Quick start for senders

Sending documents

How an agreement goes from your draft to a signed copy. Each step takes a minute or two once your document is ready.

Step by step

1
Create the agreement
Give it a title, the other organisation’s name and your reference number.
2
Upload the document
Upload the Word file together with a PDF saved from Word (File, Save As, PDF). The PDF is what gets signed, so the layout is exactly as you prepared it. Highlight in yellow anything the other side must fill in.
3
Check the signing places
Empty signature blocks (signature, name, designation, date), acknowledgement lines and highlighted placeholders are found for you. Move, resize, add or reassign any place on the page.
4
Add the signatories
Add the people you know, for each side and in order. If the other organisation’s second signatory is not known yet, leave them off; their first signatory can name them, or confirm there is none.
5
Add reviewers if needed
Reviewers read and comment but do not sign. Choose whether a reviewer belongs to the other organisation (comments shared with them) or is internal to yours (comments never shown to them).
6
Send for review or for signature
Before anything is emailed, you see exactly who will receive it. Send for review first if you expect comments; send for signature when the wording is agreed.
7
Handle comments and suggested edits
Reply to comments in one place. Signatories and reviewers can also suggest new wording for any paragraph. Accept, adjust or decline each suggestion; you can edit the wording yourself too. Nothing changes until you accept.
8
Issue the next revision
With one press, your accepted edits become the next revision, with the Word formatting kept. Signatories see exactly what changed, and any earlier signatures no longer apply. For letterheads with special layouts, download the updated Word file, save it as PDF in Word and use that PDF.
9
Receive the signed copy
When every required place is signed, everyone receives the signed PDF with its certificate of completion and sealed audit trail.

Good practice

Do a dry run with your own email address as the signatory before your first real send, then withdraw it.
Put letterhead details in the normal header of your Word template, not in floating text boxes, so they convert cleanly.
Use “one after another” signing when the order matters, for example when your organisation countersigns last.
Mark internal notes as internal so they are never shown to the other organisation.

GoLive Sign is available to organisations as a managed service, with self-service accounts and plans coming soon. Talk to us to start sending with GoLive Sign.