User guide

Sign in

Open the console at /login and sign in with your work email. Accounts are created by an administrator (or automatically, on first Microsoft sign-in, if your organization allows it) — there is no self-service sign-up.

Start a new approval

From the dashboard, choose New approval. Give the paper a Subject and, if it helps signers understand what they're being asked to approve, a one-line Message.

Upload the document

Use the Upload PDF button, or drop a PDF straight onto the dropzone. Form fields and any document JavaScript are flattened on intake, so nothing in the file can change after signing. Password-protected PDFs aren't accepted — print to a new PDF first and upload that instead.

Build the approval chain

Add each signer in order — Preparer, Reviewer, Endorser, Approver, or any role label that fits the paper. Signers are emailed one at a time: the next person is only notified once the person before them has decided. Everyone in the chain must be an internal employee; an external party (client, vendor, auditor) belongs in DocuSign instead.

Use the 2-step / 3-step / 4-step presets to start from a common shape, then edit names, emails and roles as needed.

Place signature and other fields (optional)

Skip this entirely and every signer's signature is appended as one clean summary page at the end of the document instead. To place fields directly on the document:

1. Choose which signer you're placing fields for, from the Placing for dropdown.
2. Pick a field from the palette — Signature, Initial, Date, Name, Position — or add a custom Inputs field (Text, Number, Checkbox, Dropdown, Radio).
3. Click, or drag it, onto the document, exactly where it belongs. Use the page selector above the document to place fields on any page, not only the first.
4. Drag a placed field to move it, or drag its corner handle to resize it. Click the small remove mark on a field, or select it and press Backspace/Delete, to remove just that one placement.

Send

Review the recipient count and link policy, then choose Sign & send for approval to email the first signer immediately, or uncheck Send immediately to save the paper as a draft you can send later.

What a signer sees

Each signer gets a single-use, single-recipient link that expires after the configured number of days. They confirm the untickable consent statement, then sign by drawing, typing, or uploading an image of their signature, answer any fields you've asked for, and approve or reject with optional remarks. Nothing about the document is shown to a signer before their turn in the chain.

When the chain finishes

The signatures are merged into the original PDF and a PAdES seal is applied, so any edit made after that point is visible. The append-only, hash-chained audit record is available as portable JSON alongside the sealed PDF, from the document's page.