Available on: Patriot HR Software
Required: Employees must have employee portal access to sign a template sent to them.
A template is a reusable document you upload once and add signature, initial or date fields to. Once saved, you can send to employees over and over, such as a handbook acknowledgment, a policy update, or a standard offer letter. If you attach signature fields to a template, every employee who receives the template goes through the same request-and-sign process described in How to Request an Employee E-Signature on a Document, without the need to re-upload the file or re-place the fields each time.
Templates are managed on the Templates tab inside the Document Library. Patriot doesn't provide any default or pre-built templates. However, you create templates by uploading your own PDF file, or by downloading a template from the HR Center, (included with Patriot HR) or adding your custom handbook from the HR Center.
How to Create a New Template for Employee Signatures
Go to Payroll > Human Resources > Document Library
Select the Templates tab
Click Create Template
Enter a Template Name (required, 70 characters max) and an optional Description (200 characters max)
Upload a PDF (25 MB max) by dropping the file in the upload zone or browsing for the file on your computer.
Only PDFs are accepted for templates
Need to make a change? After uploading, you can click the file to replace it with a different one
Click Continue: Place Fields
On the field placement screen, drag Signature, Initials, or Date fields from the right panel onto the document to mark where employees will sign, initial, or date the document
Resize or reposition a placed field by dragging the field, or remove the field using the X on the field or in the Placed Fields panel
You can place as many fields as needed
When you're done placing fields, choose one of two options at the top of the screen:
Save & Close — saves the template to the Templates tab without sending the template to anyone yet
Next: Save & Share — saves the template and immediately continues to send the template to employees with portal access (see the Sending a Template section of this article)
Once saved, the template appears as a card on the Templates tab showing its name, description, number of fields placed, and a Last Sent date (shows "Never" until you send the template for the first time).
Managing Your Templates
Go to Payroll > Human Resources > Document Library
Select the Templates tab
The Templates tab lists every template as a card. Use the search box at the top to find a template by name.
Each template card includes:
Preview (eye icon) — opens a read-only view of the PDF with any placed signature fields visible, so you can confirm the document and field placement before sending
Send (envelope icon) — opens the send flow described in the Sending a Template section of this article
Three dots menu (···) — click to access:
Edit — available for editing signature fields or the template name only if the template has never been sent
Duplicate — creates an exact copy of the template, labeled "Copy of [Template Name]," with its own Last Sent: Never status
Delete — removes the template after you confirm in the Delete Template modal
Note: If a template has already been sent to employees, deleting the template from the Templates tab doesn't affect documents already shared with employees — deleting only removes the reusable template itself.
To remove a document that was already shared from a template, go to Payroll > Human Resources > Document Library, select the Shared Companywide or Shared Individually tab as needed, and click the trash can to delete the document. Alternatively, you can toggle Display in Portal to the "off" (gray) state to unshare the document.
How to Send a E-sign Document Template
You can send a template either from the Templates tab or by choosing From Template when requesting a signature from the Shared Companywide or Shared Individually tab (see How to Request an Employee E-Signature on a Document). The sections below cover sending a template directly from the Templates tab.
Starting the Send Flow
On the Templates tab, click the Send icon on the template card (or click Send from the template's Preview screen)
A modal will open. Choose who receives the template:
All Employees (default) — sends the template to everyone at your company
Individual Employees — reveals a searchable employee list where you can check the box next to each employee you want to send the template to
Use Show Inactives to include inactive employees in the list
Employees will be tagged with "No Portal Access" or "Self-Onboarding" badges next to their names
Click Continue to move to the sharing options
On the sharing options screen, choose how to share the template:
Display in employee portal (on by default) makes the template visible to employees with portal access
Send email notification (on by default, only shown when Display in employee portal is on) emails employees with portal access
Email Subject — auto-populated as "Please sign: [Template Name]"; you can edit the subject
Email Message — add to or edit the auto-populated message
Click the button (the button label changes based on the sharing options selected above):
Send to Recipients — shares the template to the portal and sends an email
Share Document — shares the template to the portal without an email
Save Document — saves the template to each recipient's record without sharing the document or requesting a signature yet
Once sent, the template behaves exactly like any other e-signature request:
The document appears on the Shared Companywide or Shared Individually tab with an E-Signature status, on each employees individual Documents tab and on the Signature Status tab, where you can track who has signed.
See How to Request an Employee E-Signature on a Document for details on tracking signature status, viewing the audit trail, and what the employee experience looks like.
Note: The template's Last Sent date on the Templates tab updates each time you send the template, whether you send the template companywide or to individual employees.