When a document reaches Ready for Signature in dhNegotiate, the negotiation is over. Both Teams have agreed on the final language, and the document moves from a drafting workflow into an execution workflow. This article explains what that transition means and what happens next for Team Captains and Signatories.
What changes at Ready for Signature
Ready for Signature is a gate. Once a Team Captain approves the document at Form Final and it advances to Ready for Signature, two things happen:
The document is locked for further negotiation. Propose New Version is no longer available. If a change is needed, a Team Captain can still use Update Draft, but this is intended for corrections, not substantive negotiation.
dhSign becomes active for the Checklist Item. Signatories can now be added, signatures can be mapped, and the execution workflow begins.
Until the document reaches Ready for Signature, none of the dhSign configuration steps are available. Signatories cannot be added, and mapping cannot begin.
For Team Captains: setting up signatures
Once the document is at Ready for Signature, the Team Captain opens the Checklist Item side panel to begin signature configuration.
1️⃣ Add Signatories Select Add/Edit Signatories to designate who needs to sign. Each Signatory is assigned a signing method, dhSign for electronic signatures within dealhead, or External for signature pages that will be collected and uploaded manually.
When adding a dhSign Signatory, there are two types depending on whether the individual is a Project participant:
Team Member Signatories are already on a Team within the Project. They have full access to the Project and will see the signature request in their dhSign Dashboard alongside their other Project activity.
Restricted Signatories are individuals who are not invited to or members of the Project. They are added by email address and receive a notification to sign, but their access is limited to the documents they've been asked to sign, they cannot see the Checklist, Teams, or any other Project items.
2️⃣ Map signatures
Once Signatories are added, map each signature to the correct location in the document. Mapping places each Signatory's Profile Signature, or a placeholder for External Signatories, at the right location in the final executed document.
⚠️ Important: If the document changes after mapping, signatures must be remapped. Confirm the document is truly final before mapping.
3️⃣ Obtain approvals
dhSign Signatories must approve their signature before execution can occur. Approvals can be given by the Signatory directly, or by an authorized attorney under an established Attorney-Client Relationship. External Signatories require their signature pages to be uploaded by a Team Captain.
⚠️ Important: Since Restricted Signatories have limited Project access, when a document changes and they have already provided approval, a Team Captain can make the determination if they need to re-approve or retain their initial approval.
4️⃣ Release signatures
Once all prerequisites are complete, signatures are released, either manually by a Team Captain, or automatically at Milestone completion, depending on the release setting configured on the Checklist Item. Releasing signatures generates the Executed/Final document and a Certificate of Completion.
For a full walkthrough of each step, see dhSign — Guide for Team Captains.
For Signatories: what to expect
When a document is ready for your signature, you'll receive an email from [email protected] with a request to Review and Approve.
If the Signatory hasn't added a Profile Signature to their dealhead account yet, they will be prompted to do so before they can Approve. The Profile Signature is the electronic signature that will appear on the executed document, it can drawn or uploaded as an image.
Once the signature is in place, review the document and select Approve. Approval doesn't immediately execute the document, execution happens when all required Signatories have Approved and a Team Captain releases the signatures (Manual) or the Milestone is completed.
For a full walkthrough of the Signatory experience, see dhSign — Guide for Signatories.
The executed document
When signatures are released, dealhead automatically generates two PDFs: the Executed/Final document and a Certificate of Completion. The Certificate of Completion provides a complete audit trail of the signing process; who signed, when, and under what authentication and is stored permanently alongside the executed document.
For details on what the Certificate of Completion contains, see dhSign — Certificate of Completion.