Practical guide

Sequential or parallel signing: choose the intended handoff

Last materially reviewed 2026-09-21

Quick answerUse an order when the process requires a dependency, not simply because the option exists.
What to know

Prepare the participant dependency first

Signaturely’s help describes enabling a custom signing order and rearranging people or roles. Before using it, ask whether one participant genuinely needs another person’s completed action before proceeding. If the process has no such dependency, imposing an order may add waiting. If it does have a dependency, leaving the sequence unspecified can create an unclear handoff. The right configuration follows the documented process, not a preference for a tidier screen.

What to know

Separate visibility from authority

A person who needs to see the final document is not necessarily a signer. A person who must approve wording before sending may belong in a preparation process rather than the external signature sequence. Write these responsibilities separately. This guide does not establish that Signaturely supports every approval role or branching arrangement. If a required step is outside the documented capability, retain the existing supported process until it is deliberately resolved.

What to know

Plan for a missing participant

Consider what should happen if the next person is absent, declines or has received the wrong version. Do not treat a replacement recipient as a harmless administrative detail. Identify who can decide the appropriate next action and what record must be retained. A workflow that only works when every person responds immediately is incomplete. Record the exception path without inventing a product feature that automatically substitutes participants or carries signatures forward.

What to know

Test and verify the sample end to end

In an authorized test, inspect the requested sequence and the final record, not only the order displayed while preparing the template. Label the test clearly and use non-sensitive sample content. A successful sample demonstrates only the path tested. Recheck after changing roles or the document version. Continue to the partial-completion guide to define what counts as a usable result when several participants are involved.

Continue when useful

Next: Viewer or signer: give each participant the correct job

Do not request a signature from someone who only needs a copy, or mistake a viewer for a required party.

Open Viewer or signer: give each participant the correct job →

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. Custom signing order — Merchant documentation · help.signaturely.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-21
  2. Create a reusable template — Merchant documentation · help.signaturely.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-21