Digital Signatures in Xplan

 

Video Published March 2020

  

Overview

Clients can digitally sign any PDF documents that have been loaded to filing in Xplan. Clients will require a valid email address and mobile phone number in the system to be able to utilise this new feature as they will need to receive an email and an SMS to digitally sign the document.

Each client signature is permanently recorded with details including time/date stamp, IP address and an SHA-256 hash for the document.

Setting up clients

In order to use digital signatures each signatory requires:

  1. A valid email address
  2. A mobile number set up in Xplan with “Preferred SMS” set to yes.

Email

Each signatory requires a unique email address i.e. a client must have a different email address to the partner if they are both required to sign a document.

Mobile

Each signatory also requires a unique mobile number entered in Xplan.

The mobile number needs to be recorded as Type > Mobile Phone and the Preferred SMS Mobile option set to Yes.

How to send a digital signature request

For a client to be able to sign a document using a digital signature, you need to create a file note and attach the PDF version of the document to be signed.

How to create the file note

Navigate to the client’s Filing and click the Add button to create the file note.

When creating the file note, ensure everyone who is required to sign the document is attached to the file note by clicking on the Related tab and the Add button under “Entities”:

Select the Attachment tab then the Upload File button to attach the PDF version of the document that the client needs to sign:

 

How to send a digital signature request to the client

Click the Action button to the left of the file note and select Digital Signature:

Note: If this option is greyed out, please refer to the Trouble shooting: The Digital Signature option is greyed out section of this guide.

A popup window will appear where you can select which PDF document needs to be signed, and the Signatory to the document. You can also enter a due date for the signature and the client will not be able to sign the document after this time.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only PDF documents can be digitally signed.

Once you have selected the documents to be signed, who is to sign them, and by when the signatures are required, click on Save and Finalise signatories.

There are now three options to choose from to continue:

View and Sign

The View and Sign option will allow the client to digitally sign the document whilst with the adviser. Select the documents to be signed by ticking to the left of the document name and they will open within Xplan for the client to read and there will be digital signature box to the right of the screen. Once the client is ready to sign the document, they need to click on their name and the box will expand:

The client is required to read and accept the terms and conditions using the tick box, then click on the Generate Code button. This will trigger the sending of a system generated code to the client by SMS, which the client will then type into Xplan and click the Sign button. If they decide that they do not wish to sign or if they want to sign the hard copy, they can tick the relevant option, then click Done.

Notify

The Notify option will allow clients to login remotely to sign the document. When you select this option, the system will send an email to the signatories notifying them they have a document that needs to be signed. If the client does not have Client Online Access, they will also be sent an email with login details to sign the document. If the client already has online access they will log in as usual. Please refer to Touch section of this guide for more information.

Void

The Void option will cancel the digital signature option and lock the file note from further actions. The client will no longer be able to digitally sign this document and you will not be able to send another request. The Void function is the only option that will allow you to delete the file note.

Touch: Client login

All clients may be given a touch login. This allows clients to access to their client focus data, portfolio data and the engage tool depending on the capabilities you assign to them.

The Touch version of Xplan is accessible via https://cwt.xplan.iress.com.au/touch and can also be downloaded as an app via either the Apple Store or the Android Play Store. The app is called Xplan Touch. Both advisers and clients can access Touch via the app.

Emails sent to Signatories

When you choose “Notify” signatories will receive an email notifying them they have a document to sign:

In the event that the signatory does not already have Client Online Access they will get a second email with login details:

Notifications for the User

You will also receive a notification in your envelope in Xplan to confirm that the email has been sent.

You will also receive a notification when the document has been signed:

When the client clicks on the link in the email, they will be taken to the Touch login screen and they will need to enter in the login details that were provided on the email.

Signing documents in Touch

Once the client has logged into Touch they will navigate to the “Digital Signature” tile.

The client will click on the “View and sign” button on the right and they will then see the document on the left, and on the right, the signing area.

Once the client has read the document, and is ready to sign, they need to tick the box on the right to confirm that they accept the terms and conditions (the client/s should also read the terms and conditions by clicking on the hyperlink). Once they have done this, the “Generate code” button will change colour and become brighter to indicate that they can now click on it.

Once the client clicks on the “Generate code” button, they will receive a text message to their listed mobile phone number and it will contain a verification code:

The signatory will then need to enter their verification code and the “Sign” button will now be available to click. The signatory will get a confirmation message pop up in Touch to confirm that they have successfully signed the documents.

 

Viewing the Digital Signature status

There are 2 ways to view if a document has been digitally signed or if the signature is still outstanding. This can be done via the clients file notes or via and you should be able to see the Signatures option.

Client File Notes

This method is best used if you’re looking for a specific document.

Any file notes that have had a digital signature request sent to the client, will have a pencil icon next to the subject name. This icon is the same whether the digital signature is pending, accepted, voided or rejected.

To confirm the digital signature status, click on the Action button next to the file note and select Digital Signature and select the attachment and you will then be able to see the digital signature status:

Digital Signatures Screen

This method is designed to view your clients who either have outstanding or completed digital signature requests. To navigate to this area, click on > Signatures:

There are multiple options by which to filter:

  • Status
    • All
    • Partial – This is for documents that have 2 or more signatories and still have outstanding signatures.
    • Complete – All signatories have signed the document
    • Declined – The signatory/s have declined to sign the document
    • Void – The adviser’s office has terminated the digital signature request
    • Pending – The signatories have not yet signed the document
  • Date Type
    • Due date – The date that the document needs to be signed by
    • Date notified – The date that the digital signature request was submitted to the signatories
    • Date Finalised – The date the signatures were finalised by the signatories
  • Date Range
  • Signatories
    • If left blank, it will search through your entire client database.
    • Multiple clients can be searched for and selected for a single search
  • Finalised by
    • If left blank, it will search through your entire client database.
    • Multiple clients can be searched for and selected for a single search
  • Signatories Adviser
    • Select the Adviser name
  • User Group
    • Select the Adviser’s user group

Click on the search button at the top right of the screen to bring through the digital signature requests based on the search criteria.

Under the status heading, it confirms if the document has been digitally signed or if it is still outstanding. The pencils are colour coded on this screen to assist in indicating the different document statuses.

The Action button provides additional options that are only available from the digital signatures screen.

  • View Signatories – Displays client name, mobile registered for SMS and the digital signature status.
  • View and Sign – This option allows for the client to sign the document in the office. For more information, please refer back to the View and Sign section under How to send a digital signature request of this guide.
  • Notify Signatories – This will re-send the email to the client/s, requested them to login to Touch to digitally sign the document.
  • Download Certificate – This option allows you to download a PDF document with when and where the document was signed
  • Void – This allows you to cancel the request. Please refer back to Void under How to send a digital signature request of this guide for more information.
  • Download – This option allows you to download the PDF document that was digitally signed by the client/s and the Digital Signature Certificate.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting: The Digital Signature option is greyed out

If the Digital Signature option is greyed out, you will need to check:

  1. Does the file note have a PDF document attached?
  2. Do you have the digital signature licence turned on? You can check this by clicking on and you should be able to see the Signatures
  3. Check that all of the linked clients have their email and mobile details set up correctly (Please refer to “Setting up clients”)

Troubleshooting: Resetting the Touch password

If the client requires their Touch password to be reset, you can do this via Xplan.
Go into the client’s profile and click on Client Access à Access.
This is a screenshot of a client who has the free version of Touch.

Click on the “Edit button” and then you will need to select “Yes” for the “Change Password” and “Change Password On Next Login” fields to gain access to the Password and Confirm New Password fields.