Anakin Insights

How do I send a contract for e-signature without a third-party vendor?

Create an envelope from a PDF, add each signer with their company and job title, place signature and date fields, then send. Each signer gets a private invite link and signs at a standalone page with no account. Envelopes expire after 30 days by default (1 to 365). Anakin e-signatures are built for business-to-business agreements.

What is the Anakin native e-signature flow?

It is a built-in way to get a business contract signed. You upload a PDF, define who signs and where, and Anakin issues one private invite link per signer. Signing happens at a standalone page, /sign/:envelopeId, that needs no account. The system records who signed, when, and what they confirmed, then produces a completed PDF and a certificate of completion.

It replaces handing the signing ceremony to an outside e-signature vendor. There is no per-signature vendor fee on the signing step itself.

How do I send a contract, step by step?

  1. Create the envelope from your PDF.
  2. Add signers. For each one, enter an email, a name, their company, and their job title. Sequential order is the default.
  3. Place fields such as signature and date on the pages where they belong.
  4. Send. Each signer receives a private invite link. From this point the envelope is locked.
  5. Track it. You can resend reminders, extend the expiry, or void the envelope with a reason.

Why capture company and job title?

Anakin e-signatures are designed for business-to-business agreements, where the usual dispute is whether the person who signed had authority to bind their company. The signing ceremony asks the signer to confirm their company and title and to represent that they are authorized to sign for that business. Both values are saved with the signature and appear in the evidence package.

Can I reuse a contract layout or send in bulk?

Yes. Save a finished envelope as a template: it stores signer slots and field positions, not the document itself. Bulk send then creates one envelope per counterparty from a list of signers.

How long does a signer have?

Thirty days by default. You can set any value from 1 to 365 days when you create or send the envelope, and extend a live envelope later.

What are the limits?

  • It is built for business-to-business use. It does not add the consumer-disclosure steps some regimes require for consumers.
  • It does not replace instruments that the law requires to be notarized, registered, or signed in a qualified form, such as real-property transfers or registrable securities transfers.
  • This page is product documentation, not legal advice. Have counsel in your jurisdiction review your agreement language.

Does the signer need an Anakin account?

No. The signer opens a private invite link and signs at a standalone page. The invite token is the access credential, so there is no login step for the counterparty.

Can I send the same contract to many counterparties?

Yes. Save a finished envelope as a template (signer slots plus field layout, no document bytes), then use bulk send to create one envelope per recipient.

What happens if a signer refuses?

The signer can decline, which moves the envelope to a terminal declined state. The decline is recorded in the audit trail and the contract is not completed.

Can I change a contract after sending it?

No. A sent envelope is locked. To change it, void the envelope with a reason and create a new one. You can also remind signers or extend the expiry on a live envelope.