Sending Agreements for E-Signature

Overview

Merchant Central's integration with Adobe E-Sign enables you to send documents, such as merchant processing agreements, equipment leases, and other forms, directly from a lead page for electronic signature.

You can send individual documents, combine multiple PDFs into a single E-Sign document, or create reusable E-Signature bundles for document combinations you send frequently.

Once the signing process is complete, copies of the signed documents are automatically emailed to the signers and saved to the associated lead record for future reference.

Key features and benefits include:

• Automated Document Creation: Information from the lead page is automatically populated into E-Signature documents using configured field mappings, reducing manual data entry.
• Combined PDF Documents: Merge multiple documents into a single E-Signature envelope so merchants can complete them in one signing session.
• Reusable E-Signature Bundles: Create predefined combinations of frequently used documents to simplify future E-Signature requests.
• Multi-Signer Support: Collect signatures from multiple individuals using a sequential signing process.
• Document Uploads: Allow merchants to upload supporting documents, such as driver's licenses or bank letters, when attachment uploads are enabled.
• Data Import: Transfer information entered during signing back to mapped lead fields. For combined documents, only data from the first PDF form is written back to the lead. Changes to pre-filled information may require review before import.
• Document Tracking and Notifications: Monitor document statuses and receive notifications when recipients open, view, edit, or complete E-Signature documents.
• Document Storage and Audit Trails: Access completed documents and signing audit trails directly from the lead record.

Prerequisites

Before sending an E-Signature document, ensure that:

• The Adobe E-Sign integration is enabled for your Merchant Central site.
• The document has been saved as an E-Signature application in Merchant Central.
• The document's PDF form fields have been mapped to the appropriate lead fields.

For instructions on preparing and mapping documents, see our guide on How to Upload, Configure, and Map E-Signature Documents in Merchant Central.

If you plan to combine multiple documents, ensure that each PDF form uses unique field names to prevent unintended data synchronization and import errors. See the Understanding Duplicate Fields in E-Signature Bundles section below.

Navigating to E-Signature Documents

E-Signature documents can be generated from an individual lead record.

1. Open the lead you want to send documents from.
2. Click the E-Sign tab on the lead page.
3. Select an individual E-Signature application or a predefined bundle from the dropdown menu, or click Select to choose and send multiple E-Sign documents.
   

How Does E-Signature Work?

Merchant Central uses the Adobe E-Sign integration to generate documents using information stored on the lead.

When a document is generated, mapped lead data is automatically populated into the corresponding PDF form fields.

The sender can then generate an email containing a link to the E-Signature page, where the recipient can review the document, complete required fields, and sign electronically.

For documents requiring multiple signatures, Merchant Central manages the signing sequence and notifies each signer when it is their turn.

Once all required signatures are collected, the completed document is saved to the lead and emailed to the signers.

For combined documents, Merchant Central can also store the individual signed and unsigned PDFs that make up the combined document.

Enabling the Adobe E-Sign Integration

To enable Adobe E-Sign integration on your site, contact Merchant Central support and request activation of your Adobe OAuth token.

The token can be activated by navigating to Manage → E-Signature → Manage E-Signature Settings → Configuration → Activate OAuth Token and following the on-screen instructions.

How to Send an Individual E-Signature Document

To send an individual document for electronic signature, follow these steps:

1. Open the E-Sign tab on the lead page, select the desired E-Signature document, and click Generate Document.

   

2. A popup window appears, allowing you to edit the recipient's name and email address.
   • By default, the recipient's name and email address are pulled from the email special field and its associated contact name field.
   • If the document supports multiple signers, click Add Signer to include additional recipients. Otherwise, this button is disabled.
     

3. Click Preview Email to generate and review the E-Signature email. A new email launches containing a link to Adobe's E-Signature page, which you can then send to the recipient.

   

The newly generated document now appears under the E-Sign tab with a Generated status. From the Actions column, you can:

• Resend the email.
• Download the PDF.
• Archive or disable the document.
• Preview the document on the E-Signature page.
  

How the Recipient Completes an E-Signature Document

When the recipient opens the E-Signature link, they see a pre-filled document containing information from the lead, based on the configured field mappings.

The recipient can then complete and sign the document by following these steps:

1. Review the pre-filled information and make any necessary changes to editable fields.
2. Complete any required fields before submitting the document.
3. Use the Next button on the left side of the page to navigate between editable fields.
4. Use the Next Required button in the top-right corner to navigate between required fields.

5. Click a signature field to open the signature popup and enter a signature.

   

6. Once all required fields are completed, use the Click to Sign button at the bottom of the page to finalize the document.

   

Changes made to the document are saved automatically, allowing recipients to return and complete the form later if needed.

How to View Completed E-Signature Documents

After the document has been signed and submitted:

• A copy of the completed document is emailed to the recipient.

• The document is saved on the E-Sign tab with a Signed status.

  

• The signed document is stored in the lead's Attachments tab along with the original unsigned version.

  

To view the IP addresses of the sender and signer, hover over the signed document icon on the E-Sign tab.

Completed E-Signature documents automatically include an audit trail page appended to the end.

How to Combine Multiple E-Signature Documents

Merchant Central allows you to combine multiple PDF documents into a single E-Signature envelope.

This reduces the number of emails and signing links recipients receive. All selected documents can be reviewed and signed within one E-Sign session.

There are two methods for combining documents:

• Method 1: Pick documents when sending. Select and combine documents directly from the lead's E-Sign tab.
• Method 2: Pre-build E-Signature bundles. Create reusable combinations of documents from the Import PDFs page.

Method 1: Pick Documents When Sending

Use this method when you want to select and combine documents for a specific lead.

1. Open the E-Sign tab on the lead page, and click Select next to Send Multiple E-Sign Documents.

   

2. A popup window appears. Select the documents you want to combine into one E-Signature envelope.

   

3. Arrange the documents in the order you want them to appear by dragging them up or down in the list.

   

4. Review which document is designated as the primary document. The first document in the list is the primary document and is marked with a yellow star.

   

5. After selecting the documents and confirming their order, click Generate & Preview Email.

   

6. In the next window, review the recipient information, add additional signers (optional), and click Preview Email.

   

7. A new email containing the signing instructions and E-Signature link opens. Review and send the email to your contact.

The remaining signing process works the same way as sending an individual E-Signature document.

Once the combined document has been signed, it is saved on the lead's E-Sign tab.

How Combined Documents Are Stored

After a combined E-Signature document has been completed, the lead's Attachments tab shows the combined document as well as the individual PDFs included in it.

For example, if you combine an MPA and an Equipment Lease, the Attachments tab will contain:

1. The signed combined E-Signature document.
2. The signed individual PDF documents.
3. The unsigned individual PDF documents.
   

Method 2: Use Pre-Built E-Signature Bundles

Frequently used combinations of E-Signature documents can be grouped into E-Signature bundles.

Bundles eliminate the need to select the same individual documents each time you send an E-Signature request.

Bundles are created from the E-Signature Import PDFs page. For complete setup instructions, see Creating an E-Signature Bundle.

Once configured, bundles appear at the top of the E-Sign selection dropdown, above the individual E-Signature applications.

Each bundle is marked with a bundle tag for easy identification.

E-Signature bundles also support the option to generate an individual audit trail for each document within the bundle.

Understanding Duplicate Fields in E-Signature Bundles

When multiple PDF forms are combined into a single E-Signature envelope, each form is automatically populated with lead data based on its configured field mappings.

Once the signer completes and submits the bundle, data entered during signing is written back to the mapped lead fields. However, only data from the first PDF form in the bundle is written back to the lead.

The remaining forms retain their field data in the completed PDFs, but information from those forms is not written back to the lead.

The Problem: Duplicate Field Names Across Forms

Issues can occur when multiple PDF forms contain fields with identical names.

For example, if three separate PDF forms each contain a field named ContactName, Adobe Acrobat treats these fields as a single shared field when the forms are merged.

This can cause two problems:

1. Unintended Data Synchronization

   If a signer edits the ContactName field in one form, the matching fields in the other forms and pages may automatically update to the same value.

2. Identical Field Names Mapped to Different Lead Fields

   In some configurations, fields with the same PDF field name are mapped to different lead fields.

   For example:

   • ContactName on PDF Form 1 maps to Business Contact.
   • ContactName on PDF Form 2 maps to Owner Name.
   • ContactName on PDF Form 3 maps to Control Officer.

   In this scenario, Acrobat's merging logic imports only the ContactName value from PDF Form 1 and saves that same value to all three mapped lead fields.

   This can result in incorrect CRM information, even though the signed PDF documents may still display the correct individual values within each form.

The Solution: Use Unique Field Names

To prevent these issues, ensure that each PDF form uses unique field names when configuring documents for E-Signature.

A recommended approach is to prefix each field name with the ID of its related E-Signature application or form.

For example:

App123_ContactName
App123_Address
App123_Email

Each application's fields should use its own unique prefix so that names remain distinct across combined PDFs.

This prevents unintended data sharing between forms and reduces the risk of incorrect information being imported into lead fields.

Duplicate Field Warning

When a user generates an E-Signature bundle containing multiple PDF forms, Merchant Central checks for duplicate field names.

If duplicates are detected, a warning message appears.

You can click Okay to dismiss the warning and continue generating the bundle.

However, proceeding without resolving duplicate field names may cause information to be imported incorrectly from the signed document back into the lead.

Multiple Signers Scenario

When an E-Signature document is sent to multiple signers, each individual must complete their assigned signature before the document can be finalized.

While additional signatures are outstanding, the document appears with a Pending status under the E-Sign tab.

Merchant Central automatically determines the maximum number of required signers based on the signature fields assigned to each participant.

For more information, see Adobe Signer Fields.

Once the document is initially sent, only the first designated signer can access and sign their assigned fields.

After the first signer completes their portion, the system automatically notifies the next signer.

This process continues until all required signatures are collected.

In multi-signer workflows:

• All required fields not assigned to a specific signer must be completed by the first signer.
• Optional fields left blank by the first signer can be completed by the next signer.
• Fields completed by a previous signer are locked for subsequent signers.

After the final signature is added and the document is submitted, the completed copy is emailed to all signers and saved to the associated lead record.

E-Signature Notifications

While an E-Signature document is in progress, Merchant Central automatically sends notifications for key events.

• Email Opened: When the recipient opens the E-Signature email, the sales representative receives a popup notification if link tracking is enabled on the email template used.
• E-Sign Link Clicked: When the recipient clicks the E-Signature link, the sales representative receives an email notification that the document is being viewed.
• Document Completed: Once all required fields are completed and the document is signed, the sender and recipient receive an email containing a PDF copy of the completed agreement.
• Data Edited: If a recipient modifies pre-filled information before submitting the document, the sales representative receives both an email notification and a popup alert.

Generating E-Signature Documents via Web Forms and the Open API

In addition to generating documents directly from the lead page, you can automatically generate E-Signature documents through a Merchant Central web form.

For setup instructions, see Enabling E-Signatures in Web Forms.

E-Signature documents can also be generated programmatically using the Merchant Central Open API.

For more information, see the Open API guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the difference between combining documents when sending and using an E-Signature bundle? Combining documents when sending allows you to select PDFs individually for a specific lead. E-Signature bundles are predefined groups of documents that can be reused without selecting each PDF individually every time.
• Why didn't the new merchant information save to the lead? If a recipient modifies information that was originally populated in the E-Signature application, the changes may require the sales representative to review and select which data to import. For combined documents, only data from the first PDF form is written back to mapped lead fields. Duplicate PDF field names can also result in incorrect data being imported. 
• Can I continue generating a bundle after receiving a duplicate field warning? Yes. Click Okay to continue. However, the returned data may be imported incorrectly if duplicate fields have not been resolved.
• Can the merchant upload a driver's license or other documents through the E-Signature application? Yes, provided that the E-Signature document is configured to allow attachment uploads. For instructions, see Enabling Attachment Uploads in E-Signature Apps.
• What if I only need the client to sign the document without editing fields? You can configure fields as read-only. Navigate to Manage → E-Signature → Import PDFs, download the PDF from the E-Signature Applications page, and open it in Adobe Acrobat using Prepare Form mode. Set the appropriate fields to read-only, save the PDF, and re-upload the updated document to Merchant Central.

• Can I update an E-Signature document after it has been generated? Yes. Select the preview option from the Actions column on the lead's E-Sign tab. You can make edits directly in the document. Changes are saved automatically and are immediately visible to the recipient.

  

• Does an E-Signature document expire? E-Signature applications remain active until they are signed by the recipient, archived by the user, or automatically expire after 365 days.
• Can I secure an E-Signature document? Yes. E-Signature documents can be protected with a password based on the last four digits of a designated secure lead field, such as a Federal Tax ID, Social Security number, or another secure identifier. For more information, see Secure E-Signature Applications.