Work authorizations signed before the first air mover goes in
Water doesn't wait for business hours. You're standing in a flooded kitchen at midnight with a homeowner who has never filed a claim, and before the first air mover goes in you need their signature on a work authorization. SignMaster puts that form on your phone, gets it signed on the spot, and sends a sealed copy to everyone who needs one: the owner, your office and, when you add them, the adjuster.
Updated November 9, 2026 · 4 min read
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What a restoration job asks people to sign
| Document | When it's signed | Who signs |
|---|---|---|
| Work authorization | At the loss, before extraction, tear-out or demo | The property owner, or someone with authority to act for them |
| Direction to pay | With the authorization, when the carrier will pay you directly | The policyholder |
| Contents inventory | When the pack-out leaves, and again at move-back | The owner, room by room |
| Drying sign-off | When you hit your dry standard and the equipment comes out | The owner or property manager |
| Reconstruction contract and change orders | Once the adjuster's scope is approved, and every time it moves | The owner, then you |
| Certificate of satisfaction | At the final walk-through | The owner, often before the last check is released |
Most are short forms you send every week, which makes them natural templates. The library's job completion sign-off and change order form are good starting points for the last two. Have your own lawyer write the work authorization, since it's the document you'll lean on if the claim turns into a dispute.
Assignment of benefits or direction to pay
An assignment of benefits hands the policyholder's post-loss claim rights to you. A direction to pay leaves the claim with the policyholder and asks the carrier to pay your company. They're different documents, and states treat them differently.
Florida is the clearest case. For residential and commercial property policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, a policyholder may not assign post-loss benefits, in whole or in part:
“An attempt to assign post-loss property insurance benefits under such a policy is void, invalid, and unenforceable.”
Older Florida policies and other states have their own rules on what an assignment must say and when it can be cancelled. Ask a lawyer in each state you work in which form to use, then turn that exact wording into a template so every tech on call sends the approved version.
At the loss, signed in a few minutes
- 1
Open the authorization template
Fill in the address, date of loss, carrier and claim number. An Insurance claim checkbox can reveal the direction to pay fields only when it's ticked, so cash jobs stay short.
- 2
Scan what they hand you
The declarations page, a driver's license, a letter from the carrier: in the iPhone and iPad app the scan comes out flat and searchable. The scan page covers the ID card mode, which puts front and back on one page.
- 3
Hand over the phone
Choose Sign in person. The owner initials the deductible line and signs, guided field by field, and in the app only your Face ID or passcode gets you back out.
- 4
Send the copies
Add the adjuster or the property manager as Receives a copy. When everyone has signed, each gets the sealed PDF with its certificate of completion.
When the caller isn't the owner
A tenant reports the leak, but the landlord owns the building. Send the authorization to the owner by link. They sign on any phone without an account, and the envelope page shows you the moment it's done.
Drying, contents and the final walk-through
Contents. The pack-out inventory is the document everyone reaches for when a box goes missing. Have the owner sign it as the truck is loaded and again at move-back, with initials on every page so nobody can claim a page was added later.
Drying. When the readings reach your dry standard, put the moisture map and final readings in front of the owner before the equipment leaves. An envelope can carry several PDFs, so the readings, the photo report and the sign-off travel together. Job photos become one PDF with the free JPG to PDF tool.
Closeout. The certificate of satisfaction often unlocks the last payment. Send it from a template at the final walk-through, have the owner sign in person, and the carrier or mortgage company gets their copy the same minute.
Commercial losses and property managers
Property managers call you building after building. Sign one master services agreement with the management company for your rates and terms, then send a one-page authorization per loss. Put their managers in a signer group and whoever is on call signs first. On Crew and Company, webhooks can pass each signed authorization on to your job software.
What it costs
Restoration runs on call rotations, so most companies want every tech able to send. Crew is $49 a month for 5 people, plus $8 a month per extra person, and Company is $99 a month for 15. A one-truck shop can start on Solo at $15 a month with unlimited envelopes. New workspaces get 14 days of Crew free. Compare plans.
What SignMaster doesn't do
- It doesn't write estimates, log moisture readings or talk to adjusters. Bring the PDFs your estimating and drying software make.
- It doesn't collect deductibles or payments.
- It emails signing links. You can copy a signer's link and text it yourself.
- It doesn't decide whether an assignment or a direction to pay holds up in your state.
Questions? Answers.
Can a homeowner sign a work authorization on my phone in the middle of the night?
Yes. Send the envelope, choose Sign in person and hand them the phone. They don't need an account or an app. The phone does need a signal while they sign.
Can I still use an assignment of benefits in Florida?
Not under residential or commercial property policies issued on or after January 1, 2023: Florida Statutes § 627.7152(13) makes those assignments void. Ask a Florida lawyer what your paperwork should say instead.
Can the adjuster get a copy without signing anything?
Yes. Add them as Receives a copy. They get the sealed PDF and its certificate when everyone has signed, with nothing to fill in.
Is an e-signed work authorization enforceable?
For most contracts, yes. The federal ESIGN Act and state laws based on UETA give electronic signatures the same effect as ink. Read are electronic signatures legal for the exceptions.
Sources
- Florida Statutes § 627.7152 (assignment agreements) · flsenate.gov