Countersigning & certificate

After the last client signer signs, two things finish the loop:

1. Countersigning — the firm’s signature, if you added a countersigner. Optional but typical for engagement letters.
2. Signed PDF preparation — Assure Pro prepares the final PDF with every signature applied and lands it in the client’s documents.
3. Certificate — an IRS-compliant audit PDF that proves the signing.

When countersigning kicks in

A countersigner is a recipient with the Countersigner role. They behave like a normal signer for most purposes — they have signature fields, a status, and an order. But unlike client signers, they sign through the firm UI, not the portal.

The countersign step kicks in when:

• Every client signer has signed.
• A countersigner recipient exists in Pending or Viewed status.
• They have at least one unfilled field.

The package detail’s action bar gets a Countersign button.

The countersign dialog

Click Countersign. A dialog opens.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Countersign — (package name)                        │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                      │
│  The client has signed. Apply your countersignature  │
│  to complete this package.                           │
│                                                      │
│  [ Type ] [ Draw ]                                   │
│                                                      │
│  Type your full name                                 │
│  [_________________________]                         │
│                                                      │
│       Jane Smith, CPA                                │
│  (rendered in cursive preview)                       │
│                                                      │
│  [ Apply Countersignature ]                          │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Two tabs

Type: enter your full name (Jane Smith, CPA). The dialog renders it in a cursive font as a live preview. Assure Pro captures the typed name as a signature image.

Draw: a canvas. Draw your signature with mouse or touchpad. The Clear button wipes and lets you redraw.

Submit

Click Apply Countersignature. Assure Pro:

1. Captures the signature image plus signature type (typed or drawn) and document hash (for tamper detection).
2. Marks the countersign field as signed.
3. If every recipient is now signed, flips status to Completed.
4. Starts preparing the signed PDF.
5. Logs the countersign in the audit trail (actor type: Team).

The dialog shows a success state for about 1.5 seconds, then closes. The page refreshes.

How the signed PDF is prepared

Once the package is Completed, Assure Pro prepares the final PDF for each document with every captured signature applied. Preparation runs in the background.

Each document’s preparation state is one of:

The package detail shows a PDF preparing… badge on documents that are pending or in progress, and Preparation failed on failed documents (with the error tooltip).

The page refreshes every few seconds while any document is still being prepared — you’ll see the badges update without a manual refresh.

Why a separate preparation step?

A package can be Completed (every signature captured) while the prepared PDF is still in flight or has failed. Preparation is non-blocking — signing succeeds even if the final PDF temporarily fails. Without this separation, the firm would see “all signed” but downloading would silently return the original blank.

Retrying a failed preparation

A failed document shows a Retry action in the package detail. Click it to queue a fresh preparation. A toast says “Preparation re-queued — try downloading again in a moment.”

Failures are rare. Usually they signal a corrupt source PDF (the upload was malformed) or a temporary issue on our side. After a few retries it stays in Failed until you click Retry.

How to download the signed PDF

When status is Completed:

• Each document row in the package detail has a Download action.
• Clicking opens the signed PDF in a new tab.
• The signed PDF lands in the client’s Documents automatically (shared with the client by default).

If you click Download while preparation is still in flight, you’ll get a toast: “Signed PDF is still being prepared. Try again in a few seconds.” If preparation failed, the toast says “Signed PDF could not be prepared” with the error.

The signing certificate

The certificate is a separate PDF — the audit document. It includes:

• Package name and ID
• Document hash (for tamper detection)
• Recipient list with role, email, signed-at time, and IP
• Event timeline (every audit entry: created, sent, viewed, signed, completed)
• The signer’s E-Sign Disclosure acceptance
• The countersignature (if applicable)

This is your IRS-compliant proof that signing happened, by whom, when, and from where.

How to download the certificate

In the package detail (status Completed), the action bar shows a Certificate button. Click it to open the certificate in a new tab.

The certificate is generated on-demand. The first request prepares it; the result streams to you.

The portal also offers the certificate to the client. Both links go to the same PDF.

The audit trail

Open the Audit Trail tab on the package detail. You see a timeline of every event:

Each entry shows:

• Description (“Jane Smith signed package”)
• Relative time (“3h ago”)
• Actor type pill (Team, Client, or System)
• IP address (for external actors; internal IPs hidden)

The audit trail is read-only — you can’t add or edit entries.

What happens on completion (downstream)

When a package flips to Completed:

1. Signed PDFs are prepared and land in the client’s documents.
2. Activity log entry on every recipient and the package.
3. Engagement letter case: if the package is an engagement letter, the billing terms snapshot to the engagement’s billing record. The retainer invoice auto-fires. Recurring schedule activates if applicable. See Billing overview.
4. Workflow case: if an engagement blocker was waiting on a pending signature, it auto-resolves. The engagement may auto-advance to the next stage.
5. Notifications: every recipient (including CCs) gets a completion notification.

Common patterns

”I forgot to add the countersigner”

You can’t add a recipient after sending. Either:

• Sign the document yourself separately outside the package (e.g. sign offline and upload to client documents).
• Cancel and re-send with the countersigner included.

The clean fix: build a habit of adding the countersigner upfront for letters that need a firm signature.

”Countersign typed-name preview shows my name in script — is that what the client sees?”

Yes. The typed name renders in a cursive web font on the signed PDF. If you want a more “real” signature look, use Draw instead.

”Preparation failed — retried, still failed”

Check the original PDF. Open it in a PDF reader. If it’s corrupt (won’t open), preparation will never succeed. The fix is to upload a clean copy:

1. Get an uncorrupted version of the source PDF.
2. Cancel the package (you can’t re-upload the document on a completed package).
3. Send a fresh package with the clean PDF.

”I need the certificate for an IRS audit”

Click Certificate in the package detail. The PDF includes everything you need: signer identity, IP, timestamps, and document hash. The hash proves the signed PDF you have is the one that was signed.

”Client says they didn’t get the completion notification”

Check their notification preferences (Settings → Notifications). Also: the email might have landed in spam. The portal notification (the bell icon in their portal) is always there as a fallback.

Permissions

Next

• E-sign overview — the statuses and the full flow.
• Sending, reminding, cancelling — what came before completion.
• Billing overview — what happens after an engagement letter signs.