Document Submission: Sending Documents for Signature

A Practical Guide to Document Submission in e-Signing

Document submission in e-signing is the act of sending a document to one or more recipients for review and signature. It is the starting point of every signing workflow — and how you submit a document directly affects how quickly it gets signed.

What is Document Submission?

Document submission is the process of preparing a document and sending it to recipients for action — typically signature, but also review, approval, or completion of form fields. In e-signing, submission replaces the traditional workflow of printing, posting, and waiting with a digital process that takes seconds.

A complete document submission includes:

• The document itself (usually a PDF)
• Signature fields and any other required fields placed where signers need to act
• Recipient information (names, email addresses, and optionally phone numbers)
• The signing order (sequential, parallel, or hybrid)
• Any custom messages or instructions for the recipients
• Verification requirements (email-only, SMS, biometric)
• Deadline settings and reminder configuration

The Submission Process

Step 1: Prepare the document. Upload a PDF (or create one from another format). Review it to ensure the content is final — once signers start signing, changing the document creates confusion and legal issues.

Step 2: Add fields. Place signature fields where each signer needs to sign. Add date fields, text input fields, and checkboxes if signers need to provide additional information. Each field is assigned to a specific signer.

Step 3: Add recipients. Enter each signer's name and email address. If using SMS verification, add their phone number. If sending to multiple signers, define the order.

Step 4: Configure options. Set the signing order, add custom messages to each recipient, configure reminders, and set a deadline if needed.

Step 5: Submit. Send the document. Each recipient receives a notification (email, SMS, or both) with a link to the document.

What Affects Completion Rates

Not all submissions result in signed documents. The factors that determine whether a signer completes the process:

Clarity of the request. A signer who receives a document with no context — no explanation of what it is or why they are signing — is far less likely to act promptly. A brief message ("Please sign the attached lease agreement for our office renewal") dramatically improves completion.

Number of steps. Every additional step between receiving the notification and completing the signature reduces the chance of completion. Account creation, app downloads, and multi-page registration forms are where signers drop off.

Mobile compatibility. More than half of documents are opened on mobile devices. If the signing experience does not work well on a phone, you lose those signers.

Timing. Documents submitted on Monday morning get signed faster than those sent on Friday afternoon. Trivial, but it matters for time-sensitive agreements.

Follow-up. A single reminder doubles completion rates compared to no reminder at all. Automated reminders at sensible intervals (3 days, 7 days) keep the document visible without being annoying.

Signer friction. Does the signer need to create an account? Enter a password? Navigate a complex interface? Every friction point costs you completions.

Bulk Submission vs Individual Submission

Individual submission means preparing and sending documents one at a time. This works for unique documents — a specific contract, a custom proposal, a one-off agreement.

Bulk submission means sending the same document to many recipients simultaneously. Each recipient receives their own copy and signs independently. This is ideal for:

• Employee policy acknowledgements
• Client agreement renewals
• Consent form collection
• Survey or feedback forms requiring signatures
• Membership or registration documents

Bulk submission can save hours of manual work. Instead of preparing and sending 50 individual documents, you create one template and send it to 50 recipients in a single action.

How GoodSign Handles Document Submission

GoodSign is designed to make document submission fast and straightforward, whether you are sending one document or hundreds.

Simple submission workflow. Upload a PDF, drag and drop fields where you need signatures, add your recipients, and send. The entire process takes minutes for a standard document.

Multiple file formats. Upload PDFs directly or convert common document formats. GoodSign handles the conversion so you always end up with a clean, signable PDF.

Multi-document envelopes. Bundle multiple documents into a single submission. Signers review and sign all documents in one session — no need to send separate emails for each file.

Flexible signing order. Submit with sequential signing (one at a time, in order), parallel signing (everyone at once), or a combination of both.

Custom messages. Include a message with your submission explaining what the document is and what the signer needs to do. Different signers can receive different messages — appropriate context for each person's role.

Email and SMS delivery. Submit documents via email, SMS, or both. Choose the channel most likely to reach each signer.

Templates for repeated submissions. If you submit the same document regularly, save it as a template. The fields, signing order, and configuration are pre-set — just add recipients and send.

Bulk submission. Send the same document to many recipients at once. Track each recipient's progress independently from your dashboard.

Automatic reminders. Configure follow-up reminders for signers who have not completed their signature. Set the frequency and let GoodSign handle the follow-up.

Real-time tracking. After submission, see exactly who has received, opened, and signed the document. Know immediately when all signatures are complete.

No signer accounts required. Recipients click a link and sign. No account creation, no app installation, no barriers between receiving the document and signing it.

All submission features are included at $1.50 per envelope. Bulk submissions are charged per envelope (each recipient is one envelope). No subscription, no per-user fees, and no feature tiers.

Submission Best Practices

1. Review before you send. Check the document content, field placement, and recipient list. Recalling a submitted document after signers have already acted creates confusion.
2. Include context. Always add a message explaining what the document is. Even a single sentence reduces signer confusion.
3. Set reasonable deadlines. Give signers enough time to review, but not so much that the document gets forgotten.
4. Enable reminders. Automated reminders are the single most effective way to improve completion rates.
5. Use templates for recurring submissions. Standardise your most common documents to save preparation time and ensure consistency.
6. Track completion. Do not submit and forget. Monitor your dashboard and follow up personally with signers who have not responded after automated reminders.
7. Test with new document types. When submitting a new type of document for the first time, send a test to yourself or a colleague first to verify the fields, signing flow, and final output.