Sending a Contract for Signature

Written By Timothy Murenzi

Last updated 6 days ago

Step 1 — Add your signers

In the details rail, switch to Signers:

  1. Click + Add signer

  2. Enter the signer's Name, Email, and Role (Client / Designer / Witness / Other)

  3. Repeat for each signer

Each signer is assigned a color; that color shows on any field assigned to them.

Step 2 — Place fields

Drop the signature, initials, date, and text fields where each signer needs to interact. Use the small color tab on each field to assign it to the right signer.

Every signer needs at least one signature field assigned to them. The system enforces this on send.

Step 3 — Choose a signing mode

In the details rail under Signing mode:

  • Sequential (default) — signer #1 signs first, then signer #2 gets the invite, etc. Use this when sign order matters (e.g. client signs first, then your firm countersigns).

  • Parallel — all signers get the invite at the same time; any can complete first. Use this when order doesn't matter.

Step 4 — Optional: retainer

If you want to collect a retainer payment alongside the signature:

  1. Set Retainer amount in the details rail

  2. Pick the currency (USD default)

  3. The signing page will show a "Pay Retainer" button next to the signature

The retainer is charged via your connected Stripe account and lands as a credit on the client's record. See Article 5 for the full retainer flow.

Step 5 — Customize the invite email (optional)

Settings → Contracts → Email templates → Signing invite. Variables like {{client.name}}, {{contract.name}}, and {{signing.link}} are auto-substituted.

Step 6 — Send

Click Send for signature. Workroom:

  1. Validates that every signer has at least one signature field

  2. Generates a unique, unguessable signing link per signer

  3. Emails the first signer (sequential) or all signers (parallel)

  4. Flips the contract status to Sent

You can no longer edit the contract body after sending. To make changes, void the send and start a new one.

Tracking signature progress

The Contracts list shows the status of every contract:

  • Draft — not sent yet

  • Sent — at least one invite emailed

  • Viewing — a signer has opened the signing page

  • Partially Signed — some but not all signers have signed

  • Signed — fully complete

  • Declined — a signer declined

  • Voided — you cancelled the send

Click a contract to see per-signer status, the audit log, and the signed PDF (once complete).

Troubleshooting

  • The signer says they didn't get the email. Check the contract's Audit log for a email_sent or email_failed event. If it failed, the signer's email may have bounced — confirm the address with them. If it succeeded but they don't see it, ask them to check spam (the sender is notify@workroom.co or your studio's white-label sender if configured).

  • The signer clicks the link and sees "Signing link expired or invalid." Either the contract was voided, the signer's signing token was rotated by a re-send, or the link was truncated when copy-pasted. Resend the invite from the contract page — it generates a fresh link.

  • In sequential mode, signer #2 says they got the invite before signer #1 was done. That shouldn't happen. Open the audit log on the contract — the email_sent event should fire AFTER the previous signer's signed event. If you see signer #2 emailed first, contact support with the contract ID; this is a bug we want to know about.

  • The send button is grayed out. Hover over it for the tooltip. Common reasons: no signers added, a signer is missing a signature field, contact_id is required for retainer flows.

  • "Add at least one signature field for [signer name]" — but I already did. The field assignment may have drifted to a different signer. Click each field and verify its signer color tab.