I am processing a:
- Administrator determines whether the contract is for revenue (i.e., the ESD will be receiving money - Accounts Receivable), for expense (i.e., the ESD will be paying money - Accounts Payable)*, or another purpose (e.g., amendment to existing contract, non-monetary contract, or a contract that was already signed outside DocuSign). There are different templates for different types of contracts, so it is important to begin with the correct template.
- *NOTE: If the contract is an expense with a school district (i.e., the ESD is paying a school district for services), use the corresponding template from the "School Districts AP Templates" folder.
- Administrator then completes the applicable contract template available in the ESD 123 Google Shared Drive under Forms > DocuSign > Contract Forms.
- NOTE: For all contract templates, download and open the contract templates in Word, not Google, to retain the correct editing format.
- Once contract is prepared and ready to upload to DocuSign for signature process, you or your department’s administrative assistant will need to log into your DocuSign account.
- In DocuSign, go to the Templates tab on the top toolbar.
- In the left side menu, click the dropdown arrow next to Shared Folders, then the dropdown arrow next to Departments/Programs.
- Click on your department’s folder (e.g., 21st CCLC, Teaching & Learning, etc.).
- Choose the template you will use.
- Some departments, such as Teaching and Learning, will have multiple templates to choose from based on who signs as the department administrator. Select the template you need based on who needs to sign the contract.
- OPTIONAL: Clicking the name of the template will open a preview of the signing order. You can proceed to Step 9 from this screen as well.
- Click the yellow Use button.
- Determine whether you are processing a revenue (AR) or an expense (AP) contract. If neither (non-monetary), proceed in Step 11 by replacing either document type.
- Under Add Documents at the top of the screen, click the three dots to the right of the contract type you are using (revenue/expense). In the menu that appears, select Replace.
- Replacing the contract template in this way will retain the signature overlay and pull in the correct revenue or expense codes from the ESD 123 contract template.
- Click the three dots to the right of the contract type you are NOT using (revenue/expense) and select Delete Document.
- Upload the contract document the administrator prepared in Steps 1-2.
- You may receive a “Change to Applied Template” pop-up notification. Click the Continue button to proceed.
- Review the signing order. Roles, names, and email addresses for each person in the ESD 123 signing order will display below.
- At this point, preparation will depend on whether the contract is with a school district or not.
- Go to the bottom of the signing order and add the non-school district contractor.
- Review the signing order for accuracy and completeness
- Under “Add envelope custom fields,” make sure you have the correct fiscal year selected for the contract. If creating a contract for a future fiscal year, click the dropdown menu under FiscalYear to select a different year.
- NOTE: The ESD 123 Fiscal Year is September 1 – August 31.
- Under “Add message,” manually replace the “(INSERT Service Title)” text with the contract title into the email subject, as well as the contractor & contact name as indicated below in the email message, or write a custom message if desired. The department and fiscal year will auto-populate in the email subject based on the dropdown menus under “Add envelope custom fields”.
- Once the contract is uploaded and all steps above are complete, click the purple Next button on the bottom right.
- In the contract window that opens, check the signature fields on the contract form. You may need to adjust the placement of the DocuSign fields to align with the uploaded contract.
- Add a place for the contractor’s signature to the contract:
- Click the signing order dropdown in the top left (it will default to displaying the name of the first person in the signing order).
- Click on the contractor's name you added in Step 13.
- Drag and drop the signature and date onto the corresponding signature space from the left-hand sidebar. Text will be placed with the markers as center.
- Select the expense or revenue account code associate with the contract from the drop-down field. Be sure to also select the object code and fiscal year from the separate drop-down fields as well.
- NOTE: The fields for the contractor’s name & title, contract associated account codes information, grant information, and tax information for contractor (if non-school district contractor) are able to be edited by any person in the signing order. If you add a text field for any reason, be sure to update the "Collaboration" settings to allow editing.
- Double-check your work before continuing. The ESD only has a limited number of contract envelopes available per year, making it critical that we minimize the need for amended contracts.
- Once the form is complete and reviewed for accuracy, click the purple Send button to push it out for signatures.
- Enter the contract details in the 2023-2024 Contract Tracking Spreadsheet or 2024-2025 Contract Tracking Spreadsheet in your department's tab to support agency tracking of contracts. The yellow headers indicate fields required for inclusion in the board packet. Any other fields are optional.
- School districts have specific signing orders which have been verified by each school district. To add that school district signing order:
- Under “Add documents,” click the yellow Upload button and select “Use a template” from the dropdown menu.
- In the template selection window, click the dropdown arrow next to Shared Folders > Contracts and click on School District Templates May 2023.
- Click the checkbox next to the school district the contract is with and click the yellow Add Selected button below. You will then see the contract templates added as documents and the district signing order added below.
- Click the three dots to the right of the contract type you are NOT using (revenue/expense) and select Delete Document. You should then have two documents: the completed contract from your administrator and a draft contract of the same type.
- Review the signing order for accuracy, completeness, and duplicates. The department assistant will now be below the superintendent but before the school district in the signing order. To ensure you receive a copy of the finalized contract, edit the signing order to place you as the final review step by either:
- Dragging or re-numbering your step to be the final step in the order, or
- Deleting your step and adding a new step for yourself to the end.
- If there are any additional individuals involved in the contract development process who need to receive a copy, you may add those individuals by going to “Add a Recipient,” assign them to “Receive a Copy” and place them at the end of the Recipient List.
- Under “Add envelope custom fields,” make sure you have the correct fiscal year selected for the contract. If creating a contract for a future fiscal year, click the dropdown menu under FiscalYear to select a different year.
- NOTE: The ESD 123 Fiscal Year is September 1 – August 31.
- Under “Add message,” manually replace the “(INSERT Service Title)” text with the contract title into the email subject, as well as the district/contractor and contact name as indicated below in the email message, or write a custom message if desired. The department and fiscal year will auto-populate in the email subject based on the dropdown menus under “Add envelope custom fields”.
- Once the contract is uploaded and all steps above are complete, click the purple next button.
- In the contract window that opens, you will have two copies of the contract template; the first is the filled out contract with ESD 123 signing fields overlaid and the second will be a blank template with school district signing fields.
- In the first contract, adjust the placement of the ESD 123 DocuSign fields depending on the content of the contract document.
- Tip: You can select multiple fields by holding down your mouse button and dragging the box that appears over the fields you want to select.
- Copy the district signature fields from the second blank contract and paste them on the first contract:
- Select and copy the district signature fields on the second blank contract.
- Go back to the first contract page with the full contract information and paste the district signature fields onto the contract template alongside the ESD signature fields. Adjust as needed.
- Delete the empty textboxes under Name / Title / Tax information as they are not needed for district contracts.
- Delete the now empty contract pages by clicking Actions > Edit Document, or by clicking the trash can icon at the bottom of the page previews in the right sidebar.
- Select the expense or revenue account code associate with the contract from the drop-down field. Be sure to also select the object code and fiscal year from the separate drop-down fields as well.
- NOTE: The account code information and grant information fields below the ESD 123 superintendent signature space are able to be edited by any person in the signing order. If you add a text field for any reason, be sure to update the "Collaboration" settings to allow editing.
- Double-check your work before continuing. The ESD only has a limited number of contract envelopes available per year, making it critical that we minimize the need for amended contracts.
- Once the form is complete and reviewed for accuracy, click the purple Send button to push it out for signatures.
- Enter the contract details in the 2023-2024 Contract Tracking Spreadsheet or 2024-2025 Contract Tracking Spreadsheet in your department's tab to support agency tracking of contracts. The yellow headers indicate fields required for inclusion in the board packet. Any other fields are optional.
To submit an amendment to a previously fully executed (completed, approved, and signed by all parties) contract, the administrator will need to complete an amendment contract from the template available in the ESD 123 Google Shared Drive. The contract will then be processed in DocuSign as a new, separate envelope following the same steps above, including adding the amendment to the 2023-2024 Contract Tracking Spreadsheet or 2024-2025 Contract Tracking Spreadsheet either in a new line or as a clearly marked update to the previous contract line.
When customizing the message for signers (step 19 for non-school districts or step 18 for school districts), be sure to specify that the contract is an amendment.
NOTE: It is required to upload a copy of the previous contract for reference along with the amendment. This helps provide context for staff not familiar with the contract and for future reference.
If a contract has been submitted with a mistake and has been
initialed or signed by anyone in the signing order, even if it’s just one person, submit a new contract envelope beginning with step 1 above and void the contract with the mistake.
To void a contract:
- Find the contract in the sent folder (in the Manage tab, select ESD 123 Contracts from the drop-down menu at the top and click on Sent)
- Click the down arrow next to the button to the right and click the Void option.
- In the window that opens, you will need to confirm you are voiding the contract and enter a message explaining why the contract is void. IMPORTANT: This message is what goes out to all signers to notify them of the contract being voided. Be sure you are clear and professional in your message.
If you are submitting a renewal of a contract previously submitted through DocuSign, you can create a copy of the previous contract if the signing order is the same.
To copy a previous contract:
- Find the contract in the sent folder (in the Manage tab, select ESD 123 Contracts from the drop-down menu at the top and click on Sent)
- Click the down arrow next to the button to the right of the contract you're renewing and select Copy with Field Data.
- In the copy created, be sure to replace the contract document(s) under Add Documents with the updated versions update the year and update the fiscal year and the messages (following steps 11-21 above as applicable).
For contracts that have been fully executed (completed, approved, and signed by all parties) anywhere other than the ESD 123 DocuSign account, please upload them into DocuSign for archiving purposes. To do this:
- In steps 1-2, complete the "Fully Executed Contract" template to provide basic information for the fiscal department.
- Following steps 3-13, upload the template and a copy of the fully executed contract.
- Note: in step 11, rather than replacing one of the existing contract templates in DocuSign, you may upload the contract as an additional document using the yellow Upload button instead.
- Once uploaded, review the signing order and delete any parties who have already seen the contract and do not need to review it. In many cases, this will involve deleting all signers aside from yourself and fiscal staff to receive copies.
- Review the “Add envelope custom fields” and "Add message" sections as described in steps 17-19 above.
- When finished, click Next.
- Remove any unneeded signature fields from the contract.
- Double-check your work before clicking the purple Send button to distribute it.
- Enter the contract details in the 2023-2024 Contract Tracking Spreadsheet or 2024-2025 Contract Tracking Spreadsheet in your department's tab to support agency tracking of contracts. The yellow headers indicate fields required for inclusion in the board packet. Any other fields are optional.