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We all have those unconventional takes—the thoughts that make people raise an eyebrow or say, “Really?!” when it comes to agreement management.Whether it’s a hot take on automation, a gripe about workflows, or a vision for how agreements should work, we want to hear it!Examples to get you thinking: “Manual approvals aren’t as outdated as everyone says—they can still add value when done strategically.” “Having fewer templates is better than having a template for every scenario. Simplification for the win.” “AI can’t replace the human judgment needed for contract negotiation—and it never will.” Drop your unpopular opinion in the comments and tell us why you believe it! Who knows, your take might just convince someone to see things differently.

Did you know that you can use CLM merge tags to conditionally display content on your generated document? Conditional merge tags can be utilized to show content on your document based on conditions that you set up within the tag structure.Conditional merge tags do need to be built from scratch; they cannot be copied/pasted directly from CLM in the same way that content merge tags can be. An article from the Docusign Support Center is linked below with detailed instructions on using conditional merge tags. In this video, watch a Docusign University product trainer explain how conditional merge tags can be used and show how to set them up. Click here to watch the video! Additional Resources:-Document Generation Word Template Merge Tags in Docusign CLM-Conditional and EndConditional Tags in Docusign CLM-Docusign CLM: Automate Manual Tasks-Docusign CLM: Advanced Document Generation Deep Dive Course Continue the Conversation:Are you currently using conditional merge tags? Did you know there

Improv comedy and agreements may seem worlds apart, but they share one key principle: effective communication. In a recent Docusign blog, What Improv Comedy Can Teach You About Making Agreements, Dan Lyons explores how improv techniques like “Thank you, because” can transform disagreements into productive conversations. 🎭In the piece, a leader of an improv theater in Chicago discusses the origins of “Thank you, because,” an improv-inspired approach developed with behavioral scientists to help people navigate disagreements with gratitude and respect. The blog delves into the science behind why this phrase works and how it’s helping teams collaborate more effectively.✍️ Key Takeaways: “Yes, and” fosters creativity: This foundational improv principle encourages building on others' ideas, promoting creativity and collaboration in personal and professional settings. “Thank you, because” resolves conflicts: Expressing gratitude and finding value in opposing views can help bridge divides a

Collaborating on agreements just got a lot simpler. This Docusign blog explores how the new Google Docs integration for Docusign CLM transforms the agreement review process, enabling teams to collaborate more efficiently across systems. With this integration, legal, sales, procurement, and finance teams can work where they’re most comfortable—whether it’s in Google Docs or Docusign CLM—and keep feedback, edits, and tasks synchronized seamlessly. This is the next step in extending CLM into the everyday workflows that power cross-functional collaboration.✍️ Key takeaways: Streamlined agreement collaboration: Teams can collaborate on agreements in their preferred tools, with feedback, edits, and tasks automatically synced across Google Docs and Docusign CLM. Improved visibility and version control: The integration ensures that only one version of an agreement is edited at a time, with all updates captured and saved in both systems. Enhanced efficiency: Cross-functional teams no longer

This recent Docusign blog explores how the People Team uses Docusign eSignature and Workday integrations to simplify hiring and onboarding, reduce turnaround times, and improve the employee experience. ✍️ Key Takeaways:Faster hiring and onboarding: The People Team uses Docusign eSignature templates to send offer letters, enabling applicants to quickly review and sign documents. The Workday integration pre-fills forms with existing data, eliminating the need for manual entry. Effortless workflows for HR staff: With the integration, agreements like offer letters, promotion letters, and termination notices are automatically generated, routed, and stored, saving time and reducing errors. Global compliance, no hassle: The integration supports international signing standards like eIDAS, ensuring agreements meet legal requirements regardless of where they’re signed. Improving contingent worker onboarding: The team uses Docusign Web Forms to gather and auto-fill information into agreements, st

Growing businesses often struggle to manage the contract process effectively, leading to delays, risks, and frustration. This new Docusign publication, Guide to Contract Lifecycle Management, offers a comprehensive guide to contract lifecycle management (CLM), explaining what it is, how it works, and whether it’s the right fit for your organization. The guide explores the challenges of scaling businesses, key benefits of CLM, and practical tips for selecting the right solution. Whether you’re just learning about CLM or ready to implement it, the guide is packed with actionable insights to help your organization streamline contract management.✍️ Key Takeaways:What is CLM? Contract lifecycle management is a software solution that automates and streamlines the contract process, helping organizations reduce delays, risks, and inefficiencies. How does it work? The core functionalities of CLM include documentation generation, collaboration, workflows, signature, storage, analytics, and integ

Join the next Trainer Tips Live event on Friday, Jan 10!Did you know that when sending an envelope, you can have that envelope reach a specified recipient based on input provided by a signer or a reviewer.A few weeks ago, we posted a tip on how to do just this, and now we’re doing a deeper dive during this live session on Friday, January 10.👉 You can register for the event here. What will the session cover? We’ll show you how to ensure that your envelope reaches it’s desired recipient How you can use different field types (drop-down, formula, etc.) to set this upDuring the 30 minute event, you’ll be guided through how to do this and get to ask questions to our experts.  What’s Next After the Session?Afterwards, attendees will receive: A follow-up email packed with additional resources. Personalized course recommendations from Docusign University to deepen your knowledge. An invitation to join the next session in our series If you can’t join live, don’t worry—a recording will be av

Do you “favorite” multiple Docusign sites and every page that you find helpful? Does that process feel frustrating when you go back to find that one page you need right now but can’t find it? Perhaps you don’t even know where to start or what Docusign pages are helpful. In our “X Marks the Spot” tip, we outlined our most powerful Docusign sites. Now it’s time to take your bookmark game to another level with Docusign Quick Links.  🎯 Docusign Quick Links Overview  Docusign Quick Links is a collection of over 100 Docusign links organized into clear topic folders. Add the file to your browser's bookmark bar for quick references to crucial Docusign support and enablement tools.  Using his years of customer and Docusign expertise, Digital Transformation Consultant ​@anastacio.lambaria  (Alex) created Quick Links, which existing customers leverage across many industries. Alex’s users love the ease of finding popular Docusign sites and resources all in one structured bookmark folder, and now

Need to send a document(s) out for negotiation? Docusign CLM’s external review feature can help. With external review, you can send documents to external recipients (customers, prospects, etc.) to review, edit, and add comments. The document changes will be brought back into CLM and applied as a new version of the document. CLM users can then review the changes and compare to previous versions.In this video, a Docusign Product Trainer will walk through the process of manually sending a document from CLM out for external review. You’ll observe the sending process as well as the perspective of the reviewer. You’ll see how the reviewed document returns back to CLM as a new version and how the history of changes can be tracked. Click here to watch the video! Additional Resources:-CLM End User Training-CLM Administration-External Review in CLM-CLM Administration Deep Dive Course-CLM Build Workflows Deep Dive Course Continue the Conversation:Will you be sending your CLM documents out for ext

Have you ever thought about user’s experience customization using your company’s logo? Besides that, what do you think about to customize emails coming from your eSignature account to your customers helping them to better identify your branding?Does communication with your customers it’s a problem for your business? Using your company’s branding will improve that a lot.Branding offers a way to customize the Docusign experience for both senders and recipients. With the branding controls in Docusign, as an account administrator you can reinforce your brand presence and reassure signers that documents sent to them through your Docusign account are coming from your organization.The branding configurations you specify are global and apply to all users on your account and every recipient experience for every envelope sent from your account.I invite you to watch this short video on Brands from our Trainer Tip series, to learn how to customize this step! Click here to watch the video! Key Take

Holiday gatherings can often be filled with tension, but they don't have to be. In this Docusign blog, we dive into strategies for avoiding conflict during the holidays.We explore expert advice from hostage negotiators, corporate mediators, and even improv coaches, all of whom share their insights on managing difficult discussions and fostering understanding.✍️ Key takeaways:Define your desired outcome: Before entering a conversation, focus on what you hope to achieve—building a connection, not winning an argument. Empathy is key: Great negotiators start by putting themselves in the other person’s shoes. This can help you connect even with those you disagree with. Ask the right questions: Use curiosity to your advantage by asking open-ended questions, like "Why do you think that?" to encourage dialogue and strengthen relationships. The power of gratitude: Show appreciation for the other person’s perspective with the "Thank you, because" technique to de-escalate tension and foster mutua

Need to step up your Docusign Template game? Try using some of our template management actions. Once a template has been created, you can:Edit - You can edit any aspect of your template. Try using the “Replace” action for your template document if it needs to be substituted for a new version. All the fields will be retained when the document is replaced. Copy - A template can be copied if you are creating something similar. No need to recreate from scratch! Download - Downloading your templates to your local computer creates an exported template file. You can then upload that template file into Docusign. Usually this is used to move templates from one Docusign account to another. Share - Templates can be shared with other users on your account. Sharing a template ensures a consistent sending experience no matter who creates and sends the envelope. Templates can be shared with users in two different ways: Share a template with users directly - Select the users or groups you want to shar

Docusign 2024 Release 3 is here, packed with powerful new capabilities that will help you capture more hidden business value in your agreements across their entire lifecycle—from generating agreements, to committing in a trusted way, to building integrations that span the entire process.In this release, Docusign introduces features like AI-Assisted Review in Microsoft Word, a beta for centralized template management, and updates to the Identity Wallet for repeat signers. Whether you're a contract manager, developer, or signer, these updates empower you to do more faster.✍️ Key takeaways of the release: Streamline contract review processes: Use AI-Assisted Review* in Microsoft Word to automate contract review, generate clauses, and answer contract-related questions in CLM. (*US only.) Simplify forms management: Advanced Web Forms now feature document exclusion rules and multi-party data collection, reducing the need for separate forms. Enhance workflows with developer tools: Build s

Have you ever come across an envelope where you needed to add dozens (or even hundreds) of similar fields? For example, a 40-page document where each page needed an Initial Here field for each recipient? So… if I told you that you could automate this, would you believe me?The feature called AutoPlace adds fields near each occurrence of a given string in a template or single envelope. This advanced field action allows you to specify a string of characters in your document or template for automatic placement of the field.You can use AutoPlace with any field type – you can even define custom fields to include the AutoPlace setting. When you AutoPlace a field, it is automatically placed at all instances in your document of the specified word or characters.I invite you to watch this short video on AutoPlace from our Trainer Tip series, to learn how to automate this step! Click here to watch the video! Key Take-aways:AutoPlace can help to prepare your documents faster. You can apply automati

This Docusign blog explores how AI-Assisted Review is transforming contract review and negotiation. This Microsoft Word add-in for Docusign CLM empowers teams across your organization to streamline processes, reduce bottlenecks, and maintain compliance. The blog post highlights how this tool leverages AI to accelerate contract review and empower more team members to participate in negotiations—without sacrificing legal standards. From automating reviews to answering contract-related questions, this feature is a game-changer for CLM and CLM+ customers in the U.S.✍️ Key TakeawaysStreamlined review processes: AI automates contract reviews, suggesting markups and new clauses aligned with your organization’s playbooks. Empowered teams: Non-legal teams can handle contract reviews effectively, reducing bottlenecks and freeing up legal teams for complex negotiations. Centralized compliance: Standardized playbooks and processes ensure consistency and risk mitigation across growing teams. Faster

Docusign has officially committed to reducing its emissions in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign. By 2030, Docusign plans to reduce its emissions by 50%, with a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. In this blog, Docusign shares details of its sustainability goals, including targets for emissions reductions across the company’s value chain and supply chain. The post also highlights Docusign’s ongoing efforts to create more sustainable agreements and contribute to environmental protection. Here are some key points of how: Docusign has helped over 1.5 million customers create sustainable agreements by digitizing processes, saving 93 billion sheets of paper (equivalent to 10 million trees) and $3M granted to organizations protecting forests. In 2024, the Docusign Foundation launched a Climate Action Fund to support climate change initiatives. Recent grantees include the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Forest Stewardship Co

In April 2024, Docusign announced the launch of Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM). Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) is a new category of AI-assisted cloud software designed to connect and automate every step of agreement work.Have you been hearing about IAM but aren’t really sure what it’s actually about? This blog provides a comprehensive overview of the flexible, interconnected collection of tools designed to streamline and customize every step of the agreement lifecycle. ✍️ Key takeaways: What it is: IAM is an AI-assisted platform that empowers you to connect and optimize every step of your business processes that involve agreements.  Flexible and scalable solutions: IAM provides foundational tools with the option to add customizable extensions, seamlessly integrating data across the entire agreement lifecycle. The IAM foundation: Core tools like eSignature, Maestro, and Navigator create a streamlined, connected agreement process. Automation and customization: With

Need to share envelopes with users? Whether someone is out of the office and needs a backup or you’ve got team members who need to collaborate, Docusign’s got you covered. Envelopes can be shared using Docusign’s “Shared Access” feature. Sharing access to envelopes will allow for cross-team collaboration and provide visibility of envelope transactions amongst your users.Shared access can be set up by the Docusign Administrator or left up to your users to set it up themselves!To set up shared access as a Docusign Administrator, navigate to Admin > Users > Manage Shared Access To allow your users to set up shared access for themselves, a Docusign Administrator needs to enable the “Allow to edit shared access permissions and setup” under Admin > Sending Settings Each user can then manage their own shared access settings from their My Preferences page  There are three permission levels available for setting up shared access:Manage - Allows the user to manage and view other user’s

This Docusign blog highlights findings from the Forrester Consulting’s Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study. The commissioned study explored how Docusign CLM removes manual steps, simplifies contracting processes, and delivers tangible business benefits—including a 449% ROI.  ✍️ Key takeaways: 449% ROI: Forrester’s study estimates that organizations adopting Docusign CLM see a significant return on investment, improving both efficiency and profitability. Faster contracts, fewer errors: CLM reduces the time spent creating sales contracts by 90% and cuts contract errors by 85%. Risk reduction and cost savings: By centralizing agreement data and automating manual processes, CLM lowers risks, reduces value leakage, and streamlines operations. Accelerated revenue: Faster contract completion enables organizations to realize revenue sooner, increasing their financial agility. Employee and customer satisfaction: CLM makes the contracting process simpler, delivering a better experience fo

We’re excited to share that Docusign has been named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Contract Life Cycle Management (CLM) for the fifth year in a row.  In this blog, Docusign’s chief product officer reflects on the significance of this recognition and how Docusign CLM empowers businesses to streamline contract processes, improve compliance, and drive meaningful outcomes.✍️ Key Takeaways:Some of the main reasons Docusign was named a Leader include:  Market-leading innovation: Docusign has a market-defining vision and ability to execute, highlighting our leadership in transforming contract lifecycle management. End-to-end contract management: Docusign CLM helps businesses manage contracts at every stage—from negotiation and execution to post-signature insights—boosting efficiency and reducing risk. Driving results across industries: CLM solutions like Docusign’s deliver measurable benefits, including cost savings, accelerated time to revenue, and improved governance.

This Docusign blog dives into the difference between two key metrics for calculating contract value: Annual Contract Value (ACV) and Total Contract Value (TCV). While both measure the value of customer agreements, they offer unique insights into business performance. In the blog, you’ll discover how ACV and TCV are calculated, their advantages and limitations, and when to use each to guide strategic decisions for your organization. Whether you're optimizing marketing initiatives, planning annual revenue, or targeting high-value customers, these metrics play a pivotal role in leveraging the value of agreements.✍️ Key Takeaways:Annual Contract Value (ACV):Definition: The average revenue a contract generates per year. Formula: ACV = Total contract value (excluding one-time fees) ÷ total years in the contract. Use Cases: Useful for analyzing annual revenue, sales campaigns, and customer retention efforts. Limitations: Does not account for one-time purchases or customer attrition.Total Cont

Sustainability has become a key priority for businesses, but how can contracts play a role in achieving those goals? This Docusign blog explores how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) clauses are helping organizations tackle global challenges, like reducing emissions and improving ethical sourcing practices.The blog also highlights Docusign’s partnership with Bonterms, which makes it easy for organizations to integrate standardized, adaptable ESG clauses into contracts.✍️ Key takeaways: What are ESG clauses? These contract provisions embed sustainability principles, setting clear expectations for organizations and suppliers to address environmental, social, and governance goals. Why ESG matters now more than ever: Growing pressures from regulations, investors, and customers make ESG commitments essential for staying competitive and future-proofing operations. Opportunities and challenges: Standardizing ESG clauses can address inefficiencies caused by inconsistent drafting,

Contracts are the backbone of business operations, but with so many different types, it’s important to understand which ones best fit your needs. This Docusign blog explores 15 common types of contracts and how they can be used to streamline operations, minimize risk, and ensure smooth business transactions.From fixed-price agreements to licensing contracts, the post covers why different contract types exist and how understanding them can protect your business and boost efficiency. Dive into this guide for a comprehensive overview and practical insights on navigating the world of agreements.✍️ Key Takeaways:Fixed-price contracts: Simplify agreements with pre-determined costs. Cost-plus contracts: Share risks by covering expenses and adding a fee. Time and materials contracts: Pay for hours worked and materials used. Unit pricing contracts: Break work into smaller units for clarity. Unilateral contracts: One party promises payment only after actions are completed. Bilateral contracts: B

In November, Docusign introduced Docusign for Developers — a transformative suite of tools designed to empower businesses and developers to innovate with the Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) platform. This blog about the announcement highlights how Docusign for Developers provides extensible agreement APIs, low-code/no-code tools like Maestro, and AI-assisted insights via Navigator. Whether you’re looking to build custom workflows, automate agreement processes, or create applications for the Docusign App Center, this is your next step in revolutionizing agreement management.✍️ Key takeaways from the blog: New tools for developers: Create seamless integrations and workflows with APIs, SDKs, and plug-ins to extend Docusign capabilities. Real-world applications: Learn how businesses like Velatura and NeuraFlash are solving challenges with IAM-assisted solutions. AI-assisted review: Streamline contract reviews by flagging discrepancies and suggesting changes in real time within M