🖊️ Requesting and Managing eSignatures in Client Hub
Last Updated: October 2026
Client Hub’s eSignature requests are now powered by Zoho Sign. If a client has an older SignWell request still in progress, it remains fully usable — you can view, edit, cancel, or sign it as before — while every new request goes through Zoho Sign. Client Users sign inside Client Hub itself, and you can also send a request to someone who isn’t in Client Hub by entering their email address. You can add an extra layer of identity verification using Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) when a document calls for it.
👤 Before You Start: Choose Your Recipients
Decide who needs to sign. You can send a request to:
a. One or more Client Users in the client’s workspace. They must be added to the workspace and have accepted the invitation.
b. Someone who isn’t in Client Hub, such as a spouse, business partner, or outside attorney. You enter their name and email address when you create the request.
c. A combination of both.
📝 Please note: You can no longer copy a signing link to send or paste elsewhere. Every request is created, tracked, and sent from inside Client Hub from start to finish.
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📁 Step 1: Open eSignature Docs
- Select the client from My Client List
- Click the File Manager tab
- Click eSignature Docs
- Click the + (plus) button
- Select Request eSignature
📝 Please note: eSignature Docs appears as a bucket under Folders view in File Manager. If File Manager is set to List view, switch to Folders view to see it.
Already have the file open? You can also click Request eSignature directly from a file’s preview in File Manager. This uses that file automatically and takes you straight to Step 2 below, skipping the upload step.
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💳 Step 2: Choose Standard or KBA
Before you upload a document, you’ll see your firm’s current eSignature Credits Wallet balance and a choice between a Standard Request or a KBA Request.
a. KBA is grayed out if your balance can’t cover its cost.
b. If your balance can’t cover even a Standard Request, Subscribers and Admins will see options to view Transaction History or purchase more credits right here — Standard Request stays selected by default, and once the purchase goes through, your balance updates immediately and Next becomes available, so there’s no need to start the request over. Staff members will instead see a message to reach out to their admin for more credits.
📝 Please note: The cost is based on whether you choose a Standard Request or a KBA Request, not on whether the recipient is in Client Hub. A request to someone who isn’t in Client Hub costs the same as one to a Client User.
See 💳 Understanding the eSignature Credits Wallet in Client Hub for the full cost breakdown.
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📄 Step 3: Upload the Document
Drag and drop your file into the upload box or click to select it from your device. Click Next.
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👥 Step 4: Select Recipients
The Create eSignature Request window lists the Client Users in the workspace under Available clients in Client Hub.
To send the request to a Client User:
a. Check the box next to their name.
To send the request to someone who isn’t in Client Hub:
a. Click Add non Client Hub recipients.
b. Enter the person’s email address. As you type, matching contacts appear, but you can enter any email address.
c. Enter the person’s name in the Recipient Name field.
d. Click Add recipient. The person now appears under Selected recipients with a checkmark.
You can select more than one recipient, including a mix of Client Users and people who aren’t in Client Hub. The Selected recipients count shows how many you’ve chosen. When your recipients are selected, click Next.
📝 Please note: If the workspace has no Client Users, the window shows “There are no client users in this workspace. Add a non Client Hub recipient below.” Click Add non Client Hub recipients to continue.
📝 Please note: Recipients added this way are notified by email. They receive a direct link from Zoho Sign to open and sign the document, and they don’t need to be a Client User. Any reminders also come by email from Zoho Sign.
📝 Please note: Once the request is created, you can replace or remove a recipient, but you can’t add an additional one.
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✍️ Step 5: Add Signature Fields and Send
Creating the request saves your document as a draft. Click Open draft document, and Zoho Sign opens in a new window where you add signature and any required form fields to the document. In most cases, you’ll send the request directly from within Zoho Sign at this point.
If you close the Zoho Sign tab before sending, reopen the request from eSignature Docs and choose Send from the Actions list to send it without starting over.
📝 Please note: Once sent, a request stays open for signing for 30 days. If it isn’t signed within that window, its status changes to Expired and it can’t be signed until you extend it. You don’t need to send a new request — see ⏳ Extending an Expired Request below.
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✉️ Signing the Request
Client Users are notified through Client Hub’s own notifications — not a SignWell or Zoho Sign email — and sign the document from inside Client Hub. The signing experience is embedded directly in Client Hub.
Recipients who aren’t in Client Hub receive an email with a direct link from Zoho Sign and sign the document from that link.
📝 Please note: If the embedded signing page doesn’t load for a Client User, an Open in Zoho Sign button is available as a fallback. It opens the signing page in a new tab.
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📂 Where to Find eSignature Requests
Every request is still available under File Manager > eSignature Docs — this remains your full historical record. Make sure File Manager is set to Folders view; List view shows a flat list of files and won’t display the eSignature Docs bucket.
If no request has been created for a client yet, the eSignature Docs bucket will show as empty until the first request is sent.
Open requests also appear as their own eSignature Requests card under Client Tasks on the Client Workspace:
a. Accountant view shows every open request in the workspace
b. Client view shows only requests where that client is the recipient
For a firm-wide view across every client at once, go to Dashboards > eSignatures. Five summary cards along the top — Awaiting Signature, Completed, Declined, Expired, and All Requests — show your counts at a glance, and clicking a card filters the table below to matching requests.
The table lists Document, Client / Workspace, Status, Requested By, Submitted Date, and Expire By for every request across your practice. Submitted Date is the day you sent the request for signature, and Expire By is the day it stops being available for signing. Older requests may show a dash in these columns. You can narrow the list further using:
- Search — find a request by document or client name
- All Clients — filter to one client
- All Requests — filter by status (Awaiting Signature, Completed, Declined, Expired, Canceled, Draft, Needs Attention, or Other)
- Request Date: All Dates — filter by Today, Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, or a Custom Date range
- Client Tags — filter to clients carrying specific tags
Use Clear Filters to reset everything at once.
📝 Please note: When at least one request Awaiting Signature is showing, a Remind All button at the top right lets you send a reminder to every recipient with an open request in your current filtered view. Individual rows also show their own Remind link whenever that request is Awaiting Signature.
📝 Please note: Recipients who are in Client Hub are reminded through Client Hub. Recipients who aren’t in Client Hub are reminded by email directly from Zoho Sign.
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⏳ Extending an Expired Request
If a request expires before your client signs it, you can extend it instead of starting over. Extending adds 30 days from the day you extend, not from the original expiration date. For example, if you extend a request on October 9, the new expiration date is November 8. This works the same way for requests sent to someone who isn’t in Client Hub.
📝 Please note: You don’t need to pay again to get the document signed. Extending an expired request does not require a new request.
From the eSignatures dashboard:
- Go to Dashboards > eSignatures.
- Click the Expired card to show only expired requests.
- Find the request in the table.
- Click +30 days at the far right of the row.
From the request itself:
- Open the request from the eSignature Requests card, from File Manager > eSignature Docs, or by clicking the client name on the eSignatures dashboard.
- Under Actions, click Extend expiration +30 days.
📝 Please note: Some older requests don’t have a Submitted Date or Expire By date, so the +30 days link doesn’t appear on the dashboard. For these, open the request and look for Extend expiration +30 days under Actions. Requests created before the move to Zoho Sign may not offer this option. If you don’t see it, send a new request.
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💬 Commenting on a Request
Client Users and accountants can leave comments directly on a request instead of starting a separate conversation.
- Open the request from the eSignature Requests card or File Manager.
- Click View Comments.
- Type your note and submit it.
The accountant can reply from the same request.
📝 Please note: Recipients who aren’t in Client Hub can’t leave comments, because they don’t have access to Client Hub. They sign using the link Zoho Sign emails to them.
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🛠️ Correcting a Document or Recipient
- Select the request.
- Click Correct Document and Recipients.
- To replace the file, select a new document — or leave this blank to update only the recipient.
- To change the recipient, unselect the current recipient first, then select a new one.
- Submit the update.
📝 Please note: You can swap a recipient who is in Client Hub for someone who isn’t, or the other way around. You can replace or remove a recipient, but you can’t add a new one, so the number of recipients can’t go up. The request name and its KBA setting also can’t be changed after creation.
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📱 Signing from the Client Hub Mobile App
Requests and their statuses now appear in the mobile File Manager the same way they do on the web. Clients can view a request’s status and complete signing from the app. Accountants can cancel or delete a request from mobile if it’s in a cancellable/deletable state — otherwise, they’ll see a message to finish setup on the web.
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🔐 Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) and Credits
Requiring KBA adds identity verification before a recipient can sign, and draws from your firm’s eSignature Credits Wallet. See Understanding the eSignature Credits Wallet in Client Hub for full details on cost and balance management.
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🛠️ Troubleshooting
Message: “There are no client users in this workspace. Add a non Client Hub recipient below.”
This appears when the workspace has no Client Users. Click Add non Client Hub recipients to send the request to an email address, or add a Client User to the workspace, confirm they’re active, and restart the request.