Let the reminders chase the signature for you.

Chasing people to sign is tedious and easy to forget. Recipients get busy, lose the email or simply put it off, and the document sits waiting while a deal, a new hire or a deadline waits with it. Automatic reminders do the follow-up politely and on schedule, so you only step in when it genuinely needs a person.

Why manual follow-up breaks down

Following up by hand means remembering to check, deciding when to nudge, writing the message and doing it again for every unsigned document. It works for one envelope and falls apart at ten. Reminders set when you send take that whole job off your list.

Setting reminders on an envelope

1. Create the envelope. Upload your document, add your recipients and place the fields as usual. Reminders are set as part of sending.
2. Choose the interval. This is the number of days between reminders. The first goes out that many days after you send, and each one after that follows the previous reminder by the same gap.
3. Set a maximum. Cap how many reminders each recipient receives. Once the cap is reached the reminders stop, and you decide whether to follow up yourself. Three to five suits most documents.
4. Add an expiry if it helps. An expiry date stops the signing link working after a set time, so an old document does not stay open indefinitely and the recipient has a reason to act.
5. Send. From here the reminders run on their own. You can watch progress on the envelope and send an extra reminder by hand whenever you choose.

A starting point for the interval

• Urgent contracts: every 1 to 2 days.
• Standard business documents: every 3 days.
• Low-priority forms: every 5 to 7 days.
• Documents with a firm deadline: every 2 to 3 days.

How reminders treat each recipient

Reminders are tracked per recipient. If one person signs on day two and another has not, only the person still outstanding is reminded, and each recipient's count runs separately. In an envelope with a signing order, only the person whose turn it is needs a reminder, because nobody later in the order has been asked yet.

Getting the timing and tone right

• Wait two or three days before the first reminder on an ordinary document.
• Keep the interval steady rather than jumping between one day and a week.
• Never remind anyone more than once a day.
• Match the urgency of the reminders to the importance of the document.
• Keep your envelope message professional and friendly, name the document so the recipient knows what it is, and mention any deadline.

Three examples

A new employee's offer letter

Send it as soon as the offer is accepted. Remind every 2 days, up to 3 reminders, with a 14-day expiry. If it is still unsigned after the third reminder, someone from HR should get in touch directly.

A client contract renewal

Send it about 30 days before the renewal date with a reminder every 5 days, a maximum of 5 reminders and a 30-day expiry. If you want more pressure in the final week, send an extra reminder by hand.

A document tied to a deadline

Remind every day, up to 5 reminders, and set the expiry to match the deadline. If it is still unsigned after three reminders, raise it with whoever owns the deadline.

When reminders run out

• Contact the recipient directly to confirm they received the emails.
• If nobody has opened the envelope, check the email address on it before anything else.
• If the address was wrong, void the envelope and send a fresh one to the right address.
• Ask whether they have a question or concern about the document itself.
• In an envelope with a signing order, check whether they are actually waiting on someone before them.