Retainers: send for e-signature

Send a client their retainer while you’re still on the phone with them. They get a link by text, email or both, and sign on their phone. When they sign, the signed copy (with a signature record page) is saved, they’re added to your Clients list, and you get an email.

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How it works, start to finish

1. You upload your retainer once, as a Word file.
2. From a client or a prospect, you click Send retainer…, check who signs, and choose Email, Text or Email and text.
3. The client gets a message from our e-signature service with your firm’s name and a link. They open it, review the retainer and sign.
4. You see each step on Marketing → Retainers: Sent, Opened, Signed.
5. When it’s signed, you get an email, the signed copy is ready to download, and the person is in your Clients list.

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Upload your retainer

1. Go to Marketing → Retainers and click Upload retainer.
2. Name it, for example “Auto accident retainer”.
3. Choose who it’s for:
   • An adult client: the client signs.
   • A minor: a parent or guardian signs on the minor’s behalf.
4. Choose your Word file (.docx, up to 10 MB) and click Upload.

Don’t add signature lines. We add a signature page at the end of every retainer: signature, printed name and date. For a minor’s retainer, the page says the parent or guardian signs on the minor’s behalf.

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Merge fields

Put these in your Word file, in double braces, and we fill them in for each client: Spell them exactly as shown. If a field is misspelled, sending stops with a message and nothing goes out.

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Send a retainer

You can send from either place:

• Marketing → Clients: click the signature icon on the client’s row.
• A county’s Prospects list: open the row menu (⋮) and click Send retainer….

Then:

1. Pick the Retainer.
2. Check the name. For a minor’s retainer, enter the minor’s name, then the parent or guardian who signs and how they’re related.
3. Enter the signer’s email and/or mobile number.
4. Optional: the Contingent fee, if your retainer uses {{contingent_fee_pct}}.
5. Choose Send by: Email, Text, or Email and text.
6. Click Send.

It takes a few seconds while we prepare the document. Nothing is sent if anything is wrong; you’ll see what to fix.

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Sending by text: the client’s OK comes first

Before a retainer can be texted, the client has to agree to receive the texts, and you record how they agreed. A phone number on its own isn’t permission. When you choose Text, the dialog shows what the client needs to agree to. In short: your firm will text them a link to sign and reminders until it’s signed; the texts come from our e-signature service; how often varies; message and data rates may apply; they can reply STOP; and texting is optional, since you can email instead. Read it to them (or send it to them), and once they say yes, click They agreed: record it and fill in:

• How they agreed: on a recorded phone call, in writing, or in person.
• Date.
• Call link, recording or note: something that lets you find the proof later.

You only record it once per phone number. The next retainer to that number shows Consent to texts is on file. The text comes from our e-signature service and starts with “SignWell:”, then names your firm. Emails show your firm’s name as the sender.

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Track, remind, void

Marketing → Retainers lists everything you’ve sent. Click Details on any row to see each step with its time, and to:

• Send reminder: nudges the signer by the same channel (text, email or both). Reminders also go out on their own until it’s signed or expires.
• Resend by email: after a text couldn’t be delivered, the client replied STOP, or the retainer expired. This voids the old link and sends a new copy.
• Check status: asks for the latest right away (the page also updates itself).
• Void: cancels the retainer; the link stops working.
• Signed copy: downloads the signed PDF with its signature record page.

A retainer expires after 30 days if it isn’t signed.

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When it’s signed

• The status changes to Signed and you get an email.
• The signed copy is stored privately; only your account can download it.
• The person is added to your Clients list. If you sent it from a client, it’s linked to that client. If you sent it from a prospect, the new client is linked to the prospect. If they might already be on your list but we can’t tell for sure (for example, the same name with a different address), we don’t add a duplicate; the retainer says so, and you can add or fix them on the Clients page.

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Questions

Can my teammates send retainers? Not yet. In this first version, the account owner sends them. Does the client need an account? No. They just open the link. Can I change the email or number after sending? No. Void it and send a new one.