I'm looking for some guidance on using DocuSign in my employer's Procurement Department. We need a straightforward process where we can send a document to a supplier for signature, have them sign it, and then countersign it ourselves. Crucially, we need to download the fully executed document without sending it back to the supplier. The reason for this is that the executed document is attached directly to a purchase order (PO) in our ERP system and is only released once the PO receives approval. Does anyone have a workaround for this with the basic version of DocuSign? I'd appreciate any insights!
3 Answers
It might be best to discuss this with your DocuSign sales team. They can provide insights specific to your situation.
It sounds like you're trying to keep everything in-house, but in DocuSign, suppliers typically get a copy of signed documents as part of the process. That's how the platform works as a legal safeguard.
Unfortunately, you can't sign legal documents without giving the other party a copy. This seems to be an XY problem—if the deal isn't finalized until the PO is approved, just wait to send the document for signing until after that approval is in place.
In our setup, we do give suppliers the signed documents, but that happens later in the workflow, attaching it to a PO that's automatically sent out. A major university I work with has managed this without DocuSign for years.
They mentioned that it's more of an IT issue unless we upgrade to a version that syncs with our ERP. We're looking at an integration, but that's about a year down the line.