[Account Owner] How to Send Documents Out for Signature (DocuSign)

Sending a document for signature can be done by bundling it with a payment request, or sending it by itself.

Please note: All signature request email links do expire after 30 days. To refresh the link, please send a reminder on the document or share the URL link from inside AdvicePay.

To send the document with a payment request:

We recommend this method for easily and efficiently moving your prospects or clients on to a payment after everyone has signed the document! Once the document is complete your client will be instantly notified of the invoice and/or subscription and have the ability to make payment (without any additional work needed by you). 

To get started:

1. Add any document template while setting up an invoice request, or from your  Documents page select Create New:

2. Select the  ClientEngagement (option will appear if 2+ Engagement templates have been created) and click Add eSign Document

If you're using an Engagement through your firm where the uploading of a "wet" signed document (e.g. document that was already signed out of AdvicePay) is available, you will have the option to select Upload Document instead of using an eSign template to obtain signatures electronically:

Here you can upload up to 6 PDFs with a maximum size of 5 MB each.

You will also need to select a Signed Date.

From here, skip to Step 4 below!

3. Under  eSign Document, click the drop down menu and select your desired document template.

Best Practice Tip: In DocuSign, create a specific user within Docusign that AdvicePay will use! This ensures that your advisors  only see the templates you want them to see. Grant this user the DS Sender permission. (They do not need DS Admin permissions.)

3a. If your template requires additional signees,   select their name from the drop down menu (available for any account user for your firm, including additional login users that clients have added to their own accounts). 

  • If you have a role name with any variation of the word "client" in it, only clients and their login users will display in the drop down.
  • If you have a role name with "advisor" in it, only advisors within an Office (or entire firm for the Account Owner) will display in the drop down.

Or,  manually enter the signee's name + email address if they are not a user that has been added to AdvicePay! Documents can be sent to anyone outside of AdvicePay if allowed by your Enterprise firm.


If your firm has disabled the ability to create signers, you'll be required to select an existing AdvicePay user from the drop down. However, if needed you may still be able to edit one or more emails to override where the document is sent! Just note that the document will still be visible in the user's normal AdvicePay account if they log in.

Tip: Signing order is set when creating a template within DocuSign. If the template in use has a signing order, the correct order will be displayed automatically!


Each signing role should be defined in the DocuSign template, but we do recommend leaving the  Name and  Email section blank on the DocuSign template so you will be able to select the correct signee from the AdvicePay drop down. 

To receive a notification email each time a signee completes their signature, as well as a notice when all signatures have been obtained, go to  Account Settings > Emails & Notifications > Advisor Notifications and toggle  Document Signed to on.

4. Proceed by selecting Attach Invoice and filling out the invoice/subscription information as normal.

When finished, select  Finish > Send via email through AdvicePay. Your client (and any additional signees) will receive emails guiding them to sign the document. (If the template has signing order enabled, each signee will then be prompted via email when it is their turn!)

To make edits to the template or fill out custom information first, select  Send via email through AdvicePay >  Edit & Send Document. You will be taken to the DocuSign editing screen where you can make changes/enter information before sending.


Pssst. Need help working with your template?Check out DocuSign's help articles for tips and tutorials or contact their Support team!

Tip: When a document is attached to a payment request, the invoice cannot be paid until the document is successfully signed by all signees.  If you did not elect "Send via email through AdvicePay," signees will not be notified that there is a document to sign. To notify everyone about the document, or just send a reminder to those who haven't signed yet, you will want to go to  Documents and select  Send Reminder for the document that needs signatures. This must take place within AdvicePay; resending via your DocuSign account will not initiate emails to signers. 


πŸ‘‰ Read more about how emails work with eSign documents!


To send a standalone document:

1. From your  Documents page, click Create New:

2. Select the  ClientEngagement (option will appear if 2+ Engagement templates have been created) and click Add eSign Document

If you're using an Engagement through your firm where the uploading of a "wet" signed document (e.g. document that was already signed out of AdvicePay) is available, you will have the option to select Upload Document instead of using an eSign template to obtain signatures electronically:

Here you can upload up to 6 PDFs with a maximum size of 5 MB each.

You will also need to select a Signed Date.

From here, skip to Step 4 below!

3. Under  eSign Document, click the drop down menu and select your desired document template.

Best Practice Tip: In DocuSign, create a specific user within Docusign that AdvicePay will use! This ensures that your advisors  only see the templates you want them to see. Grant this user the DS Sender permission. (They do not need DS Admin permissions.)

3a. If your template requires additional signees,  select their name from the drop down menu (available for any account user for your firm, including additional login users that clients have added to their own accounts).

  • If you have a role name with any variation of the word "client" in it, only clients and their login users will display in the drop down.
  • If you have a role name with "advisor" in it, only advisors within an Office (or entire firm for the Account Owner) will display in the drop down.

Or,  manually enter the signee's name + email address if they are not a user that has been added to AdvicePay! Documents can be sent to anyone outside of AdvicePay if allowed by your Enterprise firm.


If your firm has disabled the ability to create signers, you'll be required to select an existing AdvicePay user from the drop down. However, if needed you may still be able to edit one or more emails to override where the document is sent! Just note that the document will still be visible in the user's normal AdvicePay account if they log in.

Tip: Signing order is set when creating a template within DocuSign. If the template in use has a signing order, the correct order will be displayed automatically!


Each signing role should be defined in the DocuSign template, but we do recommend leaving the  Name and  Email section blank on the DocuSign template so you will be able to select the correct signee from the AdvicePay drop down. 

To receive a notification email each time a signee completes their signature, as well as a notice when all signatures have been obtained, go to  Account Settings > Emails & Notifications > Advisor Notifications and toggle  Document Signed to on.

4. Proceed by selecting Skip Invoice:

5. On the final review screen, select  Send Document. Your client (and any additional signees) will receive emails guiding them to sign the document. (If the template has signing order enabled, each signee will then be prompted via email when it is their turn!)

To make edits to the template or fill out custom information first, select  Edit & Send Document. You will be taken to the DocuSign editing screen where you can make changes/enter information before sending.


Pssst. Need help working with your template?Check out DocuSign's help articles for tips and tutorials or contact their Support team!

Tip: To send a reminder to those who haven't signed yet, you will want to go to  Documents and select  Send Reminder for the document that needs signatures. This must take place within AdvicePay; resending via your DocuSign account will not initiate emails to signers. 


πŸ‘‰ Read more about how emails work with eSign documents!


Yes, a document link will expire after 30 days. While payment request links don’t expire, since signature request links expire after 30 days, if a signature request was sent with the payment request β€” it would be subject to the 30-day expiration because the document must be signed first.

If the document was sent out for signature over 30 days ago, you can go to Documents and select Send Reminder so a new link is generated and sent via email to required signers.

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