SpotDraft offers two types of approvals that can be set up on a workflow level: Pre-Send Approvals and Pre-Sign Approvals. These approvals help ensure that contracts are properly vetted before they are sent to counterparties or moved into the signing phase.
Note: This article is about the legacy approvals system. If you use the new approvals system, check out this latest guide. If you haven’t migrated yet, we recommend upgrading. Contact SpotDraft support to get started.
Pre-Send Approvals
- Purpose: Pre-send approvals are designed to gather internal approvals before a contract is sent to a counterparty for review. This ensures that the contract is thoroughly vetted internally before it's shared externally.
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Trigger: Pre-send approvals are typically triggered:
- On contract creation for template contracts.
- On completion of the intake form for third-party paper contracts.
- Example: A team might require a legal review before sending out the contract to the counterparty for review, for these scenarios a "Legal Approval" pre-send approval would be set up to require a check before the contract is shared.
- Outcome: Pre-send approvals block users from sending the contract to the counterparty for review until the required internal approvals are received.
Pre-Sign Approvals
- Purpose: Pre-sign approvals are used as a final sign-off before a contract is moved into the signing phase. They act as a safeguard against any errors or omissions that could lead to issues at the signing stage.
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Trigger: Pre-sign approvals are typically triggered:
- When a user clicks "Mark for Execution" on a contract for third-party paper contracts.
- Automatically after a counterparty has completed its review for template contracts.
- Example: A company might want to ensure that all key stakeholders have reviewed a contract before it goes to signing. In this case, they could set up pre-sign approvals for Legal, Finance, and Operations. Once a counterparty completes their review of the contract, the pre-sign approvals will automatically be triggered.
- Outcome: Pre-sign approvals block users from moving a contract into the signing phase until the required approvals have been received.
Choosing the Right Approval Type
- Pre-Send Approvals: Use this to set up internal approvals that need to be gathered before a contract is sent out for review or further redlining.
- Pre-Sign Approvals: Use this to set up final sign-offs that ensure a contract is fully reviewed and approved before it's signed.