What are Stages?

When you are creating a signing in the SmartMLS Sign platform, you will most likely encounter a section on the right side of the signing editor screen that has one or more stages in it:

But what exactly are stages?

Stages is a feature that groups particpants (signers) together and defines the order that they will perform their assigned tasks during the signing process. Each stage must have at least one participant in it. If a stage has more than one participant, you also have the option of determining the order in which participants will perform their actions within the stage.

If you need to adjust a stage (set signing order, add/edit participants, etc.), click the edit icon to the right of the desired stage:

There is quite a bit going on within the Edit Stage window, so we're going to break it down into two images:

1. Enter a name for this stage (optional).
2. Provide instructions for the participants involved in this stage (optional).
3. Signing Order allows you to define the order that the participants within this stage must perform their assigned tasks (the button that is shaded light blue is the one that is currently chosen):
   Any means that the signing will be sent to all participants within the stage at the same time and the order in which they perform their tasks does not matter.
   Strict allows you to set a specific order in which you would like the stage's participants to perform their tasks. If you have selected Strict, use the <> arrows in the upper right of each signer to set their order:
   
   
   
   
   
4. Choose the Role this participant is playing in the signing (seller, buyer, etc.). If you have not already done so in a previous step, enter your signer's information. If you have already added them to the SmartMLS Sign platform as a contact, use the drop-down menu in the first, middle or last name fields to select them.
5. Use the delete icon to remove a signer from the stage.
6. Click the +Participant button to add a signer to the stage.
   
   
   

      7. Choose the role you would like the participant to perform:
          Reviewer- must review the signed document in its entirety before the the signing is completed.
          Signer- assigned duties include initializing and/or signing the document.
          Distribution- receives the fully executed document but does not actively participate in the signing.

      8. If you have any specific instructions for this particular participant, use the Instructions field.
      9. Click Save to save any changes you've made to the participant.
     10. Click OK to save the changes you've made to the Stage and return to the document.

When a signing is sent out, the particpant(s) in stage 1 must complete their tasks before the participants in stage 2 will receive the document. This cycle continues through all stages until all participants have completed their tasks.

Multiple stages are not automatically present on every template. It depends on the nature of the document being sent out for signatures. It is very possible that the document in your signing only requires one stage of particpant interaction.

When you are creating a signing using one of your own forms (as opposed to a template that has already been configured), you can set it up to have as many stages as you need. 

Depending on your specific needs, you can also add additional stages to any of the pre-configured templates.