How can we handle customer-initiated documents and our response documents within a single DocuSign envelope?

Question

Hi,We are currently reviewing how we can expand our use of DocuSign within our company.At present, we primarily use DocuSign for bilateral documents such as contracts, where both parties participate in the signing process.We are now considering expanding its use to documents such as purchase orders and related response documents. Currently, these documents are often exchanged by email. From a governance perspective, we would like to minimize email-based document exchanges and manage the entire exchange through DocuSign where possible.One scenario we would like to achieve is the following:A customer initiates the process using our company's DocuSign environment.	The customer uploads a purchase order and signs/submits it.	The workflow then moves to our company.	Our company receives the customer's purchase order within DocuSign.	Our company uploads the corresponding response document (for example, an order acknowledgment) to the same envelope and signs it.	The envelope is then completed, so that the entire exchange between the customer and our company is managed as a single DocuSign transaction.In other words, rather than simply receiving a document by email and then creating a separate DocuSign envelope, we would like the process to start from the customer side and continue on our side within the same envelope.Is it possible to implement such a workflow using DocuSign?If so, what would be the recommended approach or DocuSign functionality for this scenario?We would also appreciate any information on possible alternatives if a single-envelope workflow is not supported.Best Regards,

Drewcifer · Answer

In Word or Excel or whatever, make a form with three signature lines:
- “Submitted by ____”
- “Processed by ____”
- “Acknowledged by ___”
In Docusign, turn on signer attachments. (Settings > Sending Settings > Fields and Properties > “Enable Signer Attachment Field”
Create a template.
- Add three recipients. Use a declared order.
  - Recipient 1 is the customer. (needs to sign)
  - Recipient 2 is the company rep. Set their required action as “specify recipients”.
  - Recipient 3. (needs to sign)
- Add your form from step one.
- Set the rest of the envelope properties, go to next to place fields
- Add a signature block and Date Signed stamp for each of the recipients.
- For recipient 1, add an Attachment field
- For recipient 2, add an Attachment field
Done.

If a vendor needs to send you their invoice, you send them the envelope and make them recipient 1, then list your designated intake person/signing group as recipient 2. Vendor’ll open the envelope in Docusign, attach their invoice and sign. That triggers the envelope to go your intake person/signing group. They review it, upload their response document and designate the vendor as recipient 3, and sign. Now the Vendor gets the processed envelope back to them to review, and sign again, acknowledging your processing.

You could send a dozen of these envelopes to each vendor and they could just open and use them as-needed.

Or you could probably make it webform if you want to make it so the vendor can start the process themselves.

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