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In today’s fast-paced business environment, managing documents and agreements efficiently is crucial for maintaining productivity and compliance. Agreements and SharePoint eSignature are powerful tools that streamline the process of managing and signing documents within an organization. Agreements allow you to create, store, and manage high-value documents in a centralized location, providing intelligent insights and automated workflows. With SharePoint eSignature – now integrated into Microsoft Word, you can securely sign documents electronically, eliminating the need for physical signatures and speeding up the approval process.

Read on to learn how these solutions can enhance efficiency, reduce paperwork, and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, making them essential for modern businesses.

Agreements

We heard your feedback and are excited to offer an end-to-end solution that automates common workflows. Agreements is a comprehensive tool for automating high-value documents like NDAs, purchase agreements, HR offer letters, and engineering specifications. We plan to make Agreements generally available this fall.  

You can import signed agreements into a central location, automatically extracting key information like counterparty and expiration date. This allows you to view all agreements with a specific counterpart and receive notifications when agreements are expiring, along with detailed reports.

Figure: Importing signed agreements.  

Build standardized templates with Agreements to ensure consistent language across your organization. You can configure workflows for automatic review and approval routing. 

Figure: Building standard templates for agreements.  

To ensure thorough review of your agreements, you can establish key requirements, such as incorporating a privacy section. By utilizing AI to automatically examine your agreements, you can save time and efficiently identify instances where these requirements are not fulfilled. 

Figure: AI assisted agreement review.  

Collaborating on agreements with external parties is a common scenario and we have it covered. With the Agreements solution, you can create secure Shared Channels for each client relationship. We currently support B2B customers and will soon add B2C user support. 

Agreements can be drafted, imported, revised with redlining, and electronically signed, all within a secure customer environment. 

SharePoint eSignature for Microsoft Word – General Availability  

We understand that document creation and collaboration are integral to your workflow in Microsoft Word. Therefore, we have integrated eSignatures directly into your processes with SharePoint eSignature for Microsoft Word. 

With our native eSignature solution, users can seamlessly insert signature fields into Word documents and request signatures without leaving the familiar Word environment. Recipients will sign a PDF that remains within your Microsoft 365 tenant throughout the signing process, ensuring convenience and security. The signed PDF is automatically stored in the same SharePoint location as the original Word document. 

Furthermore, your Word documents can serve as eSignature templates, thereby streamlining the process of sending signature requests and saving valuable time. SharePoint eSignature capabilities can be restricted to selected users through an Office Group Policy, and usage can also be confined to specific SharePoint sites. 

Figure: Using eSignature from Microsoft Word.   

SharePoint eSignature includes the functionality to request signatures from PDFs hosted on SharePoint sites through the web file previewer. This feature is currently available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, and it will be accessible globally by the end of the calendar year 2025. 

We’re also developing the capability to import documents that have been previously signed using Adobe and DocuSign. This enhancement ensures that all signed documents are securely and compliantly stored within Microsoft 365, allowing users to benefit from Copilot’s advanced reasoning capabilities. 

We’re also bringing your eSignature requests to the Agreements app, providing a single location to view agreements and eSignature requests. Users can create new agreements and monitor eSignature requests within the Agreements app. Additionally; users can generate eSignature requests and track their lifecycle within the workflow. 

Customer Story

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) faced inefficiencies and security concerns managing contracts across its 85 brands. By adopting Agreements, KSE standardized contract management using familiar tools, reducing developer workload through SharePoint automation. This shift is expected to streamline workflows like payment scheduling and renewals, enhance efficiency and ensure compliance across all brands.

Closing

Streamline your business documents with intelligent insights, workflow automation, and integrated approval processes with Agreements and SharePoint eSignature. Together, these solutions can help you securely organize and manage all your agreements, like purchase orders and engagement letters, within Microsoft 365.

We encourage you to learn more about these powerful solutions:

• Agreements: Introduction to Agreements | Microsoft Learn


• SharePoint eSignature: Overview of SharePoint eSignature | Microsoft Learn

If you’re at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference this week, connect with us at one of the activities below.

• Attend our session: Streamline Business Document Management with SharePoint Agreements Solution, May 7, 4:00pm PT


• Visit us at the Microsoft booth (#223): Microsoft Viva and SharePoint demo station


• Join us at the OneDrive and SharePoint attendee meetup, May 8, 1:00pm PT, in the Community Lounge