How proposal acceptance works
Powerlily connects a customer’s electronic signature to a specific revision of the proposal and the exact terms presented with it. The acceptance record preserves what the customer reviewed, when they accepted it, the signature they adopted, and supporting audit information.
This guide explains the Powerlily workflow. Your company remains responsible for choosing appropriate contract language, identifying authorized signers, and confirming that its process meets the legal and regulatory requirements that apply to the transaction.
Create a terms library
Companies can maintain reusable Terms & Conditions documents in quote settings.
- Open quote settings.
- Select the Terms tab.
- Create or edit a terms document.
- Give it a clear internal name.
- Add the contract language and any supported proposal variables.
- Choose the company default where appropriate.
- Save and review the customer-facing result.
Managing the shared library requires the appropriate company-settings permission. Other team members can select available terms while preparing a proposal according to their quote permissions.
Use proposal variables carefully
Terms can contain supported variable chips that resolve against the current project, customer, and company data. Variables are useful for names, addresses, prices, system details, and other information that should match the proposal.
Always preview the rendered terms before requesting a signature. A missing source value can produce an incomplete contract even when the reusable template itself is correct.
Choose the terms for a proposal
A proposal uses its selected terms document or, when none is selected, the company default. The terms choice can be changed from the proposal’s steps or section editor before acceptance is requested.
Confirm that the selected terms suit that customer, project type, financing arrangement, jurisdiction, and scope of work. Do not assume the default is appropriate for every transaction.
Review before requesting a signature
Before sending a signing request, verify the complete customer-facing proposal:
- Customer legal name and email address
- Site and billing information
- Selected system and equipment
- Price, taxes, incentives, discounts, and financing
- Production and savings representations
- Scope, exclusions, schedule assumptions, and payment terms
- Selected Terms & Conditions
- Any person designated to countersign for the company
The customer should be able to understand what they are accepting without relying on an earlier draft, an informal message, or a verbal correction.
Request a signature
From the project’s acceptance controls, choose Request signature. Powerlily creates a numbered acceptance revision for the current proposal and terms.
- Enter a short reason for the request, such as “Initial customer approval” or “Updated equipment and contract price.”
- Choose whether to email the customer immediately.
- Choose text delivery when the customer and company texting setup are eligible.
- Send the request.
The reason is saved with the acceptance history so the team can explain why that revision was issued.
Use the customer’s signing link
The signing request gives the customer an authorized path to review and sign the proposal. If a person opens the proposal without authorization to sign, Powerlily can offer to email the signing link to the customer address on the project.
A signing link should be sent only to the intended signer. Correct the customer email before sending if the address is outdated, shared unexpectedly, or belongs to someone who is not authorized to accept the proposal.
What the customer does
The customer signs from the proposal after reviewing its content and terms:
- Select Review terms and read the Terms & Conditions.
- Select Sign proposal.
- Draw a signature or type a full legal name to adopt a rendered signature.
- Confirm the signer’s full legal name.
- Accept the terms and consent to electronic records and signatures.
- Select Sign and finish.
Drawing and typing are both supported signing paths. The final signature is submitted as the adopted signature image.
Consent and intent
The customer must actively confirm the acceptance and electronic-records consent before signing. Powerlily stores the exact consent wording with the acceptance record so later interface-copy changes do not rewrite what that signer agreed to.
The acceptance also records the statement confirming that the customer reviewed the proposal and accepts its terms and conditions.
What Powerlily preserves
For a current acceptance record, Powerlily preserves evidence that can include:
- The numbered proposal revision
- A snapshot of the proposal content
- The exact Terms & Conditions shown with that revision
- A frozen proposal PDF captured at acceptance
- The signer’s name and project email
- The adopted signature
- The server-recorded acceptance time
- The IP address and browser user agent
- The acceptance and electronic-signature consent statements
- SHA-256 digests for the proposal evidence and acceptance receipt
The evidence digest identifies the captured proposal evidence. The acceptance receipt digest combines that evidence with the signature and acceptance details so the record can be checked for consistency.
Protection against signing a changed proposal
Powerlily verifies that the proposal still matches the requested revision when the customer submits the signature. If the proposal changed while it was open, signing stops and the customer must refresh and review the latest version.
This prevents an older open browser tab from silently accepting content that no longer matches the proposal on the project.
Optional company countersignature
A proposal can designate a company team member as its countersigner. When required, the customer acceptance remains preserved while Powerlily asks that specific person to add the company signature.
Only the designated countersigner can complete that step. The countersignature records its own server timestamp, signer details, IP address, user agent, consent, signature, and receipt digest. Its digest is chained to the customer’s acceptance receipt.
Sealed signed copy
After all required signatures are complete, Powerlily can produce a sealed signed PDF and attach it to the project. The sealed document has its own SHA-256 digest and can be opened from the acceptance history.
The completed copy can be emailed after sealing. Confirm that the customer’s email is accurate and keep the signed document with the rest of the project record.
Review Signature History
Open the project’s acceptance controls and select Signature history. Each revision shows its status and the evidence available for it.
The history can include:
- Revision number and date
- Accepted, superseded, expired, or awaiting-countersignature status
- Signer name and email
- Request reason and viewing time
- Signer IP address for authorized staff
- Countersigner status and details
- The exact terms for that revision
- Proposal, acceptance, countersignature, and sealed-PDF digests
- The customer and company signature images
- A link to the sealed signed copy when available
Request a new signature after changes
If an accepted proposal changes materially, request a new signature rather than treating the earlier acceptance as approval of the new content.
- Finish the proposal and terms changes.
- Open the acceptance controls.
- Select Request a new signature.
- Describe what changed.
- Send the new request to the customer.
The earlier accepted revision remains preserved. When the customer accepts the new revision, the previously current acceptance becomes Superseded rather than being erased.
Replacing an unsigned request
If another signature is requested while an earlier request is still pending, the earlier unsigned revision remains in the audit trail as Expired. The customer should use the newest active request.
Provide a clear request reason so the team and customer understand which version should be reviewed.
Legacy signature records
A signature created before revision-based acceptance history may appear as a legacy record. If its original proposal snapshot or terms are unavailable, Powerlily does not substitute newer terms and present them as the historical contract.
Review legacy records carefully and retain any older signed documents or evidence your company already holds.
Accepted evidence is immutable
After acceptance, the core evidence cannot be edited. A current acceptance can later become Superseded, an authorized countersignature can be added once when required, and the sealing process can attach the completed record. The original proposal snapshot, terms, customer signature, and audit details remain unchanged.
Good acceptance practices
- Use legal names for the customer and company signer.
- Have qualified counsel review your terms for the jurisdictions where you sell.
- Preview resolved variables before sending.
- Describe every new signature request accurately.
- Do not edit the proposal while a customer is actively signing it.
- Request a new signature after material price, equipment, scope, or contract changes.
- Use a designated countersigner only when your process requires one.
- Download or retain the sealed signed copy according to your document-retention policy.
- Restrict acceptance history and IP-address access to staff who need it.
Troubleshooting
The customer cannot sign
Confirm that they are using the active signing link and that the request is still Pending. If they opened an ordinary proposal link without signing authorization, have them request the signing link by email.
The proposal changed while it was open
Ask the customer to refresh the proposal and review the current revision. If the changes were material, issue a new signature request with an accurate reason.
The Sign and finish button is disabled
The customer must adopt a drawn or typed signature, enter the required legal name, and check the terms and electronic-signature consent box.
The revision is awaiting a countersignature
The designated company countersigner must sign before Powerlily can complete the sealed copy. Confirm that the selected team member is still active and can access the project.
The sealed copy is not available yet
Confirm that every required signature is complete. Sealing happens after acceptance and countersigning, and processing may take a short time. Check again before issuing a duplicate request.
The terms are wrong
Do not alter the accepted record. Correct the company or proposal terms, explain the change, and request a new signature for the updated revision.
Related guides
- Creating and Comparing Quote Options
- PDF Templates and the Proposal Builder
- The Client Portal
- Tasks, Events, Notes, Files, and Project History
- Conversations, SMS, and Team Collaboration
- Automating Your Workflow: Triggers, Steps, and Conditions
