Accounts payable
Invoice and purchase sign-off
The approver’s signature is stamped on the invoice or requisition the moment they approve it, so the signed copy is the filed copy.
- Sign on approval
Content Central · Electronic signatures
Get it signed without leaving your document system.
Printing a document, chasing three signatures and scanning it back in takes days and leaves copies everywhere. Content Central sends the request, collects every signature in the browser and files the signed PDF right back where the document lives.
- Print, sign, scan, refile
- Signed in the browser, filed as a new version
- Emailing whoever is next
- A signing order that asks each person in turn
- Approve here, sign over there
- The approver’s signature stamped on approval
The problem
Signing is where documents leave the system.
The signed copy lives somewhere else
It comes back as an email attachment or sits in a separate signing service, while your library still holds the unsigned original.
Nobody knows who has it
The second signer is on vacation, the third never got it, and someone spends the afternoon following up.
Approval and signature are two jobs
A manager approves the invoice in one place, then signs a printout in another. Twice the clicks, and two records to match up.
01Signature requests
Ask anyone with an email address. In the order you choose.
A signature request goes to the people you pick: Content Central users, outside email addresses or a mix. Each spot on the page belongs to one signer, and a signing order makes sure nobody signs before it is their turn.
- 01
Pick the signers
Choose coworkers, outside email addresses or both. Write your own subject and message, or use a saved message template.
- 02
Mark where they sign
Place the spots for each signer, or load a saved Signature Definition so the layout is already done.
- 03
They sign in order
Each person opens the link, signs in the browser, and the next person is asked. Nobody can submit with a required spot left empty.
- 04
The signed PDF is filed
Signatures are flattened into the PDF and saved as a new version. You are notified, and everyone can get a signed copy.
02Signature types
Every kind of mark a form asks for.
Save the locations once as a Signature Definition and reuse it on every similar document. Lock spots in place, or let signers place them where you allow.
| Full signature | The signer’s name in a handwriting-style font, at a spot you choose or one you lock in place. |
|---|---|
| Initials | Two to three characters, for the pages or clauses each person has to acknowledge. |
| Printed name | Typed by the signer or filled in from one of the document’s index fields. |
| Date (auto-filled) | Stamped with the signing date in the format you pick. Nobody types it, so nobody gets it wrong. |
| Other | Any short text you need next to a signature, such as a title or a reference. |
Set a minimum number of signatures per recipient and the Submit button stays off until each required spot is filled. Every user can save their signature, initials, printed name and font for the next time.
03Sign on approval
Approve it, and it is signed.
Most documents that need a signature also need an approval. Attach a Signature Definition to an approval stage, or to the final approval, and the approver’s saved signature is stamped at its spot the moment they click Approve. The signed PDF is created and stored automatically.
One click, two records
The approval and the signature happen together, so the decision in the approval history and the signature on the page always match.
PIN to approve
Turn on Require PIN for Approval and each approval is logged as approved with a PIN, a second check before a signature goes on.
Whole packets, one route
When a packet goes through an approval, its documents move together and each one can be signed as it is approved.
04Tracking
Nothing waits without someone knowing.
- A Signature Queue tab and a dashboard widget show each person what is waiting for their signature.
- Select several documents in the queue and sign them all at once.
- A Signature-Queue Age rule can send a reminder, or escalate, when a request sits too long.
- The sender can be notified the moment the last person signs.
05The record
Who asked, who signed, and when.
- Signature requests sent by email and the completed signing are written to the document’s history.
- The audit log records signature completions alongside views, emails and approvals.
- The unsigned version stays in version history. The signed PDF becomes the current one.
- Capture forms can be set to stop re-rendering once signed, so later field edits never wipe a signature.
Where teams use it
The paperwork that always needed a pen.
Compliance
Policy acknowledgements
Send the new policy out for signatures and keep the signed PDF in the document’s version history, next to the original.
- Signature request
HR
New-hire forms
The new hire signs first, then HR, then the manager, in that order, before the first day.
- Signing order
Sales and purchasing
Customer and vendor agreements
Outside people sign from an email link. They never need a Content Central account.
- Outside signers
Questions about e-signatures
Do outside signers need a Content Central account?
No. Anyone with an email address can sign. They get an email with a link to the document, sign in the browser and submit. Coworkers get the request in their Content Central messages, with an optional email copy.
Can people sign in a set order?
Yes. Add a signature workflow to a Signature Definition and signers are asked one after another. The next person gets the request only after the previous one signs. Without a signature workflow, everyone is asked at once.
Can an approver’s signature be added automatically?
Yes. Attach a Signature Definition to an approval stage or to the final approval. When that person approves, their saved signature is stamped at the predefined spot and the signed PDF is created and stored for you.
What happens when everyone has signed?
The signatures are flattened into the PDF and saved as a new version of the document. The person who sent the request is notified, and you can choose to email the signed document to every signer.
How do signers make their signature?
Signatures are typed and shown in a handwriting-style font. Each user can save their signature, initials, printed name and font once and reuse them. There is no drawing pad and no certificate-based digital signature.
Can I sign every document in a packet in one go?
Signatures are collected one document at a time. Documents in a packet can each be signed by request, or by sign-on-approval when the packet goes through an approval together.
Bring a document you are tired of chasing signatures on.
We will set up the signature spots and a signing order on your own document, live, and show the signed PDF land in version history.
Keep going
More of Content Central
- Content CentralDocument management on your own servers.
- Workflow automationNo-code rules that move documents for you.
- Approval workflowsMulti-step approvals with deadlines and escalation.
- Electronic formsFillable PDFs that file the page and its data together.
- Document packetsEvery document for one loan, student or employee, with gaps flagged.
Free live demo
See a document signed, approved and filed in one pass.
Book a free demo and we will show you around, answer your questions and run your real paperwork through it. No cost, no pressure.
- A live tour of the products that fit your work
- Your own documents, set up and shown working
- Your workflow and process, mapped with you
- Straight answers from people who build it
