Upload a PDF contract
Send a finished PDF, such as a contract from your lawyer or the client, for e-signature instead of writing it in Bilify.
If the contract already exists as a PDF (drafted by your lawyer, sent by the client, exported from another program), you can have it signed in Bilify without retyping it. Signers read the PDF on the signing page, sign it the same way as a written contract, and the sealed result is your original PDF with a signature and audit section added at the end.
Upload and send
- Go to Contracts and click New contract.
- Choose the Client and enter a Title.
- Under Content, choose Upload a PDF.
- In Contract PDF, select the file. It must be a PDF of at most 10 MB.
- Fill in the other fields you need: Value, Currency, Linked document, Effective date, Signing deadline, Language, Send automatic reminders and Message to signers. They work as for a written contract (see Create a contract).
- Add the Signers and set the order.
- Click Save draft to keep it as a draft, or Save and send to send it right away (see Send for signature).
You cannot save the contract without a file: Bilify asks you to attach the PDF you want signed.
What is different from a written contract
| Written contract | Uploaded PDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Written in Bilify, from a template or by hand | Your PDF, exactly as uploaded |
| Merge fields | Filled in when sent | Not used: the PDF is not changed |
| Live preview | Shown next to the body | Not shown; the contract page shows the PDF itself |
| Signatures in the final PDF | On the signature and audit pages after the text | On signature and audit pages appended after the last page of your PDF |
| Created through the API or the AI connector | Yes | No, only in the app |
Bilify does not place signatures inside your PDF's own pages (for example on a signature line on page 4). The appended pages carry each signer's signature, name, role and the audit details, and they state that they are part of the contract above. If your PDF has signature lines, you can add a sentence such as "Signed electronically, see the signature appendix".
The file is frozen when you send
When you send, Bilify records a fingerprint (SHA-256) of the uploaded file. After that the PDF cannot be replaced. To fix a mistake, void the contract, use Duplicate as draft, upload the corrected file and send again.
Replace the file on a draft
While the contract is a draft, open it, select a different file in Contract PDF and click Save draft. The new file replaces the old one.
If you switch a draft from Write from a template to Upload a PDF and save, the written body is removed from the draft.
After sending
- The contract page shows the PDF in the Document card and offers Download original PDF.
- When everyone has signed, Download signed PDF gives you the sealed file: your original pages followed by the signature and audit appendix. It is emailed to the signers, the client and the sender, and appears in the client portal, as with any contract.
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