If you're tired of chasing signatures and wondering if your proposals are stuck in limbo, you're not alone. Sales teams, account managers, and business owners all face the same headache: getting deals signed and sealed, without endless follow-ups or confusion. This guide breaks down how to use Proposify to send, track, and manage electronic signatures—so you can close deals faster and actually know what's happening after you hit "send."
Whether you're new to e-signatures or just want to get more out of Proposify, here's the real-world playbook. No fluff. Just what works, what doesn't, and how to keep things moving.
Why bother with electronic signatures?
If you’re still sending PDFs and crossing your fingers, you’re leaving money (and time) on the table. Electronic signatures mean:
- No printing, scanning, or mailing. Clients sign from anywhere.
- Built-in tracking. Know exactly who’s opened, viewed, and signed.
- Fewer delays. The process is smoother for everyone.
- Legally binding. You get an audit trail in case things ever get messy.
But, not all e-signature workflows are equal. Some are clunky, confusing, or easy to ignore. Proposify’s approach is decent—but only if you set it up right and actually pay attention to the tracking.
Step 1: Set up your Proposify account for e-signatures
Before you can send anything, make sure you’ve got the basics sorted. Here’s what matters:
- Get the right plan. Not all Proposify plans include e-signatures. Double-check you’re not on a limited plan (and don’t assume you have unlimited docs or users).
- Set up your branding. Clients are more likely to trust and sign a proposal that looks legit. Add your logo, company info, and tweak the theme so it looks like you—not just a generic template.
- Add your team. If you’re not the only one sending proposals, add other users and set their permissions. You don’t want someone accidentally sending out last year’s prices.
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate your templates. Start with one or two solid templates, then improve them as you go. It’s easy to get bogged down making “the perfect document” and never actually send anything.
Step 2: Build a proposal your client will actually sign
Nobody wants to read a wall of text or search for the signature box. Make your proposal easy to review and even easier to sign.
- Keep it clear. Use simple language. Spell out pricing, terms, and key deliverables. If you’re vague, clients hesitate to sign.
- Use variables or tokens for personalization. Proposify lets you drop in things like the client’s name, project, or pricing automatically. This cuts down on mistakes and makes you look organized.
- Drag in signature fields. In the proposal editor, add signature and date fields for each signer. You can assign them to specific people (including yourself, if you’re counter-signing).
- Assign signers. Make sure you actually pick who needs to sign. If you forget someone, you’ll have to resend (and look sloppy).
- Test it yourself. Send a proposal to your own email first. Make sure everything’s where it should be and the signature workflow isn’t confusing.
What to ignore: Don’t try to cram every possible document into Proposify. Use it for proposals and agreements—keep NDAs, HR forms, or invoices somewhere else. It’s a proposal tool, not a file cabinet.
Step 3: Send the proposal (and set yourself up for tracking)
When your proposal is ready, you’ve got a few choices. You can send it directly from Proposify or generate a link to share yourself. Here’s what actually works:
- Email from Proposify. This gives you the best tracking. You’ll see when it’s opened, viewed, and signed.
- Custom message. Skip the default email template. Write a quick, personal note—clients are more likely to open (and trust) something that sounds like you.
- Reminders. You can set up automated reminders for unsigned proposals. Use them, but don’t rely on them. A personal nudge still works best if things are stalling.
- Expiration dates. If you want to create urgency, you can set your proposal to expire after a certain date. But don’t overdo it—artificial deadlines can annoy savvy clients.
Pro tip: If you need multiple signatures (say, two people at your client’s company), make sure everyone’s assigned before you send. Missing someone means starting over, and nobody likes extra admin.
Step 4: Track signatures and activity in real time
This is where Proposify shines compared to old-school methods. Once your proposal is out in the wild, you can actually see what’s happening.
- View notifications. You’ll get alerts when someone opens, views, signs, or even comments on your proposal.
- Activity feed. Inside Proposify, you can see a timeline of who did what and when. This is gold when you’re following up (“Hey, I saw you checked out the pricing page yesterday—any questions?”).
- Signature status. You’ll see at a glance who’s signed and who hasn’t. No more awkward “Did you get my email?” follow-ups.
- Download signed PDFs. Once everyone’s signed, you can download the final document with audit trails intact. This is what you’ll need for your records.
What doesn’t work: Don’t obsess over “viewed” notifications. Just because someone opened your proposal doesn’t mean they actually read it or are ready to sign. Use tracking as a guide, not gospel.
Step 5: Follow up (without being annoying)
Tracking is only useful if you act on it. Here’s how to nudge things along without coming across as desperate.
- Timely, personal follow-ups. If someone’s opened but hasn’t signed after a day or two, send a quick, non-pushy check-in.
- Answer questions fast. Proposify lets clients comment or ask questions directly in the proposal. Respond quickly—sometimes the only thing holding up a signature is a small clarification.
- Automate wisely. Use Proposify’s reminder features, but don’t rely on automation alone. People can spot a canned message a mile away.
What to ignore: Don’t bombard clients with daily reminders. You’ll just end up in spam folders or, worse, lose the deal.
Step 6: Store and manage signed proposals
Once the deal’s signed, don’t let the paperwork disappear into the void.
- Centralized storage. Proposify keeps all your signed proposals in one place, searchable and organized. No more digging through email threads.
- Audit trails. Every signed document has a record of who signed, when, and from what IP address. This is your safety net if there’s ever a dispute.
- Integrations. Proposify can push signed deals to tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Slack. This can save you some admin time, but don’t expect magic—sometimes you’ll still need to update things manually.
- Download backups. For important deals, download a PDF copy and keep it somewhere safe. Cloud tools are great, but things can and do go wrong.
Pro tip: Don’t delete old proposals, even if the deal fell through. Sometimes clients come back months later—and having the old paperwork handy can save a ton of time.
What Proposify gets right—and where it falls short
What works: - Clean, easy-to-use interface for sending and tracking proposals. - Solid e-signature workflow (legally binding, with audit trails). - Real-time notifications and activity tracking.
What’s just OK: - Reminders and automation are useful, but generic. Personal follow-ups still work better. - Integrations are hit-or-miss. Test them before you rely on them. - Customization is good, but you can’t change every little thing. If you need pixel-perfect branding, you may get frustrated.
What to ignore or work around: - Don’t expect Proposify to replace your CRM or project management tool. It’s great for proposals, but not for everything else. - If you need highly complex contract logic or advanced e-signature workflows (like witness fields, notarization, etc.), you’ll need a more specialized tool.
Keep it simple, iterate as you go
You don’t need a 20-page proposal or a complex e-signature process to close more deals. In fact, the simpler your workflow, the faster you’ll get signatures (and the fewer mistakes you’ll make). Set up Proposify, send your first proposal, and see what works. Tweak your templates and follow-up process as you learn. Most importantly: don’t wait for perfect. Get something out the door, and improve from there.
If you hit a snag, remember—your goal isn’t “perfect automation.” It’s just to spend less time chasing signatures and more time closing deals.