In February, I wrote about the Teams Approvals app. At the time, I concluded that the Approvals app delivers simple workflow that is attractive because it’s so easy to use. Microsoft still hasn’t enabled guest user access to Approvals, but they have some other features, including the ability to add electronic signatures from third-party providers.
Microsoft cites Adobe Sign and DocuSign as examples of providers which allow users to create an approval needing an electronic signature. DocuSign doesn’t seem to be ready to support Teams just yet, but the offer to use Adobe Sign turned up in my tenant, so I tried it out.
Licenses Needed for Adobe Sign
Anyone sent an item to approve can use Adobe Sign to sign it without a license, but users need an Adobe Sign license to generate new approval requests. Adobe offers a trial (14 days in Ireland, different periods elsewhere), which is enough to prove the concept.
The process to use eSignatures with approval requests is simple. The person seeking approval creates a new approval request and chooses eSign as the approval type. They also choose an eSignature provider. If their account is not signed into the provider, they must authenticate at this point. Notice that the approval request must include an attached document. This is important because the document is the primary element routed by Teams to the provider’s cloud service for processing. Once the document reaches the provider, it goes through the same approval cycle used for any other document submitted for eSignature processing.
Figure 1: Creating an approval request for Adobe Sign to process
Oddly, the Approvals app only uploads documents stored on my local drive. No option was available to upload documents stored in SharePoint Online or OneDrive for Business unless local copies of synchronized files are available. It’s an odd omission given the importance Microsoft puts on storing files in the cloud to make it easier to index and discover content for both user and compliance purposes.
Seeking Approval
The requester must tell the sSignature provider who should sign the document and if the signers must sign in order (Figure 2). Although Teams will check the names against the tenant directory, you can add any valid SMTP address as a signer. Once Teams passes the request to the provider, it sends notifications to the signer addresses using its normal approval mechanisms.
Figure 2: Specifying signers for the approval request
Third-Party eSignature Processing
When the user sends the request, Teams captures information about the request under a tab for the provider in the Approvals app to allow the user to track its progress. Meantime, the provider works on details of the request sent to it by Teams. For Adobe Sign, that means sending email to the signers to notify them that a request is waiting. (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Email arrives from Adobe Sign seeking approval
This is the same process that “normal” document signing requests follow with Adobe Sign. The only difference is that Teams gathers the information about the document and injected it into Adobe Sign. Clicking the link in the message launches Adobe Sign with the document loaded and ready for signature (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Signing the approval request in Adobe Sign
As signers respond, Adobe Sign notifies Teams, which then posts an update in the user’s activity feed.
Finishing Up
Once everyone requested sign the document, Adobe Sign completes its process by emailing a copy of the fully signed document to the requester and signers and updating Teams that the approval cycle is complete. Teams posts a final notice to the user’s activity feed (Figure 5) and updates the request in the Approvals app.
Figure 5: The final approval as seen in Teams
Unlike normal approval requests, I noticed that eSign approval requests do not show up in Power Automate. This is probably because Teams doesn’t use Power Automate to process eSign requests.
Good Integration
Overall, the integration between Teams and Adobe Sign is reasonably seamless and a good example of how to combine cloud services from multiple sources to get work done. Everything worked as expected, and apart from not being able to upload documents from cloud sources, the only minor irritation I encountered was being asked to sign into Adobe Sign multiple times over a short period. It’s obvious that Adobe hasn’t quite mastered the art of single sign in just yet.
The bottom line is that if your organization uses an eSignature provider and has the necessary licenses, linking eSignatures to approval requests adds value. Users can quickly and easily request documents for approval without leaving Teams, reducing the need to wonder just how to submit a document for eSignature processing. It’s an integration worth investigating if eSignatures are important to your business operations.
Learn more about how to maximize your investment in Office 365 by subscribing to the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook. We update the book monthly to keep our subscribers informed.
2 Replies to “Using the Teams Approvals App with eSignatures”
Sadly, this is not that exciting for us in my country as we use token or mobile carrier electronic signatures based on ADOC format. So, still tied to our custom document management systems 🙂
{"id":null,"mode":"button","open_style":"in_modal","currency_code":"EUR","currency_symbol":"\u20ac","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":100,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cover-141x200.jpg","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Virtual Tip Jar","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for supporting the work of Office 365 for IT Pros!","payment_confirmation_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
Sadly, this is not that exciting for us in my country as we use token or mobile carrier electronic signatures based on ADOC format. So, still tied to our custom document management systems 🙂