
- Final approved version attached
- Correct parties and legal names
- All exhibits and schedules included
- Signers and approvers confirmed
- Signing order selected
- Required fields assigned
- Dates checked
- Message added
- Access settings reviewed
- Storage location confirmed
Keep the checklist short enough that people actually use it. The goal is to catch common mistakes, not to turn every signature request into a legal memo.
Usually yes, but the better process depends on the stage of signing and your platform settings. If nobody has signed, you may be able to correct or cancel the packet and resend it. If one or more parties have already signed, you may need to void the packet and issue a corrected version so the final record is clear.
PDF is commonly used because it preserves layout and reduces accidental editing. Many teams negotiate in Word, approve the final version, convert it to PDF, and then prepare the PDF for e-signature.
At minimum, the parties who signed should receive or have access to the completed document. Internally, the final signed copy should go to the system of record, such as a contract repository, customer account, HR file, or vendor folder.
Electronic signatures are widely used for many business documents, but rules and exceptions vary by country, document type, and context. For unusual, regulated, high-value, notarized, or cross-border documents, check with qualified counsel or your internal legal team.
The most common mistake is sending the wrong version or assigning fields to the wrong signer. Both are easy to prevent with a final version check and a signer-role review before sending.
A smooth e-signature process starts before the send button. Confirm the approved document, define signer roles, place fields carefully, include the right attachments, and make sure the completed record will be easy to find later.
ZiaSign helps teams prepare, send, sign, and manage contracts in one workflow, with e-signatures, document tools, renewal tracking, and contract lifecycle features built for everyday business use.