Send Forms to Multiple Recipients with Bulk Send

In today’s fast-paced and hyper-competitive business environment, using electronic signature technology has become essential. Nearly every modern organization uses electronic signature tools to save time, cut costs and eliminate errors.

E-signature is a valuable process management tool, but what if you need a way to share a standardized document with multiple recipients at the same time? For transactions where a formal acknowledgement is required by a large group of people (new company policies, contract updates, etc.), Bulk Send offers an efficient and secure way to enable bulk signature collection with standardized documents sent to all recipients at once in Docusign eSignature.

How does Bulk Send in eSignature work?

Bulk send helps organizations easily share standardized documents with multiple recipients, thereby saving time, cutting costs and dramatically improving the customer experience. Here’s how it works in Docusign eSignature:

1. Create a template. Prepare a document for bulk send using pre-existing templates or customize a template to meet your exact specifications.   

2. Choose an authentication method. eSignature provides users with an extra layer of security by requiring end-user authentication from all signees. 

3. Select required fields. After creating a template for bulk send, the originator can add envelope custom fields (ECFs) to the document—and even determine whether specific fields are required or optional.

4. Prepare recipient data. Even for documents with thousands of recipients, an e-signature solution with bulk send capabilities dramatically simplifies the process. Generate a CSV with pre-populated columns that specify required information and import recipient data from existing files. 

5. Run a test. Just as you would for any large email campaign, you can test your template and message before sending to confirm the accurate appearance and functionality of your agreement. 

6. Send. Press send and sit back as your documents make their way to your targeted list of recipients.

Once you’ve sent off the documents, you can track and manage the receipts and completions. You can also send reminders to any party or signee who has not taken a required action on an agreement. Docusign also makes it easy for users to retrieve signed documents.

To ensure you are getting the most out of Docusign Bulk Send, read about bulk send best practices in our whitepaper, Docusign Bulk Send Best Practices. When you’re ready to start, you can keep track of your progress with the eSignature Bulk Send Checklist. 

What is Bulk Send used for?

Whether you’re seeking an easy way for thousands of customers to accept updated terms or you need hundreds of employees to sign-off on a new employee handbook, e-signature offers a seamless solution for any-sized enterprise. Common use cases where an e-signature solution with bulk sign-and-send capability may provide an additional benefit for your organization include:

• Sharing documents with employees. When a human resources department needs to efficiently send out a new company benefits package or work-from-home policy, bulk send offers an effortless way to customize and send documents—even those that differ from employee to employee—to multiple recipients at the same time. Signed documents are automatically routed back to HR for filing.  

• Sending promotional offers. One Docusign customer—a credit union—wanted to promote their “skip pay” option on auto loans. Using bulk send, the company sent notices to pre-identified auto loan customers to let them know they can opt out of this month's payment. The notice also included an “Accept” button that—when clicked—would take them to an agreement for next month’s adjusted payment. Completed documents were routed back to the credit union for processing. 

• Crowdsourcing. Let’s say a crowdfunding company needs signatures to fund a small business venture. Once a target goal for funding is reached, the company can use bulk send to collect official signatures from investors—and automatically route completed envelopes back to a company representative for completion.

• Tracking receipts on sent items. If you’re sharing a document with employees that contains critical information—such as updated compliance standards—and want to make sure your intended recipients review the content, bulk send functionality in Docusign eSignature lets you set recipient types as “Needs to View.” As a result, you can track associates at every stage of the signing process—and identify exactly when each document is received, viewed and signed. 

Key benefits of Bulk Send

Organizations in every vertical have found a wide range of creative uses for bulk send that save time and cut costs. Some of the most common include:

• Annual compensation plans

• Onboarding documents for large groups of seasonal workers 

• Homeowner association and tenant forms 

• Payment verification forms

• Company policy and HR updates

• Debt collection paperwork

Learn more about how to enable Docusign Bulk Send for your business.