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Sending for Signature

Once your contract is ready, send it to all signees for their electronic signatures.

How to Send​

Follow these steps to send the contract for signatures:

  1. Open the contract from the project's Contracts section
  2. Review signees listed at the top of the contract
  3. Click "Send for Signature" button
  4. Verify email addresses for all signees are correct
  5. Customize message (optional) to add context or instructions — this field pre-fills from the contract template's default Signature Request Message. Edits apply only to this send; the template default is unchanged.
  6. Click "Send" to deliver emails immediately

If text messaging is enabled for your company, the dialog also offers a Text message delivery method. See Sending by Text Message below.

Sending by Text Message​

Contracts can also be sent for signature by text message, which is useful when clients miss or lose signature emails. Text messaging is enabled per company by Readybuild. There is no setting to turn it on yourself. Contact support if you want it enabled.

When it is enabled, the Request Signatures dialog shows two delivery method checkboxes at the top: Email and Text message. Choose one or both. At least one must be selected.

Who Can Receive a Text​

When Text message is checked, a Text message recipients list appears with each signee and their available numbers:

  • Only numbers marked Mobile are offered. Each mobile number has its own checkbox, so you can select one, several, or none per signee. Each selected number receives its own text.
  • A signee with no mobile number on file shows "No mobile number on file — text is only available for numbers marked Mobile." To fix this, open the contact record and set the phone number's type to Mobile, then reopen the dialog.
  • Company signees are email-only. They appear in the list with a note that they receive the request by email.
  • A contact who replied STOP to a text has opted out and cannot be texted again. The dialog shows this and asks you to send by email instead.

Before the first text goes to a contact, you must confirm they agreed to receive text messages. Check I confirm this client verbally agreed to receive text messages about this contract. The Send button stays disabled until you do.

Consent is recorded on the contact with your name and the date. On later sends to the same contact, the dialog shows "Verbal consent to text is already on file" instead of asking again.

The Text Message​

A separate Text message field holds the body of the text. It pre-fills with a short default for the contract type, and you can edit it for this send.

Your company name and the signing link are added automatically. You cannot remove them. The helper text under the field shows the character count, how many SMS segments the message will use, and the encoding, so you can keep the message short. Messages over 1,600 characters cannot be sent.

After You Click Send​

Emails go out immediately. Texts are queued and go out shortly afterward, so the confirmation says the texts were queued, not sent.

Once the texts have been processed, a note titled Texted signature request for [contract title] is added to the project's notes. It lists every recipient and number, and whether each text was sent or why it failed. Check the project's notes if a client says they never received the text.

What Customers Receive​

Each signee receives a personalized email containing:

  • Greeting with their name
  • Your custom message (if added)
  • "View & Sign Contract" button linking to the document
  • Company branding and contact information

The link is unique to each signee and tracks their specific signature.

Signees sent a text receive a short message from your company name followed by a shortened link to the contract.

When customers click the "View & Sign Contract" button, they're automatically signed in via a magic link to view and sign their contract. Understanding how this works helps you support customers who have questions.

Each signing link creates a 30-day session on the customer's device:

  • The first time a customer clicks the link, they're signed in and a session cookie is set
  • On the same device/browser, they can return to the portal anytime during those 30 days without needing a new link
  • The link can be reused multiple times within its 7-day expiration window — clicking it again creates a new session
  • Links expire after 7 days

A text message contains a shortened link, not the signing link itself. The shortened link is a pointer that stays valid for 90 days. Each time the client taps it, Readybuild issues a normal signing link behind the scenes and forwards them to the contract.

The signing link the client lands on is the same kind as an emailed one and follows the same rules above: it expires after 7 days, and signing in creates a 30-day session. When that signing link has expired, tapping the shortened link in the text again simply issues a new one. Clients should reopen the contract from the text, not from a bookmark of the page they landed on.

After 90 days the shortened link stops working. The client then sees "That link has expired. Enter your email address below and we'll send you a new one." and can request an emailed link the usual way.

Accessing the Contract on Multiple Devices​

Customers can easily access their contract from any device at any time by requesting a new link:

  1. Customer goes to the portal login page
  2. Customer enters their email address
  3. Customer receives a new signing link instantly
  4. Customer clicks the link → signed in on the new device

There's no limit to how many links a customer can request (except a rate limit of 3 per hour for security). Encourage customers to simply request a new link whenever they need access from a different device.

Tip: Once signed in on a device, the session lasts 30 days. Customers can bookmark the portal and return without needing a new link, as long as they use the same device/browser.

If a customer clicks an expired link, they see:

"Invalid or expired portal link. Enter your email address to receive a new one."

They simply enter their email address and receive a fresh link immediately—this is the normal way to access from a new device.

Customers can get a new link anytime through two methods:

  1. Self-service (recommended): Customer enters their email on the portal login page to receive an instant link
  2. Resend from contract: You can click the Resend button next to the signee's name to send a fresh email

All previously sent links remain valid until they expire — generating a new link does not invalidate older ones.