If you’re tired of chasing people to sign documents, you’re not alone. Forgetting, ignoring, or losing track of signature requests happens all the time. This guide is for anyone who uses digital signatures—whether you’re in HR, sales, legal, or just need a buddy to sign a waiver—and wants to automate those annoying reminder emails using Signrequest.
No more awkward follow-ups or wondering if your document is lost in someone’s inbox. Here’s how to get those reminders working for you, step by step, plus a few real-world tips on what to expect.
Why Automated Reminders Matter (and What to Watch Out For)
Automated reminders sound like a small thing, but they can make or break your document workflow. People are busy, and unsigned docs can stall projects or deals for days. Automating the nagging means less work for you, and a smoother ride for everyone else.
But here’s the truth: reminders aren’t magic. If someone’s ignoring you, no number of emails will force them to act. Use reminders to cut down on honest mistakes, not as a cure-all for flakiness.
Step 1: Make Sure You’re Using the Right Signrequest Plan
Before you start, check your plan. Automated reminders are available on most paid Signrequest ([signrequest.html]) plans. If you’re on the free plan, you’re out of luck—you only get manual reminders.
How to check your plan: - Log into your Signrequest account. - Click your profile icon in the top-right. - Select “Subscription” or “Billing.” - Look for “Professional,” “Business,” or “API” level. Free plans are usually labeled as such.
If you’re not on a paid plan and you send a lot of documents, the reminder feature alone might be worth the upgrade.
Pro Tip: If you only send documents occasionally, you can always send manual reminders (more on that later), but it’s tedious.
Step 2: Upload or Prepare Your Document
Once your plan is sorted, get your document ready: - Click “New Signrequest” in your dashboard. - Upload your file (PDF, Word, etc.). - Add signers and set the signing order if needed.
Take a moment here to double-check signer details. Mistyped emails = reminders going into the void.
Step 3: Find the Reminder Settings
Signrequest tries to keep things simple, but the reminder options aren’t always obvious—especially if you’re coming from other tools.
Here’s where to find them: 1. On the document setup screen, after you’ve uploaded your file and added signers, scroll down to the “Options” section. 2. Look for a checkbox or toggle labeled “Send automatic reminders” or something similar. (The wording does change from time to time, but it’s usually obvious.) 3. Enable this option.
Heads up: On some plans, you can’t customize how often reminders go out—they’re set by Signrequest (often every 5 days, up to 3 times). Some higher-tier plans let you tweak the frequency, but most users just get the default.
Step 4: Set Other Important Options
While you’re in the Options section, don’t ignore these settings: - Expiration Date: If your document has a deadline, set it. Signrequest will stop sending reminders once the doc expires. - Message to Signers: Write a clear, short note. If people feel the document is important and know what it’s for, they’re more likely to sign. - Signing Order: If you want signers to go one after the other, this ensures reminders only go to the current signer.
What to skip: Don’t overthink the extra settings like branding or advanced notifications unless you’re in a big company. They don’t impact reminders.
Step 5: Send Your Signrequest
Once you’ve double-checked everything, hit “Send.” Signrequest will email your signers with a link to sign.
With automated reminders enabled, Signrequest will handle the follow-ups: - If a signer hasn’t signed after the initial invite, they’ll get a reminder email. - The timing is usually every 5 days, but check your plan’s specifics. - Reminders stop after the signer acts, or after the document expires.
You can always check the status in your dashboard: Go to “My Documents,” and you’ll see who’s signed, who hasn’t, and when reminders were last sent.
Step 6: Managing and Sending Manual Reminders (If Needed)
Sometimes, you’ll want to nudge someone outside of the automated schedule—maybe the document is urgent, or you want to add a personal touch.
Here’s how to send a manual reminder: 1. Go to your Signrequest dashboard. 2. Find the document in question. 3. Click the three-dot menu or “More” button next to the document. 4. Choose “Send reminder.”
You can add a custom message, which often works better than yet another automated email.
Pro Tip: If someone complains about too many reminders, you can pause or cancel them by canceling the request or adjusting your settings.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Automated reminders save time and reduce human error. - They’re reliable—no more “I forgot to follow up” moments. - For most people, 2–3 reminders are enough.
What doesn’t: - Over-reminding. If signers get bombarded, they’ll start ignoring you (or worse, mark your emails as spam). - Vague subject lines or unclear documents. People avoid signing things they don’t understand. - Relying on reminders for truly reluctant signers. Sometimes, a phone call is faster.
What to ignore: - Fancy integrations or automations unless you’re sending hundreds of documents a month. - Over-customizing reminder frequency. The defaults work fine for 99% of users.
Troubleshooting: When Reminders Aren’t Working
If reminders aren’t going out as expected, check these first: - Wrong plan: Automated reminders aren’t enabled on free plans. - Document expired: No reminders are sent after the expiration date. - Email issues: Sometimes recipient spam filters eat the emails. Ask your signer to check spam/junk. - Signrequest status page: Rarely, there are outages or delays. Check their status page if you suspect a bug.
If it’s still not working, contact Signrequest support. But honestly, most issues are user error—double-check your settings before blaming the tool.
Real-World Tips
- Short, clear subject lines: “Please sign: [Document Name]” works better than “Important Document Signature Request.”
- One signer at a time: If you really need things in order, use signing order. Otherwise, send to everyone at once to speed things up.
- Human touch: If someone’s dragging their feet, a quick call or Slack message usually does the trick.
Keep It Simple (and Iterate)
Automated reminders in Signrequest are meant to make your life easier, not more complicated. Set up the basics, let the system do the nagging, and only tweak things if you really need to. If you’re still chasing signatures, don’t be afraid to try a different approach—or remind people the old-fashioned way.
You don’t need to automate everything perfectly on day one. Start simple. See what works. Adjust as you go. Less hassle, more signatures—that’s the goal.