E-sign overview

Assure Pro has its own e-sign built in — no DocuSign, HelloSign, or Adobe Sign required. Every signature, audit entry, and certificate is generated inside Assure Pro.

Use e-sign for engagement letters, 8879 (e-file authorization), proposals, POAs, and any other document that needs a client signature.

Where to find it

Open E-Sign from the sidebar. The page has two tabs:

Tab	What it is
Packages	Every signing request you’ve drafted or sent. Filter by client, status, search by name.
Templates	Reusable letter content. Author once, send many times. Filter by entity type, search, hide inactive.

The + New → Send for E-Signature shortcut in the global new-action menu drops you straight into the create flow.

How to start a new signing package

Click + New signing package. Pick what you’re sending:

Path	Use it for	What happens
Author a letter	Engagement letters, scope statements, custom documents.	Opens the letter editor with variables (`{{Client Name}}`, `{{Tax Year}}`), inline signature fields, and billing terms.
Upload PDFs to sign	Any existing PDF — engagement letters from your old system, third-party agreements, NDAs.	Opens the field placer where you drag signature, initials, date, text, and checkbox fields onto the PDF page-by-page.
Mix both	An authored letter plus attached PDFs in one signing package.	The letter editor opens, and you can add PDFs alongside.

Pick a client first. Recipients are auto-populated from the client’s taxpayer, spouse, and owner contacts (up to 6).

Package statuses

Status	Meaning
Draft	You’re still editing. Not yet sent.
Sent	Email and portal notification went out. Awaiting first view.
Viewed	At least one recipient has opened the package.
Partially signed	Some recipients have signed, others haven’t.
Completed	Every signer has signed. The signed PDF is being prepared in the background.
Declined	A recipient declined to sign. The package is closed.
Expired	The expiry date passed before all signatures came in.
Cancelled	You cancelled the package.

Recipient statuses

Each recipient on a package has their own status, independent of the package:

Status	Meaning
Pending	Hasn’t viewed yet.
Waiting	In sequential mode, an earlier recipient hasn’t signed yet, so this person can’t see the package.
Viewed	Opened the package but hasn’t signed.
Signed	All their fields are signed.
Declined	Refused to sign — the package is now in Declined state.

Defaults

Default	Value
Expiry	30 days from send
Reminder cadence	Every 3 days
Max reminders	5
Reminder cooldown	8 hours between manual reminders
Auto-add signers from contacts	Up to 6
Default signing mode	Parallel (everyone can sign in any order)

Tweak these per-package on the Review & Send screen.

What a complete e-sign flow looks like


1. + New signing package          → pick client + path
2. Author letter / upload PDF     → write or place fields
3. Recipients                     → confirm or edit list
4. Review & Send                  → set expiry, mode, reminders
5. (client signs)                 → portal flow captures signatures
6. (firm countersigns, optional)  → Countersign dialog
7. Render                         → Assure Pro prepares the signed PDF
8. Certificate                    → IRS-compliant audit PDF
9. Signed PDF                     → lands in client's documents

Parallel vs sequential

Mode	Behavior
Parallel (default)	Every signer gets the email at send. Anyone can sign first.
Sequential	Signing order is enforced. Recipient 2 stays in Waiting until recipient 1 signs.

Pick sequential when co-signers must see the previous person’s signature first — for example, a spouse signing after a taxpayer, or a partner signing only after the principal.

Recipient roles

Role	What they do
Signer	The actual signing party. Each signer has at least one signature field.
Countersigner	A firm user who signs after every client signer is done. Optional — see Countersigning & certificate.
Viewer	Receives a copy and can view, doesn’t sign.
CC	Notified at send and completion. No portal access required.

Audit trail

Every e-sign event is logged with a timestamp, the person or system that did it, and the IP address (for external recipients). View it on the package detail page’s Audit Trail tab. Events include:

Created, sent, viewed, signed, declined, expired, cancelled, completed
Reminder sent, e-sign consent acknowledged, field filled, render failed

The audit trail is included in the signing certificate (PDF), which is generated automatically when the package completes. See Countersigning & certificate.

How e-sign connects to billing

When you author an engagement letter, the editor has a Billing terms panel. You set frequency (one-time, monthly, quarterly, annual), payment terms in days, and optional auto-pay. On completion, the signed terms snapshot to the engagement’s billing record. The client’s first invoice fires automatically (the retainer), and recurring billing kicks off if applicable.

This is the sign-first engagement lifecycle — see the Billing overview for full coverage.

What’s not in V1

Bulk send (same template to many clients in one click) — workflow: send via a pipeline stage action template.
In-person signing (signer on the firm’s device) — clients always sign through their portal.
DocuSign or Adobe import — if you have existing signed PDFs, upload them to the client’s documents directly.

Permissions

Action	Required permission
View packages	View e-sign
Create draft, author, or upload	Create e-sign
Edit draft, send, remind, cancel, countersign	Edit e-sign
Delete draft	Delete e-sign
View certificate	View e-sign
Create, edit, or duplicate templates	Create and Edit e-sign

The packages list — every signing request you’ve drafted or sent.
Engagement letters — authoring with the letter editor.
Templates — reusable letter content.
PDFs & field placement — the upload path.
Recipients & signing modes — who signs and in what order.
Sending, reminding, cancelling — Review & Send and after.
Countersigning & certificate — firm signature and audit PDF.