Multi-signer workflows
For in-house agreements, the composer supports a primary client signer and an optional second client co-signer. The company signature is normally applied when you send. A signature record documents an action; it does not determine that the agreement is legally sufficient.
Adding signers
At New contract, select Add a co-signer and enter the person's name and distinct email address. Both client-side signers receive individual links and may sign in either order.
The ordinary form adds a client co-signer, not a configurable witness role or a sequential routing designer. The underlying signing system can account for witness records, but that is not an additional witness control in this composer.
DocuSign has a separate send path. Do not assume the in-house co-signer controls are copied to a DocuSign envelope; verify recipients and routing in the chosen DocuSign template/envelope before sending.
Parallel signing and status
In-house client co-signers sign in parallel. Typical states are:
- Sent: the document has been sent.
- Viewed: a signing link has been opened.
- Signed: all required client/witness signatures are complete and no company signature remains outstanding.
- Awaiting countersign: client-side signing is complete, but a required company signature still needs to be captured.
Do not treat the first client's signature as completion when a second signer is required. Inspect the signer list on the contract detail page.
The legacy company countersign step
The standard human composer requires a captured company signature for agreements/quotes and attempts to apply it before sending. Existing documents, change orders, or a failed/skipped pre-sign can still require a countersign. The detail page is the authority for that document's current state.
An MCP/agent send can use the saved signature of the admin associated with the key. If none is available, it can send with a warning. The template's countersign requirement matters: missing a saved signature does not guarantee that the document will wait in Awaiting countersign.
Do not use an intentionally signature-less API key as a substitute for an approval workflow. If your business needs a specific signing order or independent company approval, confirm that the configured document flow meets it before sending.
When a document does await countersign, use the company-signing form on /admin/contracts/<id>. Completion generates the final artifacts; check the result and any delivery/storage warnings.
What the per-template requiresCountersign flag does
Require company countersignature controls whether a company signature is required. A successfully applied company pre-sign can already satisfy it. It is not merely an informational label, and switching it off is not equivalent to requiring a later company approval.
Saved signatures
Each admin's saved signature belongs to that admin. Save yours at Settings → Signatures; the composer also supports typing or drawing for a particular send.
Clients can use a saved signature when one is available for their signed-in account, or type/draw again. Saving a signature does not approve future documents automatically.
Resume on abandon
Unsubmitted signing fields and drawn signatures are not restored from browser storage. If a signer closes or refreshes before submitting, they may need to enter their name, initials, and signature again.
A still-valid link reopens the document. Already submitted signatures are retained server-side; an expired, declined, or voided document cannot be signed simply by reopening its old link.
Duplicate-email guard
If the proposed co-signer email matches the primary client, the in-house send skips that duplicate co-signer and reports a notice; an invalid co-signer email is also reported. Check the send result and signer list—do not assume two signatures are required just because the checkbox was ticked.
Declining and correcting recipients
A signer may decline and provide a reason. The document becomes declined and other signing links cannot finish it. Review the reason and create a corrected document when appropriate.
Before sending, remove the co-signer by unticking the option. After sending, do not edit a frozen signed body or substitute a recipient silently; use the contract's available void/new-document workflow.
Portal access and evidence
Receiving or completing a signing link is not the same as becoming an authenticated client-portal teammate. Manage client team invitations separately. Co-signers do not automatically gain access to all of the client's projects and invoices.
The detail page exposes signing evidence and available PDF artifacts. These support review and traceability; neither an audit hash nor a signer count guarantees enforceability. See Sending contracts for signature.