What this feature does

Epowerhr can generate a document from a Word template, fill it with data from the employee's record, and send it to one or more signers for a legally valid electronic signature. Signers sign with eID, itsme, SMS or e-mail (one-time code). When everybody has signed, Epowerhr files the signed PDF and the signing audit trail on the employee's profile automatically.

The whole flow stays inside Epowerhr: HR generates the document from the record it belongs to, the signer gets a to-do and an e-mail, signs in the browser, and lands back in Epowerhr afterwards. The signature itself is handled by an external e-signature platform connected to Epowerhr by BCS Epowerhr.

Generated documents — the draft, the signed PDF and the signing audit trail — are filed automatically in the employee's personnel file. You never have to upload or move a file by hand. The document category you choose on the template decides where in the personnel file the document lands and who may see it. See Document management for how the personnel file, categories and visibility work.

Before you start

You need:

• Permissions — View generated documents to see the signing status, Add / Update / Delete generated document to generate, send and remove documents. Managing templates additionally needs Add / Update / Delete template document.
• A Word template (.docx) containing the text of the agreement and the placeholder tags described below.
• Signers who are Epowerhr users — every signer must be an existing user with a language set on the user record. Signers who use SMS (or eID) must also have a valid mobile number in international format (for example +32475123456), either as Business mobile or Home mobile.
• Signing credits — electronic signatures are paid for with credits. Digital signing has to be activated for your organisation and a credit balance has to be available before documents can be sent for signature. Contact your BCS Epowerhr sales contact for the conditions and to order credits.

Key concepts

• Document template — the .docx file plus its configuration: which object it belongs to, which document category the result is filed under, which fields it merges, and who signs it.
• Tag — a placeholder such as #PersonFirstName# or #SIG001_100_200# that you paste into the Word file. Epowerhr replaces field tags with data, and the e-signature platform uses the #SIG…# tag to place the signature.
• Generated document — one concrete document created from a template for one employee, with its own signing status.
• Signer — one person who has to sign, with a sign order and one or more allowed signing methods.
• Audit trail — a PDF produced by the e-signature platform that records who signed what, when and how. It is stored next to the signed document.

Part 1 — Configure a document template (admin)

Step 1 — Create the template

Navigate to Admin → Document templates and create a new template. Fill in:

Save. You can copy an existing template with the Copy button in the action bar.

Step 2 — Add fields (Fields tab)

Open the Fields tab of the template.

Merge fields pull data straight from Epowerhr. They are grouped by source — General, Person, Address, Employee contract, Absence, Side activity — and each has a fixed tag, for example:

• #PersonFirstName#, #PersonLastName#, #PersonBirthDate#, #PersonSocialSecurityNumber#
• #PersonAddressStreet#, #PersonAddressNumber#, #PersonAddressPostalCode#, #PersonAddressCity#
• #EmployeeContractStartDate#, #EmployeeContractContractType#, #EmployeeContractFte#, #EmployeeContractProbationEndDate#
• #AbsenceStartDate#, #AbsenceEndDate#, #AbsenceAbsenceType#
• #SideActivityName#, #SideActivityStartDate#, #SideActivityDescription#
• #CurrentDate# — the date the document is generated

Free fields are values that are not in Epowerhr and are typed in by the person generating the document. Per free field you set the type (Text, Text area, Number, Date), a label per language, an optional default value and the order in which they appear in the generation wizard. Each free field gets its own tag.

Copy each tag into the Word file at the place where the value has to appear. Tags are matched case-insensitively.

Step 3 — Add signers (Signatures tab)

Open the Signatures tab and click Add signer.

Each signer row shows a tag such as #SIG001_100_200#. Copy it (the copy icon next to the tag) and paste it into the Word file exactly where the signature block of that signer must be placed.

Important: do not edit the tag text. The number matches the sign order and the _100_200 part defines the size of the signature area. Epowerhr renumbers the tags when you change the sign order, so re-check the tags in your Word file after reordering. Generating fails with a "signing marker missing" error when a signer's tag is not found in the document.

The tags themselves are made invisible (white text) in the document that goes to the e-signature platform, so they do not show up in the final PDF.

Part 2 — Generate a document (HR)

Step 1 — Start the wizard

Open the record the document belongs to — an employee contract, an absence or a side activity — and click Generate document. A four-step wizard opens.

1. Template — pick the template. A preview of the raw template is shown.
2. Data — fill in the free fields defined on the template. Merge fields are filled automatically and shown read-only. If the template has no free fields, the step shows There are no fields configured for this template.
3. Document example — a PDF preview of the finished document, with all data merged and each signature area marked as Signature [name]. Use this to check the layout before generating.
4. Signatures — the list of signers with their order, name, allowed methods and (where relevant) the e-mail address and mobile number that will be used.

Click Generate.

If a signer has no valid mobile number, or a signer cannot be resolved to a user, the wizard blocks here and shows Mobile phone must be in an international format (ex. +32XXXXXXXXX) or Not all signers have an existing user. Fix the user or contact data and start again.

Step 2 — Send for signature

The generated document appears in the documents list of the record with signing status Send for signature. Nothing has been sent yet — the document exists in Epowerhr only.

Click Send for signature. Epowerhr then:

• uploads the document to the e-signature platform and converts it to PDF/A,
• registers each signer with their allowed signing methods and their signature position,
• sets the status of the document and of every signer to Waiting for signature,
• creates a to-do for the signers and sends the Agreement to sign e-mail.

Notifications from the e-signature platform itself are switched off deliberately, so signers only ever receive the Epowerhr e-mail.

Part 3 — Sign a document (signer)

The signer receives an e-mail Agreement to sign with a link, and sees a to-do … agreement(s) to sign in Epowerhr.

1. Click the to-do or the link in the e-mail. Epowerhr opens the Agreements to sign page listing the documents waiting for this person.
2. Click the document. Epowerhr hands over to the e-signature platform.
3. Choose a signing method — the methods the administrator allowed for this signer: eID (card reader), itsme (app), SMS (code by text message) or E-mail (code by e-mail).
4. Complete the signature. The signer is returned to Epowerhr with the confirmation Agreement correctly signed.

If more signers follow in the order, the next signer is only invited after the previous one has signed. A signer who refuses can reject the document; the flow then stops and no further signers are asked.

After the last signature the signer is taken to their own documents (if they may see the category) or back to their homepage.

Part 4 — After signing

When every signer has signed, Epowerhr automatically:

• downloads the signed PDF and replaces the original Word document with it in the employee's personnel file,
• stores the audit trail PDF next to it (file name ends in _AuditTrail.pdf),
• makes the signed document visible to the employee,
• sends the Agreement signed e-mail to the employee,
• removes the package from the e-signature platform (the platform keeps no copy).

The signed document and the audit trail can be found in the employee's personnel file, under the document category configured on the template. From there they behave like any other document: the same categories, permissions and visibility rules apply — see Document management.

Signing statuses

Deleting a document

Deleting a generated document also cleans up at the e-signature platform: a request that is still pending is revoked first, then the package, the document file and the audit trail are removed. Open to-dos for that document disappear.

Frequently asked questions

Does digital signing cost anything? Yes. Electronic signatures are charged with credits, on top of your regular Epowerhr subscription. The feature must be activated for your organisation and enough credits must be available before documents can be sent for signature. Your BCS Epowerhr sales contact can explain the pricing and arrange credits for you.

Can the same person sign more than once in one document? Yes — add the signer twice with a different sign order. Each occurrence gets its own #SIG…# tag and its own signature area.

Can signers sign in any order? No. The order set on the template is enforced: each signer is invited only after the previous one has signed.

Do signers need an Epowerhr licence? Signers must be Epowerhr users. External parties who are not users cannot be added as signers.

Which signing method should we allow? Allow more than one where possible. eID needs a card reader, itsme needs the app, SMS needs a correct mobile number on the person, and e-mail needs a valid e-mail address on the user. If a method is unavailable to a signer, they simply pick one of the others.

Where are the generated documents stored? In the employee's personnel file, under the document category set on the template — automatically, as soon as the document is generated. Nothing has to be uploaded or filed by hand.

Why does the employee not see the document yet? A document that still needs signatures is filed under the template's document category and is only made visible to the employee once it is fully signed. Templates without signers produce a document that is visible immediately. Visibility further depends on the category settings described in Document management.

What happens if a signer rejects? The document gets status Rejected, the signers who had not signed yet are reset, and the package is closed at the e-signature platform. Generate a new document to restart.

Where do we find proof of who signed? In the audit trail PDF stored next to the signed document. It lists each signer, the moment of signing and the method used. Epowerhr additionally logs the signing method and date per signer.