Onboard a whole shift of workers before Monday's start
Staffing runs on volume and deadlines. A client calls on Thursday for forty pickers on Monday, and every one of them needs an assignment letter, a handbook acknowledgment and a background check authorization before the first shift. SignMaster sends those packets to the whole group from one spreadsheet, tracks who's done, and handles the client side too: service agreements, bill rate changes and supervisor approvals.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 3 min read
On this page
Two sets of paperwork
| Document | Who signs | How |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment or placement letter | The worker | Bulk send for a group start, or one at a time |
| Handbook and safety policy acknowledgment | Every worker | In the onboarding packet, then again after each update |
| Background check disclosure and authorization | The candidate | As its own document, before the check |
| Direct deposit authorization | The worker | In the onboarding packet |
| Client staffing agreement | The client company | By link, countersigned by your branch manager |
| Bill rate or markup change | The client | By link when rates change |
| Timesheet approval | The client's supervisor | By link each week, with an approve field |
A group start from one spreadsheet
- 1
Build the packet
Merge your assignment letter, handbook acknowledgment and direct deposit form into one PDF and make it a template. Put the client site, start date, shift and pay rate in labeled text boxes so each worker's copy prints their own assignment.
- 2
Export the roster
Pull the new hires from your ATS into a CSV: name, email, site, shift, rate. Save it as CSV UTF-8 so names with accents come through.
- 3
Add people
Upload the file to bulk send, or paste the rows straight from your ATS export with the header row.
- 4
Match columns
Name, email, site, shift and rate pair with the role and the text boxes of the same name. Ignore any extra columns your ATS adds.
- 5
Check rows
A worker with no email or a duplicate row is listed and skipped, so the rest of the crew isn't held up. Fix those rows and send them later.
- 6
Send
Set a sign-by date the day before the start and let reminders run through the weekend. Each worker gets their own envelope with only their details.
Solo sends up to 250 rows at once, Crew 500 and Company 1000, and the batch shows who has signed. Workers sign on their phones from the email link, with no account and no app. Many light industrial and hospitality workers prefer Spanish, and the signing page, emails and e-signature consent come in Spanish among 6 languages. Send a Spanish version of the handbook acknowledgment as its own template.
Walk-in applicants and job fairs
Put your application on a public signing link and print the QR code on a table card. Each applicant fills it in on their own phone and can upload a resume, and every application lands in the template's Responses tab, exportable as CSV or JSON.
Forms with their own rules
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the disclosure that you'll run a background check must be in a document that consists solely of the disclosure. Keep it as its own document in the packet, not a paragraph inside the application. Start from the background check authorization and have counsel review it.
Form I-9 has its own rules for electronic signatures and for reviewing identity documents, so complete it in a system built for I-9s. See can you e-sign an I-9 form. Tax withholding forms have their own electronic filing rules too; check them before you add one to a packet.
The client side
Send the staffing agreement by link with signing in order: the client's signer, then your branch manager. When a client approves a rate increase, a one-page amendment with the new bill rates as text boxes keeps the record clean. For weekly timesheets, send the hours to the supervisor with an approve field and a decline field. They approve from their phone, and if they decline they give a reason you can act on before payroll closes.
On Crew and Company, webhooks tell your ATS or payroll system the moment a packet or timesheet is complete, directly or through Zapier's Webhooks by Zapier trigger.
Pricing for an agency
Crew is $49 a month for 5 recruiters and branch staff, with webhooks and the API. Company covers 15 people for $99 a month, and each extra seat is $8. Every paid plan sends unlimited envelopes, so a busy start week costs nothing extra. New workspaces get 14 days of Crew free. See every plan.
What SignMaster doesn't do
- It isn't an ATS or payroll system, and it doesn't run background checks.
- It doesn't complete Form I-9 or verify work authorization.
- It emails signing links rather than texting them. Recruiters can copy a worker's link and text it.
Questions? Answers.
Can I send onboarding paperwork to many new hires at once?
Yes. Bulk send your onboarding template from a CSV. Each worker gets their own envelope with their site, shift and rate printed in, and the batch shows who has signed.
Can workers sign on their phones?
Yes. They open the email link on any phone and sign, without an account or an app. The signing page is available in Spanish and other languages.
Can client supervisors approve timesheets?
Yes. Send the timesheet with an approve field. The supervisor approves from a link, or declines with a reason.
Can I use SignMaster for Form I-9?
We don't recommend it. Form I-9 has its own e-signature and document review rules, so use a system built for I-9s.
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681b: Permissible purposes of consumer reports (FCRA) · law.cornell.edu