Engagement letters
The letter editor is for authoring signed documents inside Assure Pro — engagement letters, scope statements, proposals, anything that’s structured text plus signature fields. For uploading existing PDFs and placing fields on them, use the PDFs & field placement path instead.
It has nine custom blocks for signing-specific content.
The editor layout
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Package name [_______________] Save indicator Send ▶ │
├──────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │ │
│ Toolbar │ Letter editor (centered, ~700px) │
│ ─ Template ▾ │ │
│ ─ Recipients │ ## Engagement for 2025 Tax Year │
│ ─ Variables │ │
│ ─ Signing mode │ Dear [[ Client Name ]], │
│ ─ Expiry │ │
│ ─ Reminder │ We're pleased to confirm our engagement…│
│ ─ Billing terms │ │
│ │ ┌─[ Signature: Taxpayer ]─┐ │
│ │ └────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
└──────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────┘How to start a letter
From the packages list, click + New signing package, pick a client, pick Author a letter, then click Continue. The editor opens with a blank document.
If you pick a template from the Template dropdown in the toolbar, the letter body fills with the template content. Switching templates replaces the body.
How to use the slash menu
Press / anywhere in the body. A floating menu appears:
| Block | What it does |
|---|---|
| Signature | Drops a [ Signature: <Recipient> ] placeholder that becomes a signature pad for that recipient. |
| Initials | A smaller version for paragraph-level acknowledgment. |
| Date | Auto-filled with the date the recipient signs (not editable by them). |
| Text field | Client fills in (one line). Used for spouse name, address, etc. |
| Radio field | Client picks one option. You define the choices. |
| Package select | Multi-choice with prices. Used for “pick a tier” — Basic, Premium, All-inclusive. Drives the fees summary. |
| Service checklist | Itemized list of services with prices. Client can check or uncheck. Drives the fees summary. |
| Fees summary | Auto-calculated total based on the client’s package-select and service-checklist choices. Updates live. |
| Variable | Inserts a {{ Client Name }}-style pill — replaced with real values at send time. See Variables below. |
Click anywhere to dismiss. Esc also closes it.
Variables
Variables are pills that swap in real values when the package is sent. You’ll see them in the body as colored {{ Label }} tokens.
Auto-resolved (from data)
| Variable | Source |
|---|---|
Client Name | The client’s display name. |
Entity Type | Individual, Business, Trust, or Nonprofit. |
Firm Name | Your firm’s name. |
Today's Date | The date the package was sent (mm/dd/yyyy). |
Firm-entered (per package)
| Variable | Source |
|---|---|
Tax Year | The engagement’s tax year (or you can override). |
Filing Deadline | You enter it in the toolbar. |
Extension Deadline | You enter it in the toolbar. |
Documents Due By | You enter it in the toolbar. |
When you insert a variable, the pill renders the current preview value (or (unresolved) if it’s a firm-entered one you haven’t filled in yet).
Recipients in the editor
The toolbar’s Recipients section shows every signer for this package, color-coded. Click a recipient to make them “active” — every signature, initials, or text field you drop next is assigned to them.
Each recipient row has:
- Color dot, name, and email
- Set primary checkbox (the first signer gets the primary marker)
- Remove (X)
To add a recipient: click + Add recipient. Enter their full name, email, and role (signer, countersigner, viewer, or CC). You can pull from existing contacts via the picker.
When the package opens with a client, Assure Pro auto-fills recipients with the client’s primary contacts (taxpayer, spouse, owner) — up to 6.
See Recipients & signing modes for the full model.
Signing mode, expiry, and reminders
In the toolbar:
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Signing mode | Parallel | Sequential enforces order. |
| Expires in | 30 days | The expiry date is set at send. Past that, status flips to Expired. |
| Reminder cadence | 3 days | Automatic reminders fire on this cadence, up to 5 reminders total. |
Billing terms
Engagement letters carry billing terms — the agreement is for the work and for the price. The Billing terms panel in the toolbar is auto-shown for engagement-letter templates:
| Field | Options |
|---|---|
| Frequency | One-time, monthly, quarterly, or annual |
| Payment terms | Number of days from invoice to due (default 30, max 365) |
| Auto-pay enabled | Checkbox |
When the client signs, the terms snapshot to the engagement’s billing record. The first invoice (the retainer) fires automatically, and recurring billing activates if the frequency is anything other than one-time.
See Billing overview for what happens next.
Auto-save
Every change is saved as you type:
- Letter name — saved as you stop typing.
- Editor content — saved as you stop typing.
- Toolbar fields — saved when you leave the field or change selection.
The save indicator in the top bar reflects Saving…, Saved, or Error. There’s no manual Save button.
How to preview the letter
Click Preview in the top bar. The editor swaps to a print-preview frame showing the letter with:
- All variables resolved with current values.
- Firm letterhead at the top (logo, name, and address from Settings → Firm Profile).
- Signature blocks shown as placeholders in the recipient’s color.
Toggle back with Edit. Preview is non-destructive — you can flip back and forth freely.
How to send
From the editor, click Send (top-right). It routes you to the Review & Send screen. See Sending, reminding, cancelling for the review step and what happens at send.
The Send button is disabled until: the name is set, at least one signer exists, and at least one signature field is placed for each signer.
Editing a sent letter
You can’t edit a letter after sending. Three workarounds:
- Cancel and re-send — cancel the package, copy the content into a new draft, fix, then send. The audit trail records the cancellation.
- Unlock for re-sign — not available in V1 for authored letters (only uploaded PDFs can be unlocked).
- Send an addendum — author a new letter referring to the original.
For drafts, every edit is live. Send when you’re ready.
Common patterns
”Same letter for 30 clients”
Author once, save as a template (see Templates). Then for each client: open the template, pick the client, override variables if needed, and send.
”I want a ‘pick your service tier’ element”
Use the Package select block. Set the options ($X for Basic, $Y for Premium). The client picks one when signing. The Fees summary block (drop one at the bottom of the fees section) shows the total dynamically.
”Show a checklist of services the client signed up for”
Use the Service checklist block. Add line items with names and prices. The client can check or uncheck before signing. The Fees summary reflects the checked items.
”Letter looks fine in edit but the variable shows literal {{Client Name}} to the client”
That means the variable wasn’t resolved. Check:
- Spelling of the variable label (
Client Namevsclient_name). - For firm-entered variables (Filing Deadline, etc.), you filled the field in the toolbar before sending.
Re-open the draft, fix, send. If already sent, cancel and re-send.
”Old letter content in a new template”
Open the template, copy the body to a temporary doc, edit, save as a new template, and deactivate the old one. Don’t edit the old template directly if it’s still referenced by sent packages — those packages snapshot the template at send, so they’re safe, but the template name change might confuse future use.
Permissions
| Action | Required permission |
|---|---|
| Open the editor on a new letter | Create e-sign |
| Edit a draft | Edit e-sign |
| Send | Edit e-sign |
| Save as a template | Create e-sign |
Next
- Templates — reusing the letter content across clients.
- PDFs & field placement — the upload-PDF alternative.
- Recipients & signing modes — auto-add, roles, and ordering.
- Sending, reminding, cancelling — the Review & Send screen.