The Client Signing Experience
What your client sees step by step when they receive a contract to sign, from the email to the final signature.
When you send a contract or combined document, your client goes through a guided signing flow that does not require them to create an account or install anything. Here is exactly what they experience so you can walk your clients through it or answer questions when they come up.
Step 1: The Email
Your client receives an email with a brief message and a button to view the document. Everyone signing shares the same secure link, and each person identifies themselves by email when they open it. They just click and go.
The link is valid for 30 days. If it expires, you can resend the document from the event detail page. The URL stays the same, and resending refreshes its 30-day window.
Step 2: Consent to E-Sign
Before they see any content, your client is presented with a consent dialog. This is a legal requirement under the ESIGN Act. They confirm that they agree to sign electronically and that their electronic signature carries the same weight as a handwritten one.
This takes about five seconds: a single I Consent button and they are in.
Step 3: Reviewing the Document
Your client sees the full document rendered as a formatted PDF, with your logo, colors, and fonts from the brand preset you chose in the builder.
They scroll through every section of the contract. The document is read-only at this point; they are reviewing, not editing.
Choosing a Payment Plan
If you offered more than one payment option on the document (see Requesting Payments), your client picks one here before they finish. Each option shows its name and the installments it breaks into, and the one you marked Recommended carries a badge. Nothing is pre-selected, so your client makes a deliberate choice, and the option they pick becomes the schedule you collect against.
If the document has a single schedule, there's nothing to choose and this step doesn't appear.
Step 4: Initialing Required Sections
If you marked any sections as requiring initials when you built the document (common for cancellation policies, payment terms, or liability clauses), your client must place their initials on each of those sections.
The sections that need initials are clearly indicated so your client knows exactly where to stop. They cannot skip a required initial. The signing flow will not let them proceed until every marked section has been initialed.
Step 5: Signing at the Bottom
At the end of the document, your client places their full electronic signature in the signature field. They can draw it with a mouse or finger, or type their name to generate a signature.
Once they submit their signature, their part is done. If they are the only signatory (or the last one to sign), the document is fully executed at that point.
What Happens If Others Still Need to Sign
If the document has other signatories still to sign (their partner, or you), your client lands on a "You've signed!" screen thanking them and telling them who is actually left. If their partner has not signed, it says so rather than pointing at you — the person they may need to chase is the one in the next room. If only your countersignature is outstanding, it says that instead. Either way it tells them an email with a link to the signed agreement will follow. There is deliberately no download on that screen: the only copy available before everyone signs is the unsigned agreement, with blank signature lines, which is not what someone who has just signed is asking for.
If they are the last to sign, the same screen tells them everyone has now signed and offers a View the executed agreement button. They are not moved there automatically: the confirmation is worth a moment, and the signed PDF is still being generated in those first seconds, so a deliberate click is more likely to find it ready.
They cannot download the fully executed PDF until everyone has signed. Once all parties complete their signatures, the document is finalized and your client can revisit the same link to view and download the signed copy.
Common Client Questions
"Do I need to create an account?" No. The link works without any login or registration.
"Can I come back to this later?" Yes. The link stays active for 30 days. If they started but did not finish, they can pick up where they left off.
"Is this legally binding?" Yes. Electronic signatures through Gilded comply with the ESIGN Act and UETA. The signed document is backed by a detailed audit trail: timestamps, IP addresses, and a content fingerprint of what was signed.
"How do I get a copy?" After all parties sign, they can revisit the link to view and download the fully executed PDF.