RunMags journal
An eSignature Workflow for Advertising Contracts
Electronic signing should preserve the agreement being accepted and route it to the right people. It improves document handling only when the surrounding proposal, inventory and billing process is clear.
Prepare the version to be signed
Confirm legal parties, deliverables, dates, price, payment terms and any purchase-order requirement. Resolve internal pricing approval before sending the document. Retain the agreed version and avoid changing its content while signatures are pending.
Identify signers and routing
Record the advertiser or agency contact authorized to sign and whether a publisher countersignature is required. Define the routing order and who receives a completed copy. Ask the provider how identity, timestamps and the document's completion record are captured. Signing software alone does not establish universal legal validity.
Follow up without losing context
Use reminders appropriate to the decision timeline. Stop or revise them when an agreement is withdrawn or amended. Escalate procurement delays to the account owner. If a material change is needed, withdraw the superseded version and send a new reviewed document.
Archive and hand off
Preserve the completed agreement and signing evidence together. Release the approved deliverables into booking and production, then apply the agreed billing trigger. See how magazine advertising contracts move from acceptance to fulfillment in RunMags. Reopen the record to verify that staff can retrieve the signed version and understand the next task. Obtain qualified advice for legal requirements relevant to your agreement.
A practical worksheet
Illustrative routing: an agency buyer signs first and an authorized publisher representative countersigns second. Confirm both addresses and the approved document before issuing requests. If procurement requests a revised payment term, withdraw or supersede the pending version according to the provider's process, complete internal review and send the revised version. Retain the completion evidence and deliver a copy to the appropriate parties. Where requirements depend on location or agreement type, obtain qualified review rather than treating a successful signing screen as evidence of legal suitability.
Review checklist
- Confirm signer authority and routing before sending.
- Retain the exact completed document and evidence.
- Test withdrawn and amended agreements.
