Create an eSignature document that inserts an effective date

An agreement is not in reality effective until all parties have signed it. When documents are eSigned, the document creator faces the choice of inserting an "effective as of" date at the beginning of the agreement, or forcing a reader to go to the signature pages(s) to determine the date that the last party signed. Since a completed eSignature document cannot be edited, leaving a blank date to be filled in at the beginning of the document is a suboptimal choice. A document creator can structure a document for eSignature in a manner that the effective date of the agreement will be automatically inserted at the beginning of the document, concurrent with the last party to sign. 

Following these steps ensures that the effective date at the beginning of the document coincides with the date of the last signer. The date will be printed in two locations; one at the last signer's signature and again on the first page of the document you've created. 

Add a document and assign signers:

• Begin a new eSignature document from an existing file or a template.
• Ensure that the 'Complete in Order' toggle is activated:

• Adjust the signatory order with the up/down arrows to the left of their titles. You can add as many as needed.  The date of the final signature will be the effective date of the agreement. 

Add space at the beginning of your document for the effective date:

METHOD 1:

• To accommodate the date field, Insert 23 spaces where you want the effective date to be inserted. 

  • NOTE: This space count is based on the use of Arial 14 pt. font in your document, and a 14 pt. font assigned for the date field in MONESQ.  The number of spaces depends on the font and font size you use, and may require some experimentation. 

• Once you've created the date field for the final signer and placed it on the signature page, also place the "Date Signed" for that final signer also into the space you've created for the effective date:  

• Be sure to align the left edge of the signature field as closely as possible to the previous word (in this example, 'dated') and check for height alignment: 

Example of executed agreement:

METHOD 2

• Alternatively, you can insert underscores where you'd like the effective date to appear. By inserting underscores, you can create some breathing room for easier placement of the field into the document: 

• In this example, the document and date field text size are both set to 14 pt., and 13 underscores have been inserted between "dated" and the period. As with method 1, if you use different font sizes, some experimentation may be required, but using underscores provides you with some flexibility.

As signers complete their signatures, dates will automatically be inserted for each signer. Concurrent with the final signature, the effective date will be inserted at the beginning of the document.

Tool Tip: If you have an entity signer, but your primary contact for that entity in MONESQ is not the party signing on behalf of the entity, you can either add the entity signer as a separate contact in MONESQ and the use that signer's email address, or you can type in that signer's email address when creating the signatory for that entity. In that scenario, you will want to ensure that that signer's name and title is correctly shown in the document, or insert a tite eSignature block for the signer to fill in.