How to create a contract template you can send again and again

Start with a clean document

A template is only as good as the contract inside it, so have your lawyer approve the wording first. Then strip out anything specific to one customer: names, addresses, prices. Those become fields. Don't have a contract yet? Each of our contract templates pages has a Use this template button that adds it to SignMaster as a new template: a PDF with its blanks already set up as fields. To change a clause, cover it with the Markup White-out tool and type the new wording in a Text box.

Build the template

1. 1

   Upload it

   On the Templates page, click New template, upload the PDF or click Scan with your phone for paper, give it a Template name your team will recognize, and click Create template.

2. 2

   Name the roles in signing order

   In the Recipients panel, rename Signer 1 to the person who signs first, such as Customer, and use Add recipient for each other role, such as Contractor. Roles keep the order you add them in, so add them in the order they'll sign. Set copy-only roles to Receives a copy.

3. 3

   Place the fields for each role

   Pick a role, then drag fields onto the page: Signature, Initials and Date signed, plus Name, Phone or Text for what the signer fills in. Each field's settings show who it's Assigned to and whether it's Required.

4. 4

   Add boxes for what you fill in

   For details you type before each send, like the price or start date, draw a box with the Markup Text tool and give it a Label. It prints on the contract read-only, and bulk send can fill it from a spreadsheet column with the same name.

5. 5

   Save it

   Click Save. Use Preview first to see the contract the way each signer will.

Make it smarter

• Formula: a calculated field multiplies quantity by price or adds up options as the signer fills them in.
• Show When: a field stays hidden until the signer ticks a box or picks an option that needs it.
• Same Answer As: the signer types their name once and it fills every linked copy on every page.
• Rules: check that a phone number, email or ZIP code looks right, with the message the signer sees if it doesn't.

Then open Sending defaults on the template's page. Set a sign-by window, the signing language per role, whether signers may print and sign on paper, and an access code per role. Every envelope made from the template starts with those settings, and you can still change them before sending.

Using the template

• Send it to one person: click Use on the template's card, fill in who's who, and send.
• Send several at once: pick more than one template when starting an envelope. Roles with the same name merge, so the customer signs everything in one sitting.
• Send it to a list: Bulk send on the template's page makes one envelope per spreadsheet row, on paid plans.
• Share it as a link: Public link turns it into a form anyone can fill in and sign, with a QR code.

Templates are shared across your workspace, and team roles decide who can use them and who can edit them. Free includes 3 templates; Solo, Crew and Company have no template limit.