Sending a form for signature

Once you have generated a completed provider form, TakeNote can send it to your client for electronic signature through DocuSign. The client signs by email, TakeNote tracks the request as it moves along, and the signed PDF comes back into the client record without anyone rekeying anything.

This follows on from Auto-filling provider forms. A form must be completed and generated before it can be sent, because the document the client signs is the filled PDF.

Connect DocuSign

Signing runs through your firm's own DocuSign account, so the connection has to be authorised once before the first request can be sent. Open Settings and select the Integrations tab, then choose Connect DocuSign. A DocuSign tab opens: sign in to the account you want TakeNote to send from and select Allow Access.

This is a one-off step. Once access is granted, every later request is authorised in the background. If you try to send before consent has been given, TakeNote tells you and offers a Grant DocuSign consent link so you can authorise and retry without losing your work.

Send the request

Open the completed form and select Send for signature. You can do this from the form workspace, or from the Formstab of the client's record.

TakeNote pre-fills the signer's name and email address from the client record. Check both before sending — the email address determines who receives the document, and a request sent to the wrong address has to be cancelled and re-sent rather than redirected.

Automatic reminders is on by default. With it enabled, DocuSign emails the client every three days until they sign. Every request expires after 30 days whether reminders are on or not.

Track progress

After sending, the form shows a status card in place of the send button. It names the signer, records when the request went out, counts any reminders, and updates itself while you have the page open.

A request moves through these states:

• Preparing — created in TakeNote, not yet handed to DocuSign.
• Sent — DocuSign has emailed the client.
• Opened — the client has opened the document but not signed it.
• Signed — the client has completed the signature.
• Declined — the client refused to sign, usually with a reason.
• Voided — the request was cancelled before signing.

For a view across your whole client book, open Signatures from the sidebar. Every request your firm has sent is listed with the client, the form, and a Sent → Opened → Signed tracker showing how far it has got.

The tiles along the top double as filters: select Awaiting Signature, Overdue, Signed, or Declined / Voided to narrow the list, and select it again to clear. A request that has been outstanding for seven days is flagged as overdue in amber; after fourteen days the flag turns red. The list refreshes itself while anything is outstanding, and Refresh re-checks DocuSign immediately.

Chase or cancel a request

While a request is outstanding, Send reminder emails the client immediately, on top of any automatic reminders. Each one is counted on the request so you can see how often the client has been chased.

Cancel request withdraws the document. TakeNote asks you to confirm, and once cancelled the client can no longer sign — the link in their email stops working. Use this when a form was sent in error or has been superseded, then send a fresh request from the corrected form.

Retrieve the signed document

When the client signs, DocuSign notifies TakeNote and the request moves to Signed. TakeNote retrieves the executed PDF and stores it against the client, so you do not need to download it from DocuSign or forward it yourself.

Select View signed document on the form, or Signed PDFon the Signatures page, to open it. The file is the signed version, complete with DocuSign's signature certificate.

Audit trail and deletion

Every request keeps a dated record of what happened to it. Select History on any row in the Signatures page to see the audit trail — sending, delivery, opening, reminders, and the final outcome — as reported by DocuSign rather than assumed by TakeNote.

A request that is no longer outstanding can be removed with Delete. You are asked to type DELETE to confirm, because this permanently removes the signature history, the DocuSign audit events, and the stored signed PDF. The generated form itself stays in the client record.