If you’ve ever had to send out the same contract or agreement to a pile of people for signatures—employees, clients, vendors—you know how tedious and error-prone it can get. Doing it one by one isn’t just soul-crushing. It’s a great way to lose track of who’s signed, who hasn’t, and which version went to whom. This guide is for anyone who wants to use Adobesign to send documents for signature in bulk, whether you’re wrangling HR paperwork, onboarding new hires, or just sick of chasing down signatures.
Here’s how to do it, what actually matters, and a few things to skip.
What “Bulk Send” Actually Means in Adobesign
Adobesign’s “Mega Sign” (sometimes just called bulk send) feature lets you send the same document to a whole list of recipients, each getting their own unique copy to sign. They don’t see each other’s info, and you get a neat dashboard showing who’s done and who’s dragging their feet.
A few things this isn’t: - It’s not for sending different documents to different people in one go. - It’s not for group signing (where multiple people need to sign the same copy). - It’s not magic—setup takes a little work, but it does save tons of time after the first go.
Step 1: Check If You Have the Right Adobesign Plan
Bulk send isn’t available on all Adobesign plans. It’s usually included in Business and Enterprise licenses, but not in the basic Individual tier.
What to do: - Log in, poke around for “Mega Sign” or “Bulk Send” in your dashboard. - If you don’t see it, check with whoever manages your Adobesign account or look at the product comparison chart. - If you’re on the Individual plan, you’re out of luck—no easy workaround besides upgrading.
Pro Tip:
Don’t waste time looking for hidden settings. If you don’t see “Mega Sign” or “Bulk Send,” it’s not there.
Step 2: Prep Your Document (Template Is Best)
You can bulk send just about any PDF or document, but templates make life easier—especially if you’re doing this more than once.
Why templates? - You define where people sign, fill in dates, names, and other fields just once. - Less room for user error.
How to set up a template: 1. Go to “Templates” in Adobesign. 2. Click “Create Template.” 3. Upload your document (PDF, Word, whatever). 4. Drag and drop the signature, initials, date fields, etc., onto the document exactly where you want them. 5. Save the template with a clear name (e.g., “2024 NDA”).
If you’re only sending once and can’t be bothered with templates, you can upload a one-off document. But you’ll have to set up signature fields each time.
What matters:
Double-check your fields. If you forget a signature box, you’ll have to resend to everyone.
Step 3: Prepare Your Recipient List (CSV Required)
Adobesign wants a CSV file with your list of recipients. Each row should have the info for one signer: email, name, maybe a custom field or two if your document needs it.
The bare minimum: - Email address (required) - Name (recommended, especially if your doc says “Dear [Name]”)
How to set it up:
1. Open Excel or Google Sheets.
2. First row = headers: email, name, [other fields]
3. Fill in your list.
4. Save as CSV.
Custom fields:
If you want each recipient’s doc to say something unique (e.g., their start date, salary, or title), add those as columns to your CSV. Make sure your template has matching fields with the same names.
Watch out:
- Clean your data! Typos in emails mean the doc won’t get delivered.
- No shared or group emails. Each recipient has to be unique.
Step 4: Start the Bulk Send (a.k.a. Mega Sign) Workflow
Here’s how to launch the bulk send:
- Go to “Mega Sign” or “Bulk Send” in Adobesign.
- Choose your template or upload your one-off document.
- Upload your CSV recipient list.
- Map the fields from your CSV to the fields in your document (Adobesign usually prompts you).
- Set your email message—keep it short and clear. (“Please sign this by Friday.”)
- Hit send.
Optional settings: - Set a signing deadline. - Add reminders (helpful if people “forget”). - Enable password protection if it’s sensitive.
What works well:
Adobesign queues up everything and sends it out fast. You’ll get a dashboard to track who’s signed and who hasn’t.
What doesn’t:
- There’s no “undo send” if you realize you made a mistake. Triple-check before you hit go.
- If someone can’t find their email, have them check spam or junk folders.
Step 5: Tracking, Nudging, and Handling Stragglers
After sending, Adobesign gives you a dashboard for tracking:
- See at a glance who’s signed, who hasn’t, and whose invites bounced.
- You can resend to individuals with one click.
- Download a full report if you want to chase people outside the system.
Pro Tips: - Use automatic reminders, but don’t overdo it. Once a day is plenty. - If someone didn’t get the email, make sure their address is right in your CSV. - If someone refuses to e-sign, you’ll have to handle it outside Adobesign. There’s no “force sign” button (for obvious reasons).
Step 6: Downloading and Storing Signed Copies
Once folks start signing:
- You get notified as each one comes in.
- You can download individual signed PDFs or batch download all of them.
- Adobesign keeps the originals in your account, but don’t rely on it as your only archive.
Advice:
Download and back up your signed docs somewhere else—cloud drive, file server, whatever you trust. Never assume a SaaS tool is your permanent archive.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Wrong fields in your template: Double-check before sending. A missing signature field means resending to everyone.
- Bad email addresses: Garbage in, garbage out. Preview your CSV.
- Over-customizing: Don’t try to make each document wildly different—bulk send is for mostly identical docs.
- Trying to send different docs at once: Not supported. You’ll need to do separate bulk sends.
- Ignoring plan limits: Some plans limit how many recipients you can bulk send to at once. Check yours.
What to Ignore
- Fancy branding and logo uploads. They’re nice, but nobody cares as much as you do.
- Overly complex workflows. Don’t try to automate every edge case—just get the main flow working.
- Scanning signed docs—Adobesign’s e-signatures are legally binding in most places, and far easier to track and store than paper.
Honest Pros and Cons
What works: - Saves hours compared to manual sending. - Tracks everything in one place. - Handles reminders for you.
What doesn’t: - Not great if you need custom, per-person documents. - Occasional glitches with email delivery—check with recipients if you’re not getting responses. - CSV setup can be fussy the first time.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate as Needed
Bulk sending with Adobesign can feel intimidating the first time, but once you get your template and CSV dialed in, it’s a huge time-saver. Don’t try to make it perfect from day one. Start with a small batch, see what works, and tweak from there. Most of the pain is in the setup; after that, it’s smooth sailing.
If in doubt, keep your process simple. The goal isn’t to impress anyone with a fancy workflow—it’s to get signatures back, fast, with fewer headaches.