Electronic signature

This article explains how to create electronic signature templates in Folks and how to send a document for signature. Follow the steps below to ensure the correct configuration and efficient electronic signatures are managed.

Please note that electronic signatures are a feature of the Performance plan.

Accessing the electronic signature module

Once the module has been activated by our team, it can be accessed from the main menu.

Create an eSignature template

You can create eSignature templates that can be reused when sending documents.

Uploading multiple documents to a template enables a single signature request to be sent, saving time and simplifying signature collection, especially for processes such as onboarding, which may require multiple documents to be signed at the same time.

1. In Folks, go to E-Sign > Template Management.
2. Click Create template in the top right-hand corner.
3. Name your template (e.g. “Code of Ethics”) and upload the document for signature. If you have several documents to be signed together, add them all at this stage.
4. Add one or more signer roles. These correspond to the people who will be required to sign the document(s) (for example, “Employee”, ‘Manager’, “Director”, or any other relevant role). You can define the signing order by dragging and dropping the roles. Warning! Once you've moved on to the next step, the roles can no longer be modified, even after the template is created.
5. For each signer (role), place the signature, initials and date fields in the desired positions on the document. Feel free to adjust the view to align each element. Tip: Auto-complete fields are fill-in fields. To insert fields that will be pre-filled from profile information, select the Sender signer, then place a Textbox and select the text to be inserted from the options on the right.
6. When you've finished, click Next.
7. In the Review and save window, you can add any additional carbon copies (CCs) if required (e.g. human resources). You can also write an optional message for signers.
8. When you're ready, click Save template. Once the template has been saved, it will no longer be possible to add new documents to the template or delete those already included.

You can edit, make inactive or delete the template by clicking on the ellipsis .

Send a document for signature

Designate signers, send documents for signature to your employees, and track their status in just a few clicks on the document monitoring page.

Tip: Make sure your employees' email addresses have been validated in their profiles so that they can receive signature requests. To do this, go to Employee > Summary or to the desired employee profile. We recommend that you notify the employees concerned that they will receive an email from Folks inviting them to validate their email.

1. Go to the Document Monitoring page.
2. Click Request a signature in the top right-hand corner.
3. Select your signature template. You can also upload a document.
4. Select the employee(s) and assign a role to each. Warning! Only employees with a valid email address in the system can receive documents for signature.
5. Select the email address to which to send the request (business or personal).
6. Click Send for signature.

The signer(s) will automatically receive an email informing them that a document is awaiting their signature. They will be able to access and consult it in just a few clicks, and will be redirected to our partner HelloSign for a fast, secure electronic signature process.

Once all signers have signed the document, the status will change to Signed. You can then download the signed document.

The eSignature module offers two options for sending a document for signature:

• Sending a New Document for Signature
• Sending Using a Predefined Template (explained in this article)

Step-by-Step Template Creation

1. Access the template creation option via the following path:

   • E-Sign > Template Management > Create Template
2. Click on "Create Template"

3. Name the template with a unique descriptive title

   • Ensure that the title of the template is clear and distinct to facilitate its identification later.

4. Upload one or more files to be signed

   • Upload the necessary documents into the template. Note that after saving, you will not be able to add or delete documents in this template.

5. Add signer roles

   • Define the titles of the individuals who need to sign the document in the template. You can also set the signing order if the "Set Signing Order" option is checked. Otherwise, the document will be sent to all signers simultaneously.

6. Add fields for each signer

   • Include the necessary information for each signer, such as name, title, date, signature, etc.

7. Verify the signers and add a CC recipient if needed

   • Confirm the signers' information, validate the title, include a message explaining the subject or purpose of the document, and add CC recipients if needed to keep them informed of the process steps without being signers.

1. Click on the three dots icon to access the possible actions.

2. A pop-up action menu will open, then click on Cancel. The status of the document will change to Cancelled.

Warning!
The signee(s) will not be notified that the document has been cancelled, but when they try
to sign the document, the link in the email will no longer work.

1. Click on the three dots icon at the end of the line corresponding to the document you wish to delete
A contextual action menu will open. Click on Delete.

2. A window will open where you can confirm the deletion of the document.
Click on Delete Documents. The document will be deleted from the list.

Warning!
• Deletions are irreversible.
• You cannot delete a document that has a status Sent. In order to delete a Sent document, you must cancel the sending first and repeat the steps above. For more information on how to cancel the sent status, see Cancelling the sending of a document.

1. In the Electronic signature page, locate the file you want to download.

2. Click on the Three dots icon of the document you want to download in order to access to the contextual action menu.

3. Click on Download.

Tips and tricks: You cannot download a document that has a status Sent. You must cancel the sending of a document to be able to download it. For more information on how to do it, see Cancelling the sending of a document.

1. Click on the filter icon to the right of the search bar.

A right side menu will appear on the screen, displaying possible search filters.

2. Select filters according to your needs
You can:
• Enable or disable inactive employees
• Select one or more operation sites, one or more departments and/or one or more
job titles
• Remove (or add) statuses

Tips and tricks: The system only displays active employees by default. To see inactive employees, click on the activation button.

Tips and tricks: If you select two or more items in one field, the system will display the employees who have one or the other in combination with the other filters you have chosen.

3. Click on Apply 
The menu will close and the filters will be applied.
A number will appear to the right of the filter icon, indicating the amount of filters applied.

Tips and tricks: One selection field corresponds to one filter. Therefore, multiple choices in a single selection field will display a number of filters of 1.

Attention!
If you close the window without clicking on the Apply button, the filters will not be applied.

To reset the default view,

1. Click on Reset Default View at the bottom of the filters sidebar. All items will return to their default state.

or

2. Click the X next to the icon and the number of filters applied in the main page. All items will return to their default state.

1. Click on the three dots icon to access the actions menu

2. A contextual menu will open. Click on Send again.

The document will be sent again to all signees who have not already signed it.

1. Access the Electronic Signature module
The module is located in the navigation bar on the left side of your screen.

2. Click on Send a Document at the top right of the page
A window will open allowing you to choose the document and the signees.

3. Select a document
Drag and drop the file you want to attach
or
Click on Browse to select the file you want to upload.

Warning!
• PDF is the only accepted format.
• The page limit for each document is 40 pages.
• The size of your document cannot exceed 25 Mb.

4. Select one or more signees
Click on the search bar to select the signee employee(s).

Tips and tricks :You can search for an employee by entering their last name, first name, employee number,
operating site, department or job title.

Warning!
• Only employees with a validated corporate or personal email address will be available in
the drop-down list.
• You can assign a maximum of 20 signees per document.

Click on Next Step when all signees are selected

5. Configure the fields by signee
Multiple signees
Select the signee to whom you want to assign fields in the left side menu.

Warning!
Make sure to change the signee name so that each of your signees has at least one field
to fill in the document.

Fields selection
• Click on the desired fields in the left side menu, and drag it to the location of your choice
in the document.
• Modify the size of all fields by positioning your cursor on the field outline and playing
with its size.

Once selected, the fields settings will appear in the right-hand side menu and allow you to:
• indicate whether it is a Required field or an Optional field to be filled in by the signee
or signees.
• customize the field name (the field name will not be visible to the signee).
• change the characters’ font and size.

Following fields will be filled in automatically:
• Date
• Name
• Email

Following will have to be completed manually:
• Business
• Profession

Several custom fields can also be added:
• Text box
• Check box
• Drop-down list
• Radio button

Warning!
In order to send the document, you must have at least one field configured for each signee.

6. Click on Send
When the document is sent, a green confirmation message will appear on the screen,
notifying that the signees have received the document to be signed via their email address.
This step may take a few seconds.

Warning!
If you get error messages or if the document has an Error status, refer to the following
article What to do when an error is detected while sending a document?

You received an email asking you to sign a document eletronically? 

1. Click on Read and Sign in the email you just received.
A page in your web browser will open where you can view the document.

2. Click on Start in the banner at the top of the page
Fill in all the required fields
• Click on the text fields to fill them in manually.
• Click on the signature fields to sign the document. A window will open where you can choose the type of signature you want to use.
• Click on Insert 

Tips and tricks: Quickly move from one field to another by clicking on Next Required Field at the top right of the form.

If you have more than one field to fill in the document, a message will be displayed at the top left of the form to specify the number of mandatory fields you have to fill in.
Once you added the information in the required field(s), a green confirmation message will be displayed at the top of the screen.
Then, click on Continue 

3. Click on I accept in the message at the top of the screen to complete your signature.
A confirmation email will be sent to each signee in which the signed document can be downloaded.
A confirmation email will be sent to the sender to notify them of the completed process.

Warning!
• For multiple signees document, the confirmation email will be sent once all signees have signed the document.

1. Status Sent
You have sent the document to the signee(s). However, they have not yet signed the document.

Tips and tricks: You can follow the steps of a sent document signature process by clicking on the information icon in the status cell.

Possible actions
Click on the three dots icon to access the possible actions. You have two options:
• Send again
The document to be signed will be sent again to the same address.

• Cancel the document to be signed
The signee(s) will not be notified of the cancellation, but when they try to sign the document, the link in the email will no longer work.

Tips and tricks: You cannot directly delete a sent document. You must first cancel it.

Tips and tricks: A reminder will be sent if the signee(s) have not signed the document 3 days and 7 days after the document has been sent.

2. Status Declined
A signee has refused to sign your electronic document. An email will be sent to the signee and the sender when the document is declined.

Possible actions
Click on the three dots icon to access the possible actions. You have two options:

• Download a document
This action will not remove the document from the list.

• Delete a document from the list
Warning! This action is irreversible.

Tips and tricks: If you want to send again a document with a Declined status to the signee, you will have to create a new document and start again.

Make sure that at least one of the two addresses (corporate or personal) has been validated.
To learn more about the validation process, consult the article Validating one or all employee's email adresses

Resend the document link using the action menu accessible through the three dots icon located on the
right side of the table.

First, validate that the email has not fallen into their junk mail folder. If not, check with them to make sure the email address they entered in their profile is correct. 

In the case of an error, one of the following 2 scenarios probably occurred: 

The document size is greater than 25 MB.
Or
The document contains more than 40 pages.

If neither of these scenarios applies to you, delete the erroneous document and try to send it again. If this still does not work, contact our support.

1. Access the Employee profile.
Select the employee whose email you need to validate. The employee's information will appear on the screen, locate the email you need to validate.

Tips and tricks: If the desired email address (Personal Email or Corporate Email) is not in the employee's profile, click on Edit to access the Control Page and insert the information into the employee's profile.

Warning!
If both Personal Email and Corporate Email are validated for an employee, by default Folks will use Corporate Email to send documents for an electronic signature.
When selecting signatories, if an employee is not visible in the employee selection list, no email is validated for that employee. Validate one of his emails and he will become available. 

2. Click on Validate email below the email you wish to validate.
A validation email will be sent to the email address. The employee have to click on the confirmation button in the email. A page with a confirmation message will open when completed with success.

3. In the Employee Profile and Employee Summary, a green check mark will appear next to all validated email address.

Tips and tricks: If the employee does not receive the validation email, check with them to make sure that the email address in their file is correct and that the validation email has not been added directly to their junk mail box.

Tips and tricks: In order to validate ALL corporate or personal e-mails at once, access the Employee Summary and click on Validate e-mails in the column header of the type of e-mail to validate and the system will do the above steps but for all non-validated e-mails at once.