Consigne
How long signing really takes
Signing takes a minute. Getting someone to sign takes as long as they take to open the email, which is not a technical problem.
The question always comes before the first send, and usually carries an expectation that is either too optimistic or too gloomy. The honest answer has two very different parts: the act of signing is instant; what takes time is everything else.
Where the time actually goes
| Stage | How long it tends to take | What it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing and sending | Minutes | You |
| Them opening it | Minutes to days | Their day, not the tool |
| Signing once opened | A minute | Whether it is clear what to do |
| With several signers | As long as the slowest | How the order is arranged |
| If someone must check it first | Days | Who else has to see it inside their company |
Important
The surprising row is the last, and it explains most long waits: **the person receiving it often cannot decide alone**. They need their manager, their adviser or their department to look at it, and that step is invisible from outside — to you it looks like they never opened it. Asking «does anyone else need to see this first?» when you send saves more days than any reminder, because it turns chasing into helping.
What actually shortens the wait
Watch out
A calendar detail almost nobody accounts for: **what goes out on Friday afternoon gets signed on Monday or Tuesday**. Not from indifference, but because Friday's email is read on Monday with forty others in front of it. If your date is tight, the day you send matters nearly as much as the reminder, and Tuesday morning outperforms any later chasing.
When it is worth worrying
- 1
If it has not been opened in two days
It is usually the email, not the person: check the address.
- 2
If it was opened and not signed
There is a doubt or a missing approver: a short call settles it.
- 3
If the turn is stuck on the second signer
Check whether the first one told them, or nobody did.
Worth knowing
Signing speed is not decided by the technology: it is decided by how easy it is to understand what is being signed and who has to see it first. Everything else is minutes.
›How many reminders are worth sending?
Few and spaced out; past the third they stop working.
›Is signing from a phone slower?
The opposite: it is what shortens the wait most.
›Can I tell whether they opened it?
Yes, and that is exactly what tells you whether the problem is the email or the decision.
A real case
The situation
A company waits four days for a signature and assumes the client is not interested.
What you do
- Asks whether anyone else must see it first and sends to the person who decides
What you get
It is signed that afternoon: the delay was an internal review nobody had mentioned.
The situation
Time is measured from when the document is opened.
What you do
- Counts from when it is sent
What you get
The figure reflects the real wait.
The situation
It is sent Friday afternoon and counted as a delay.
What you do
- Schedules sends within working hours
What you get
The figure stops penalising the signer.
The situation
One particular signer always takes weeks.
What you do
- Talks to them or changes contact
What you get
The cause is addressed rather than the average.
The situation
Times are compared across very different documents.
What you do
- Separates by document type
What you get
The comparison makes sense.
The situation
It is measured and nothing changes.
What you do
- Adjusts reminders using the figure
What you get
The indicator supports a decision.
This article answers
- how long does an electronic signature take
- waiting two days for a signature
- how to speed up getting signed
- the client is not signing what do I do