---
title: "Initiating an eSignature Process"
slug: "initiating-an-esignature-process-1"
updated: 2026-10-29T17:03:07Z
published: 2026-10-29T17:03:07Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/initiating-an-esignature-process-1"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Initiating an eSignature Process

**COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

**Initiating an eSignature Process**

*Module: Document Collaboration Gateway › Document Collaboration Gateway E-Approvals & E-Signatures › Initiating an eSignature Process*

**Note:** Each procedure in this guide begins at the Contract Insight homepage, so any section can be followed on its own. Custom fields are configurable, so the exact field list on a contract category record may vary between environments.

# 1. Overview

A signature process is started the same way as an approval process, from a record's **Actions** menu — **Signature Processes**, in the Document Processing group — which opens a **Negotiation Processes** view scoped to that record for starting and tracking new **signature processes** on its documents.

# 2. Key Elements

- Record → **Actions** → **Signature Processes** (Document Processing group)
- Opens the same record-scoped **Negotiation Processes** view used for approvals, filtered to signatures

# 3. Opening a Record's Signature Processes

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, open the record (for example, **Requests/Contracts → Contracts**, then click **Manage** on the contract's row).
2. Click **Actions** in the upper-right corner of the record.

![Contract record with the Actions button highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/esigstart-01-record-actions-button.png)

1. Scroll to the **Document Processing** group and select **Signature Processes**.

![Actions menu with Document Processing and Signature Processes highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/esigstart-02-signature-processes-menu.png)

1. The **Negotiation Processes** page opens filtered to **Signatures only** and to this record (the banner reads "Showing only this record's processes"). Use the status filter and **Started only** to narrow the list, and click **Open console** to track a process.
2. Click **Open record** to return to the record, or **Show all processes** to remove the record filter.

![Record-scoped Negotiation Processes page with banner, Open record, Show all processes, filters and Open console highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/esigstart-03-record-signature-processes.png)

# 4. Starting a New Signature Process

1. On the record, click the **Attachments & Templates** tab.
2. In **Merged Document Templates** → **Saved documents**, click **Signatures** on the generated document's row. The panel lists the signers carried over from the template.
3. Click **Set up signature process**.

![Signatures panel on a generated document with Set up signature process highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/esig-flow-09-generated-document-signers.png)

1. In **New signature process**, confirm the **Name of this process** and enter an optional **Description** (shown in the email participants receive).
2. Choose who **Replies go to**. This person receives every alert about the process.
3. Select **How they sign**: **Electronically, in the system** or **On paper - they download, sign and upload it back**.
4. Select **Where they sign**: **Only where fields have been placed** or **Anywhere on the document**.
5. Select **How the signed files come back**: **One attachment per document** or **All of them as a single PDF**.
6. Click **Create process**, or **Cancel** to leave without creating it.

![New signature process form with all fields, Cancel and Create process highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/esigstart-05-new-signature-process.png)

**Note:** Nothing is sent when the process is created; the form sets the name, settings and who is told before anything goes out. Track the process afterwards from **Actions → Signature Processes** (see Section 3).

# 5. Quick Reference Summary

| Task | How to Complete It |
| --- | --- |
| See a record's signature processes | Record → **Actions** → Document Processing → **Signature Processes**. |
| Track a signature process | Record-scoped Negotiation Processes → **Open console**. |
| See all processes, not just this record's | Click **Show all processes**. |
| Start a new signature process | Record → **Attachments & Templates** → Saved documents → **Signatures** → **Set up signature process**. |
| Set how and where people sign | New signature process → **How they sign** / **Where they sign**. |
| Create the process | Complete the form → **Create process**. |