Sending for Signature and Tracking Status
This article covers sending a prepared document for signature and monitoring its progress.
Sending the document
When your document is prepared — signers added and fields placed — you are ready to send:
- In the field placement editor, save your changes, then select Send for signature at the top of the editor.
- The first step, Signing settings, shows:
- Signing order — the signers in the order they will sign
- Signer emails — the email for each signer. Signers added from Contacts show their saved email, which you can change with Change. For other signers, enter an email address.
- Signing link expires in — 7, 14, 30, or 60 days (default: 30 days)
- Select Next: Compose message.
- In Compose invitation email, add an optional personal message. The signing link and the legal consent notice are added automatically and cannot be edited. You can use bold, italic, and code formatting in your message.
- Select Preview to see the exact email, with a placeholder link. No email is sent from the preview.
- Select Send for signature. The first signer receives an email containing their unique signing link.
To reuse a message, enter a name under Save as template and select Save. Next time, choose it under Load from template.
After sending, you return to the document list and the document status changes from Draft to Pending signature. Signers sign in order. When one signer finishes, the next signer receives their invitation.
Signer notification email
Each signer receives an email with:
- A note that you have asked them to review and sign the document
- Your optional personal message
- A note that the signing link expires after the number of days you chose and can be used only once
- A Review and sign button linking to their signing session
The link is unique per signer and does not require a Serene Studio account.
Tracking status
Go to Business, then Documents to see the document list. Each row shows the document, the signer, its status, when it was sent, and when the signing link expires.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Not sent yet |
| Pending signature | Sent; waiting for signing to finish |
| Signed — awaiting countersign | The signer has signed; the document waits for you to countersign |
| Countersigned | Signing is complete and the document is sealed |
| Voided | You voided the request |
| Expired | The signing link expired before signing was complete |
You are notified in the portal when a signer completes their fields.
Countersigning
If a document shows Signed — awaiting countersign, select Countersign on its row. In the Countersign document dialog you can enter the signer’s email to send them a completion notification (optional), then select Countersign.
Resending an expired or voided document
If a signing link expired or you voided a request, you can send it again:
- Find the document in the list. Its status is Expired or Voided.
- Select Resend.
- In the Resend document dialog, confirm the Signer email and select Resend.
The original row stays in the list as a record.
Voiding a request
To stop a document that is waiting for signature:
- Find the document in the list. Its status is Pending signature or Signed — awaiting countersign.
- Select Void.
- Confirm in the Void document dialog. The signing link stops working and the original file remains accessible. This cannot be undone.
To restart the process, use Resend, or create a new document from the same file.
When signing is complete
When the last signer has signed, the document is sealed and its status changes to Countersigned. Select Download sealed PDF on its row to download the signed copy. A copy named with “(signed)” is also saved in Files under Business documents, in the E-sign folder.
Next steps
- Signing a Document — the signer’s experience, useful to share with recipients.
- eSign Overview — status reference and module navigation.