If you work in finance, you already know: chasing down signatures and approvals is a time sink. Email threads get lost, people miss attachments, and the whole process drags. If you’re ready to get rid of that mess, automating your document approval workflow in Signnow is worth a shot. This guide is for finance teams who want to get things moving with less hassle—and without having to become workflow “experts.”
Let’s get you to a setup that actually works, not just looks good on a whiteboard.
Why automate approvals in the first place?
- Less chasing, more doing. No more sending “gentle reminders” (read: desperate pleas) for signatures.
- Audit trails, not headaches. Finance always gets asked about “where’s that signed doc?”—this makes it easy to find.
- Fewer errors. People forget steps. Workflows don’t.
But, let’s be real: No tool is magic. Automating an approval process works best if your process is already halfway sane. If your current system is chaos, start by mapping out who needs to sign what, and in what order before you try automating anything.
Step 1: Map out your approval process (seriously, do this first)
Before you even log into Signnow, sketch out your current approval flow on paper or a whiteboard. Who touches the document? In what order? Are there any “if this, then that” rules?
Example for a finance doc: - Person A (preparer) fills out a reimbursement form. - Manager B approves. - Finance C signs off.
Pro tips: - Stick to the simplest process that covers your needs. Every extra step is an extra headache. - If you have exceptions (“Only needed if over $10,000”), write them down now. Signnow can handle some conditional logic, but it’s not a full-on workflow engine.
Step 2: Set up your document templates in Signnow
Templates save you time and reduce mistakes. In Signnow, you can upload your standard forms (like vendor agreements, expense approvals, etc.) and add fields for signatures, dates, text, and checks.
How to do it: 1. Upload your document: Head to your Signnow dashboard and upload your PDF or Word doc. 2. Add fillable fields: Drag and drop signature, date, and text fields where needed. 3. Make it reusable: Save as a template. Name it something obvious—“Q2 Expense Approval,” not “Document 7.”
What works:
Reusable templates are a no-brainer for recurring finance documents.
What doesn’t:
Don’t overcomplicate with 20 different templates for minor variations. Use one main template and let people fill in the details.
Step 3: Build your approval workflow
Here’s where Signnow’s “Invite to Sign” and “Roles” features come in. You can send a document to multiple people in a set order—no more “Did you sign yet?” emails.
How to set up a sequential approval:
1. Start from your template: Click “Create Invite” and select your template.
2. Assign signer roles: Add signers in the order they need to approve. For finance, this might be:
- Preparer (fills out form)
- Manager (approves)
- Finance/Controller (final sign-off)
3. Customize permissions: Set who can edit which fields. Typically, only the first person fills out numbers, everyone else signs.
4. Add custom messages (optional): Short, direct instructions are better than corporate-speak.
Pro tips: - For simple approvals, use “Invite to Sign” with a set signing order. - For parallel approvals (e.g., two people need to sign at once), Signnow allows you to assign the same order number to multiple signers. - Don’t try to force complex conditional logic (like “if rejected, send back to start”)—Signnow is not a full workflow platform. Keep it linear or parallel.
Step 4: Add reminders and deadlines (so people actually sign)
You can automate reminders in Signnow so you’re not the one following up.
How to do it: - When sending out the invite, set a signing deadline. - Turn on automatic reminders—daily, every 3 days, whatever works for your team.
What works:
Gentle, automated nudges keep things moving.
What doesn’t:
Don’t rely solely on reminders if someone always ignores them. For repeat offenders, a Slack ping or call still works best.
Step 5: Track status and handle exceptions
Signnow gives you a dashboard showing where every document is in the process. You’ll see who’s signed, who hasn’t, and what’s stuck.
How to use it: - Check the dashboard for “in progress” documents. - If a document is stalled, you can resend or even reassign the signer (if, say, someone’s on vacation). - When all parties have signed, the completed doc is saved automatically. Download, archive, or sync to your finance system.
Pro tips: - Don’t just set and forget—check back to see what’s working. Are certain steps always slow? Maybe your process needs tweaking. - For compliance, download and archive completed documents somewhere safe (cloud drive, finance system, etc.). Don’t trust any one tool as your only backup.
Step 6: Optional integrations (don’t overdo it)
Signnow offers integrations with tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Zapier. You can automatically upload completed docs to a shared folder or trigger notifications.
Here’s what’s actually useful: - Auto-save to cloud storage: Keeps things organized. - Zapier for notifications: Get a Slack ping when a doc is signed.
Skip it if: - You need heavy, multi-step logic (like conditional routing, or syncing with weird legacy systems). That’s a job for a more robust workflow tool or custom scripting. Signnow is great for approvals, but it’s not Salesforce.
Common pitfalls to watch out for
- Over-engineering: The more steps and logic you add, the more things will break.
- Ignoring exceptions: Plan for “what if someone’s out?” or “what if a document is rejected?” Manual workarounds are fine for rare cases.
- Security shortcuts: Make sure only the right people have template access. Yes, people will try to send things to themselves “just to get it done.” Lock it down.
FAQs
Q: Can I do conditional approvals (like “skip step 2 if under $5,000”)?
A: Not really, not natively. You can build separate templates or use integrations, but for complex routing, Signnow isn’t the best fit.
Q: Is there an audit trail?
A: Yes—every action is logged, which is handy for audits.
Q: Can I bulk-send documents for approval?
A: You can send the same doc to multiple people, but bulk personalized workflows (like mail merge with approval routing) are clunky. For that, look at more specialized tools.
Final thoughts: Keep it simple, iterate as you go
Automating document approvals in Signnow isn’t rocket science, but it does take a bit of setup. Start with your most painful process, get it working, and build from there. Don’t get hung up on edge cases—solve for 90% of your needs, and handle the rest manually.
If your workflow is clear and you keep things as simple as possible, you’ll spend less time chasing signatures and more time on real finance work. That’s the point, right?