SignAndGoCopying people in: keeping others informed without asking them to sign.
Not everyone involved in a document needs to sign it. The bookkeeper wants the finished agreement, the other partner wants to know a deal closed, and a client's adviser wants a copy for their file. Copying them in is how you handle that without adding steps to the signing.
Signer, approver or copied in?
Each person you add to an envelope plays one of a few parts, and choosing the right one keeps the envelope moving.
- A signer fills in fields and signs. The envelope is not finished until they do.
- An approver reviews the document before anyone signs, or after everyone has, and the envelope waits for them.
- A person copied in has no fields and holds nothing up. They receive the finished document.
Who people usually copy in
In practice the copied-in list tends to be the people who act on a document once it is done. A builder copies in the site manager on a subcontract. An employer copies in payroll on an employment agreement. An accountant copies in the client's solicitor or broker when a set of company documents is signed.
It is also a tidy way to keep a shared inbox in the loop, such as an accounts or HR address, so the record does not depend on one person's email.
Why not just forward it afterwards?
Forwarding works until someone forgets. When the people who need the finished document are on the envelope from the start, they get it at the same moment as the signers, with the completion certificate, and nobody has to remember to pass it on.
It also means the envelope itself shows who was meant to receive it, which is useful months later when someone asks whether the insurer ever got a copy. That answer then comes from the envelope rather than from someone searching their sent items.
Copying in on templates
If the same person or inbox is copied on every envelope of a kind, build that into the template. When you start a new envelope from it, the copied-in recipient is already there, and you only add the signers for this particular deal.
A word on who should get what
A finished document can carry personal details, such as a bank account or an IRD number on an onboarding pack. Copy in the people who need the document to do their job and leave everyone else off. It is easier to add someone to the next envelope than to recall a copy that has already gone out.
Common questions
- Does a copied-in person have to do anything?
- No. They have no fields and the envelope never waits for them.
- Can I copy in more than one person?
- Yes. Add as many as you need, alongside your signers and approvers.
- Can I copy someone in on a review-only envelope?
- Yes. Copied-in people receive the finished envelope whether it was sent for signing or for review only.
- What do they receive?
- The finished document once everyone has signed, the same as the signers.