Envelopes (SCS Sign)

SCS Sign is the built-in solution for electronic signatures — a replacement for external services like DocuSign. An "envelope" bundles one or more PDF documents that one or more recipients need to sign, approve, or simply receive as a copy. Here you create new envelopes, track their progress, and manage them through to completion.

What can I do here?

  • Search all envelopes and filter by status
  • Create and send a new envelope with documents, recipients, and signature fields
  • Track an envelope's progress (how many recipients have signed already)
  • Send reminders to recipients who haven't acted yet
  • Correct a recipient's contact details, as long as they haven't signed yet
  • Void an envelope when it should no longer be valid
  • Download the finished, signed PDF
  • Save a completed envelope as a reusable template

Step by step

Create and send a new envelope

  1. Click Create Envelope and give it a name (e.g. "Master Agreement 2026").
  2. Documents step: Upload one or more PDFs or select a document from the DMS. Drag to reorder them.
  3. Recipients step: Add recipients with name, email, role (signer, approver, cc), and language. Decide whether recipients are notified sequentially or all at once. Optionally set an access code the recipient must enter before opening the document.
  4. Fields step: Select a recipient and drag the needed fields (signature, initials, date, text, etc.) onto the document pages. You can also do this without a mouse: select a field type from the palette with the keyboard, focus the document area, and confirm with Enter or Space - the field appears centered on the page. To move an already-placed field, focus it with Tab and use the arrow keys (Shift+Arrow for bigger steps).
  5. Review & Send step: Check the documents, recipients, and fields, optionally set an expiration date and a reminder interval, then click Send Now. From this point on, documents, recipients, and fields can no longer be changed.
  6. If you are listed as a signer yourself, the system offers to let you sign right away immediately after sending.

Track an envelope in detail

  1. Open an envelope from the list to see its status, recipient progress, documents, and the full history (events like "Sent", "Viewed", "Signed").
  2. Use Remind All or remind a single pending recipient to resend a notification.
  3. If a not-yet-signed recipient's email or name has changed, use Correct.
  4. Once all signatures are complete, use Download Final PDF to get the finished document.

Void an envelope

  1. Open an envelope with status "Sent" or "In Progress" and click Void.
  2. Enter a reason and confirm. The envelope becomes invalid, all recipients are notified, and it can no longer be signed.
Rebuilt excerpt of the view: /sign
Rebuilt excerpt of the view: /sign/new
Rebuilt excerpt of the view: /sign/new
Rebuilt excerpt of the view: /sign/:id

Envelope lifecycle

flowchart TD
  A[Draft: set documents,\nrecipients, fields] --> B[Send Now]
  B --> C[Sent]
  C --> D[Recipient signs/declines]
  D -->|everyone has signed| E[Completed]
  D -->|a recipient declines| F[Declined]
  C -->|admin voids it| G[Voided]
  C -->|expiration date reached| H[Expired]

Fields explained

Field Meaning Notes/Effect
Envelope name Internal name of the envelope Not visible to recipients
Personal message Optional note included for all recipients Appears in the signing invitation
Routing Whether recipients are notified sequentially or all at once "Sequential" = recipient 2 is notified only after recipient 1 is done
Name / Email (Recipient) Recipient's contact details Can only be changed via "Correct" after sending, and only while unsigned
Role The recipient's task in the process See value list below
Language Language of the signing invitation and UI for this recipient German or English
Access code Optional code the recipient must enter to open the document Extra protection for sensitive documents
Field type Type of the placed form field See value list below
Required Whether the field must be filled before completion Unfilled required fields block signing
Expiration Date after which the envelope can no longer be signed Status automatically changes to "Expired" once passed
Reminders Interval in days for automatic reminders Without a value, no automatic reminders are sent
Reason (Void) Free text explaining why the envelope was voided Recorded in the event history

Values & Status

Envelope status

Label Plain meaning What happens then
Draft The envelope hasn't been sent yet Documents, recipients, and fields can be freely edited; can be deleted
Sent The envelope was sent to recipients Recipients receive an email invitation to sign
In Progress At least one recipient has signed, but not all Waiting on the remaining recipients
Completed All required recipients have signed The final PDF can be downloaded
Declined A recipient declined to sign The process ends; no further signatures possible
Voided An admin manually invalidated the envelope Can no longer be signed
Expired The set expiration date was reached before everyone signed Can no longer be signed

Recipient role

Label Meaning
Signer Must legally sign the document
Approver Must approve the process without signing themselves
CC Receives the document for information only, no action needed

Recipient status

Label Plain meaning What happens then
Pending The recipient isn't up yet (in sequential routing) Only notified once it's their turn
Sent The invitation was sent Recipient can open the document
Viewed The recipient opened the document Not yet signed
Signed The recipient filled in all required fields and signed In sequential routing, the next recipient is now notified
Declined The recipient declined The whole envelope moves to "Declined"

Field types

Label Meaning
Signature Handwritten or entered signature
Initials Short mark confirming individual pages
Date Signature date, filled in automatically
Text Free-text input field
Name Name field
Email Email input field
Checkbox Yes/no value
Radio button Choice among several options
Dropdown Choice from a list

Timeline events (sign_event_type)

Every action on an envelope is logged as an event and shown in the history on the detail page (see "Track an envelope in detail" above).

Label Meaning
Created The envelope was created as a draft
Sent The envelope was sent to recipients
Delivered The email invitation reached the recipient
Viewed The recipient opened the document
Field completed A recipient filled in a form field
Signed A recipient signed
Declined A recipient declined to sign
Reminder sent A reminder email was sent
Voided An admin invalidated the envelope
Expired The expiration date was reached before everyone signed
Completed All required recipients have signed
Downloaded The final PDF was downloaded
Corrected A not-yet-signed recipient's name or email was corrected afterward

Frequently asked questions

Can I still edit an envelope after it's been sent?
No. Once an envelope is sent, documents, recipients, and fields can no longer be changed. You can still change the name or email of a not-yet-signed recipient via "Correct", or void the envelope and create a new one.

What's the difference between "Void" and "Delete"?
Delete is only possible for drafts and removes the envelope entirely. "Void" applies to already-sent envelopes — the envelope stays visible in the list as an invalid process.

How does "Sequential" vs. "Parallel" routing work?
With "Sequential", the next recipient is only notified once the previous one has signed. With "Parallel", all recipients receive the invitation immediately.

Where do I download the finished, signed document?
Open the completed envelope and click "Download Final PDF". The download is only available once the envelope is fully completed.

Can I save a successful envelope as a template for future use?
Yes, via "Save as Template" on the detail page. See Templates.

How are recipients addressed in the notification emails?
By the name on file for that recipient. If none is on file, a general but complete salutation appears in the recipient's language - never an open gap. This applies to all envelope emails (invitation, reminder, completion, decline, void, expiry warning).