Practical guide

Keep the signed document and its audit trail together

Last materially reviewed 2026-09-21

Quick answerRetain the output and the record that identifies its request; one is not a substitute for the other.
What to know

Understand the documented record

Signaturely describes an activity record covering creation, request, viewing, signing and completion, with an audit download that can be independent or appended. These are useful records to inspect, not a universal statement about legal sufficiency. Determine which outputs your organization requires and who is responsible for retaining them. A file labelled signed should still be related to the exact request and intended document version.

What to know

Check the relationship between files

When the document and audit are separate, use a consistent identifier in your storage process so another person can associate them later. Open both and verify that the reference makes sense. Do not infer a relationship solely from similar filenames or nearby download times. If a record is missing, note that explicitly rather than naming an incomplete folder final. Keep the original request identity available through the authorized system.

What to know

Retain only appropriate access

Signed documents and activity records can contain personal information. Store them in the approved location with the access required for the business purpose. Do not paste their contents into a public support thread or general analytics tool. A convenient download folder is not automatically a suitable archive. Retention periods and legal obligations depend on the organization and document type; this software guide does not prescribe a universal duration.

What to know

Verify retrieval, not just download

A useful acceptance check is whether the responsible person can locate and open the intended sample later. That establishes a limited retrieval result, not full account restoration. Record which outputs were checked and which remain unavailable. The document-report guide explains a separate inventory mechanism; the version-map guide helps connect source, request and final record without pretending every export is a complete backup.

Continue when useful

Next: Connect the source, request and signed output with a version map

Keep three identities distinct so corrections do not erase what was actually sent.

Open Connect the source, request and signed output with a version map →

Sources used for this page

These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.

  1. View and download the audit trail — Merchant documentation · help.signaturely.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-21
  2. Owner account report and document identifiers — Merchant documentation · help.signaturely.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-21