PDFs & field placement

When you have an existing PDF that needs signatures — engagement letter from the old system, a third-party agreement, an NDA, 8879 — use the Upload PDFs to sign path.

You upload the file, then drag signing fields onto the rendered pages. Each field is assigned to a recipient (color-coded), with a type (signature, initials, date, text, or checkbox) and a required flag.

How to start

From the packages list, click + New signing package, pick the client, pick Upload PDFs to sign, then click Continue.

A blank draft is created. You land on the package detail page.

How to upload PDFs

In the package detail, you’ll see a file-upload area:

Upload PDFs Drop PDF files here, or click to browse.

Drop one or more PDFs. Each:

• Uploads with the document name (filename minus extension).
• Defaults to type Other.
• Appears in the Documents section of the package.

You can also add PDFs as you go — the package detail keeps the upload area visible while you’re in Draft.

Changing the document type

Click the document type chip on a document row. Pick from:

• Engagement Letter
• Form 8879
• Proposal
• Tax Return
• Other

The type is for display only in V1. It will affect filing logic and invoice generation in a future iteration.

How to open the field placer

From the package detail (still in Draft), click Place Fields in the action bar. The field placer opens.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Field placer — <package name>                               │
├──────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│              │                                               │
│  Documents   │    Page 1 of 3                                │
│  ─ form-8879 │   ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐     │
│  ─ poa.pdf   │   │                                     │     │
│              │   │  (rendered PDF page)                │     │
│  Fields      │   │                                     │     │
│  ─ Signature │   │   ┌─[ Signature: Jane ]─┐           │     │
│  ─ Initials  │   │   └─────────────────────┘           │     │
│  ─ Date      │   │                                     │     │
│  ─ Text      │   └─────────────────────────────────────┘     │
│  ─ Checkbox  │                                               │
│              │  [Prev]   Page 1 of 3   [Next]                │
│  Recipients  │                                               │
│  ● Jane      │  [Cancel]                  [Save fields]      │
│  ● Sandeep   │                                               │
└──────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The field types

You can resize each field after placement.

How to place a field

Two-step flow per field:

1. Pick the active recipient in the left sidebar. The recipient’s color shows on every field you place next.
2. Drag the field type from the field palette onto the page where you want it.

The cursor shows the new field’s outline as you drag. Drop to place. The field renders with the recipient’s color and label.

If you forget to pick a recipient first, the drop is silently dropped (no field placed). Pick a recipient and try again.

Per-recipient color coding

Each recipient is assigned a color from an 8-color palette:

• Blue, green, amber, red, purple, pink, cyan, orange (in that order)

If you have more than 8 recipients, colors repeat. The recipient list in the sidebar shows the dot color next to each name.

The signature placeholders use the color so the signer (and you) can see who’s signing where at a glance.

Editing placed fields

Click any field to select it. Selected fields show:

• Drag handle in the corners — resize.
• Move — drag the body.
• Label input — change the field label (auto-populated to {Recipient} Signature when multiple recipients).
• Required toggle — required means the client can’t submit without filling.
• Delete — the trash icon.

Right-click (or Esc) deselects.

Multi-page PDFs

The field placer paginates per PDF page. Use the Prev and Next buttons or click directly on a page thumbnail to switch.

A field belongs to one page — you can’t span a field across pages. Place separate fields on each page that needs signing (signers usually sign or initial each page).

Multi-document packages

The left sidebar lists every document in the package. Click any document to switch the canvas to it. Fields are scoped per document, so the same recipient can have fields on multiple documents (and typically does — they sign the engagement letter, then initial the proposal, then sign 8879).

Saving

The Save fields button at the bottom saves all placed fields to the package. There’s no auto-save in the field placer — you commit explicitly.

Once saved, the placer closes and you’re back on the package detail. The Place Fields button stays in the action bar so you can re-open if you need to add or move fields.

Validation before send

The Review & Send button checks:

• Every signer recipient has at least one field assigned to them somewhere.
• Every field has a recipient assigned.

If something’s missing, Review & Send is disabled with a tooltip — for example, “Add documents and recipients first” or a more specific message.

Common patterns

”Client signs every page”

Place a Signature field at the top plus a Date field next to it on page 1 (the primary signature). On every other page, place an Initials field.

To save clicks, place each Initials field manually on each page — duplicate doesn’t exist in V1. You can reuse the same X/Y coordinates by eyeballing.

”Two signers, taxpayer + spouse”

Set signing mode to Sequential if taxpayer signs first by convention. Place the taxpayer’s signature on each page, then switch to spouse in the recipient sidebar and place the spouse’s signature next to the taxpayer’s. The colors make this visible.

”Form 8879 — pre-printed field labels”

Form 8879 has specific spots for taxpayer signature, spouse signature, and ERO signature. Lay out:

• Taxpayer signature: their box on page 1 (typically lower-right).
• Spouse signature: spouse box, same page.
• ERO (you) signature: ERO box.

Form 8879 typically has Date fields adjacent to signature fields — place a Date for each signer next to their signature.

”Resize a signature box because the original is tiny”

Drag any corner. Hold Shift to constrain proportions. The field accepts up to about 50% of page width.

”Field is on the wrong page”

Delete it (select and click the trash icon), switch pages, and place a new one. There’s no cross-page drag.

”I want a ‘I acknowledge…’ checkbox the client must tick”

Place a Checkbox field. Toggle Required ON. Set the label to “I acknowledge having read…”. The client can’t submit without ticking it.

Going back to the package detail

Click Cancel in the field placer to discard the current edit and go back. Already-saved fields stay — Cancel only abandons the in-progress edits since the last Save.

Or click anywhere on the page that’s not the placer — the placer is a modal-like overlay; the action bar’s Review & Send appears underneath when ready.

Permissions

Next

• Recipients & signing modes — who you assign fields to.
• Sending, reminding, cancelling — Review & Send.
• Engagement letters — the alternative authoring path.