Handle's Comprehensive eSign: Consolidated Workflow, Advanced Automation, Flexible Customization for Streamlined Deal Management
eSign can be part of any module within Handle, but the most common usage is for Paperless Workflow or Paperless Deal Process. With this module, you get all the benefits of popular eSignature apps, but with fewer clicks, less confusion, and more flexibility.
Here’s an overview of the features and benefits of Handle’s eSign:
Why Build Our Own eSign Module?
There are plenty of good eSignature apps on the market. And our original plan was to build integrations for them.
But when we built the integration, it added more work and confusion than necessary. With an integration, you have to keep too many windows open and click too many times to do the simplest of tasks.
Users want to be able to send files to customers with just one click, collect signatures, and automate workflows — all from Handle. The only way to achieve the smooth, effortless experience you want was to create our own solution.
The result was an eSignature module that’s both powerful and flexible with enhanced functionality. Here are 11 things you need to know about eSign.
1. Consolidate and Streamline Workflows
Handle imports or recreates relevant PDFs within each account, so everything is in one place. No need to open applications in other windows or hunt down documents from multiple sources.
eSign allows you to create complete deal packets and drop in spaces for signatures, just as you would in signature applications, without leaving Handle or moving to another tab on your computer.
This keeps everything consolidated while integrating with Handle’s other entities, so your team can streamline workflows and save time.
2. eSign Records
One of the biggest perks of eSignature apps is that they verify and track signatures, including the time-stamp and location of each signature. But other applications are limited.
With eSign, we’ve expanded and integrated this functionality by allowing you to track all eSign activity associated with each deal — including deals that are changed or expanded before the deal is finalized.
Our eSign record will automatically update the stage of the deal as it’s being executed. And if a deal is voided before it’s completed, eSign will capture those changes as well.
3. Dynamic Deal Packs
Deal packs often require multiple copies and grow or expand dynamically.
Other eSignature applications are static. They can’t expand dynamically, and they can’t generate multiple copies based on the unique specifications of each deal. As a result, they add work and complicate your workflow.
Because Handle’s eSign is dynamic, it adapts to your workflows and the types of deals you’re building.
For example, let’s say that your process is to create a settlement sheet or invoice that lists all the pieces of equipment in a deal. That will look different in each deal. If you’re selling 50 pieces of equipment, you might have a six-page document. If you’re selling one piece, you might only have a one-page document.
You might sell 50 pieces of equipment with documents that are specific to each of those pieces. For instance, you might need six warranty copies and ten trade-ins. With Handle, the system is smart enough to generate those documents for you.
With Handle’s eSign, you can build any size of deal packet, with any number of items, and create multiple versions of it. It adapts to your workflow, instead of you having to adapt to the eSignature app.
4. Automated Checks
One of the biggest challenges with finalizing deals is that they inevitably have incomplete or inaccurate paperwork. It takes time to verify information and chase down missing data.
Handle takes care of this for you by leveraging our integration engine, which works in the background pulling relevant data and prepopulating forms.
To ensure everything is filled out correctly, Handle does automated checks of required information and won’t let the paperwork move forward until it’s correct.
For example, let’s say that something was updated or changed in the quote or purchase order, but it’s not reflected in the paperwork yet. The system sees that the information doesn’t match and gives you a warning message or pop-up, telling you the purchase order needs to be regenerated.
A red alert bar tells the user the PO needs to be regenerated.
Another simple check is the email. If you don’t include an email address in your quote and PO, it won’t be able to pass that data through to the rest of the documents. So it will require you to fill out that piece of information before moving on.
To further ensure all paperwork is complete, users won’t be allowed to open the print/signing popup if they are missing any required fields or data. And they will be prevented from sending the eSign out for signatures unless they have at least ONE document selected.
Handle’s automated alert telling the user a PDF hasn’t been selected.
5. Print Preview
In eSign, you can configure the Print Preview of the entire packet. It tells you all the documents included in the packet and lets you review, sort, and select the documents you send for signature.
You can set the default order of documents but also manually adjust that for individual packets. The pre-select option will ensure your default documents are included. But you have the flexibility to select additional documents as well.
Handle’s automated alert telling the user a PDF hasn’t been selected.
You can preview PDFs one at a time in the right panel.
You can also preview individual documents in Carousel View. In this view, you can see the details of the deal on the left side of the screen while viewing the PDF on the right.
Preview documents and their details in Carousel View.
6. Signature Mapping
Part of the eSign set-up is signature mapping. This is the simple process of setting placement rules for every signature (Salesperson, Signer 1, Signer 2, etc.).
With eSign, you can map up to six signatures in your documents.
Map signatures by placing the appropriate signature block where it’s needed in the document.
7. Signer Rules
This is another configuration option for eSign. Here, you can configure the signers, where their packet should be sent, and other details.
Step 1:
Determine how many signers are needed and whether the salesperson will be signing. eSign allows up to six signers.
By default, the Signer 1 field is mapped to the Salesperson. Details for this signature are pulled from the account owner. If this needs to be changed, you must specify to the team what the rules are for all signers and update the display name of the “Salesperson” fields inside the actual eSign entity.
Signature 1 defaults to the account owner, or salesperson.
Step 2:
Provide mapping for each signer name and email. For this, you must specify where the team should pull the full name and email address from the record for each signer.
For example: you can pull data from the PO, Owner Record, Customer Fields, etc.
Map each signer’s name and email.
This step is important because, if eSign is enabled on an entity, users will not be allowed to access the print/eSign popup without a valid email from the mapping.
8. Send to Sales vs. the Customer
eSign packets can be sent to all participants or just to Sales.
By default, when you send an eSign request, a separate invite email is sent to each signer using Handle’s eSign template. (No need to write an email from scratch.)
But you can customize eSign to send an email to one “sales” address instead. This may be necessary if the customer doesn’t have an email address.
Note: When “Send to Sales” is selected, the salesperson receives one invite email, and no other templates are generated or sent to the other signers.
9. Adopt a Signature
Signers can choose whether they want to adopt a pre-formatted signature or draw their signature. In the signature window, they’ll see two tabs: “Adopt Signature” and “Draw Signature.”
The dealer can choose the default signing method (adopt or draw) in advance, but signers can manually override by clicking on the tab of their choice.
Signers can adopt a pre-formatted signature or draw it with their cursor.
10. eSign Stage Automation
There are four stages of the eSign process, and they’re automatically updated as the deal is executed.
Stage 1: Pending
Signing has not been completed by all parties. An attachment is generated with all documents selected from the deal, and the system generates and sends an email to each participant.
Stage 2: Void
This stage is optional and must be manually selected by the user. If an eSign is voided, the system sends an “eSign Canceled” email to all signers, and the doc is locked for signatures. An eSign record is then generated and attached to the deal.
Stage 3: Signed
Signing has been completed by all parties. A new attachment is generated with all the signatures added according to the signing map. This attachment replaces the previous record, and an eSign record is generated and attached to the deal.
Stage 4: Confirmed
This stage is manually updated by the user, confirming that eSign was completed as expected.
eSign automatically creates a record that’s associated with the deal. When you start an eSign, it’s captured in the background with all the time stamps, locations, and other data needed for verification. This is valuable because it gives you a record that can be used to update the deal.
You also have the option to void a contract before it’s completed. For instance, you might set up an eSignature and then realize you need to change the docs. So you could void the eSign, make whatever changes are necessary, and start a new one.
eSign creates a record of the voided eSignature as well as the new one, so you have complete records for every deal.
11. Trigger Separate Workflows
In Handle, you can configure different workflows to be triggered after an eSign has been completed. Then, when a deal is signed, specific pages from the packet will be sent to the specific people, departments, or applications you’ve set up. Each page follows its own channel to the right person or application for fulfillment.
For example, the deal packet may have 20 pages. Some of those pages need to go to your service department — but Service doesn’t want all 20 pages, only the pages they need. So Handle pulls out the pages they need and automatically sends them over.
In a whole goods order, you may sell six pieces of equipment: four as trade-ins and two that need to be ordered. Each of these pieces has its own workflow or process. We can trigger the whole goods order process inside of Handle with those specific pages from the deal.
Ready to Get Started?
eSign can be configured to fit your unique processes — but you need to know what’s possible before reaching out to us.
This overview gives you a good idea of eSign’s flexibility. Think about your needs and how you’d like to configure this module for your business. Then contact us at https://texadasoftware.com/support/.