Your business has a Docusign eSignature account, but you might need more. How do you know when another eSignature account is necessary? What should you think about before creating multiple accounts? The following tips and resources will help your multiple-account decision-making process. 

⚖️ Legal and Compliance

Data Residency: If your company operates in different regions, each with its own data residency requirements, you may need separate Docusign eSignature accounts. For example, suppose you created an account in Europe, but another use case requires data residency in Canada. In that example, you must create a new account in a Canadian data center.

Electronic Record Signature Disclosure (ERSD): Each Docusign account comes with a built-in ERSD, which allows you to capture recipient consent to complete an electronic transaction. ERSDs can vary or not be required at all, so different departments or business units may need individual accounts based on customized ERSDs to stay compliant. 

🔐 Security and Privacy

Document Retention: Your account stores completed envelope documents and data indefinitely. Your data policies, however, may require Docusign to purge documents from the account and store them in another repository, and this can vary between business units. 

Data Privacy: Some envelopes hold sensitive and personal data, and you may want to limit access by storing them in separate Docusign accounts with their own Docusign administrators. For example, a company’s HR department typically handles sensitive information—such as employee salary details and social security numbers so that an HR-specific account could be warranted. 
 

⚙️Technical Factors

Integrations: If your company manages multiple instances of applications like Salesforce or SAP Ariba that have a one-to-one mapping with Docusign, additional accounts are required. 

Industry Solutions: Docusign offers multiple industry-specific modules, like our Part 11 Module for Life Sciences. Industry modules require a provision in a separate account because the user interface and experience vary from a standard Docusign eSignature account.

🖥️ Account-Wide Settings 

The following settings are account-specific and could vary based on a business unit’s or department’s location, legal and compliance requirements, and/or industry best practices.

• Date Signed Formatting
• Signing Auto-Navigation
• Attach Documents to Completed Envelopes

🧰 Additional Resources

Take a deeper dive into account creation with the following resources:  

• Learn More:  When to Create Another Docusign Account Guide
• Next Step: Managing Multiple Docusign eSignature Accounts Guide
• Advance Skills: Get Started with Organization Management complimentary course. 

🤝 Share Your Experience

Your knowledge is invaluable to other Community members. Why did you need to create multiple accounts? What advice would you give for managing multiple accounts?