Order forms: internal approval, then the customer signs
How a software business can send an order form through an internal approver first, then to the customer to sign, and where the signed copy ends up.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Software (SaaS) businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
A sales rep closes a deal late on a Friday. To get it over the line they add a discount, stretch the payment terms and promise an integration that is not on the roadmap. The customer signs on Saturday morning. On Monday the finance lead reads the order form for the first time and finds that the company is now bound by all three.
The fix is not to slow sales down. It is to make sure the order form passes one named person inside the business before the customer ever sees a signing link. Achekam's e-signing lets you build that order into the envelope itself.
Why the customer should never see an unapproved order form
An order form is the contract for most software sales. It fixes the price per seat, the term, the notice period, the start date and any special promises. Once the customer has signed it, a mistake becomes a negotiation.
An internal check catches the usual problems while they are still cheap:
- a discount deeper than anyone is allowed to give;
- a term or notice period that does not match your standard terms;
- an implementation date your onboarding team cannot meet;
- a customer name or registration number typed wrongly;
- a promise about features or support that belongs in a separate agreement, or nowhere.
Signers, approvers and people who only get a copy
When you prepare a document for e-signature, you add the people on it and say what each one does. There are three kinds:
- Signers sign or initial the document in the fields you place on it.
- Approvers approve it as part of the same envelope.
- Copied recipients are on the envelope without having to act.
A signer does not need an Achekam account: they sign from a link e-mailed to them.
You can send an uploaded PDF, a document composed from text blocks with merge fields, or a saved template. A template suits order forms well, because the fixed clauses stay fixed and only the merge fields change from deal to deal.
The signing console has no entry of its own in the sidebar. You open it from the Sign button or from the dashboard.
One rule to know before you start: an envelope with a signer from outside the business must be linked to a client or a CRM lead before it is sent. Create the customer or the lead first, then build the envelope from it.
Setting the order in which people act
Signers can act in order or all at once. For an order form, choose the order, so each person's turn comes after the one before. A typical sequence looks like this:
| Order | Who | Role on the envelope | What they check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Head of sales or finance | Approver | Price, discount, term, notice period |
| 2 | Customer's authorised person | Signer | Signs and initials where you placed the fields |
| 3 | Your director | Signer | Countersigns for the business |
| Copy | Account manager | Copied recipient | Kept in the loop |
Two practical points. First, keep the approver's list short: one approver who actually reads the form is better than three who click through. Second, set an expiry and reminders on the envelope, so a form that stalls with the customer does not sit open for months.
What the customer does on the link
The customer's signer receives an e-mail with a personal link. They open the document, sign and initial where you placed the fields, and finish. They do not create an account or download anything. By default a signing link lasts 30 days.
If the customer asks for a change after the form has gone out, do not edit around the envelope. Make the change in your template or document, send it through the approver again and send a fresh envelope. The approved version and the signed version should always be the same document.
The completion certificate and where it is filed
When everyone has signed, Achekam produces the signed PDF with a completion certificate. The certificate lists each signer's e-mail address, the times they acted, their IP address and browser, and the document's fingerprint. The signed PDF and the certificate are filed back into Documents; for an envelope linked to a client, they go into that client's Signed documents folder, so the next person who needs the contract finds it in one place.
What the certificate says about the signature matters, and it differs by country:
- South Africa. Achekam's e-signatures are simple electronic signatures. The certificate cites section 13 of South Africa's Electronic Communications and Transactions Act and says they are not advanced electronic signatures. The text of section 13 of the Act sets out when an electronic signature is valid and when the law requires an advanced electronic signature.
- Nigeria and Kenya. The certificate currently describes the signatures under South Africa's Electronic Communications and Transactions Act whatever the workspace's country. If an order form is governed by Nigerian or Kenyan law, ask your lawyer whether that wording is acceptable for the contracts you sign, and keep it in mind for larger deals.
A checklist before you press send
Run through this list on every order form:
- The customer or lead exists, and the envelope is linked to it.
- The order is set so the approver acts first.
- The signature and initials fields sit on the right pages.
- The customer signer is a person with authority to sign for them.
- Expiry and reminders are set.
- Pricing, term and notice period match what the approver signed off.
Once the form is signed, the next job is billing. If the customer pays from abroad, read billing overseas customers before you raise the first invoice. If they later reduce seats, see credit notes when a customer reduces seats. And if you want to compare how other industries word their terms, the article on booking terms templates shows the same approach in a different trade.
Start with your next order form: build it from a template, put your approver first, and see how the sequence feels before you make it the rule for the whole sales team.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
