How to Decline Documents in Your CRM

About the Document Decline Feature

The document decline feature provides a formal process for recipients and business users to indicate that an agreement will not be moving forward. Instead of a document remaining in an unsigned state, this feature allows you to capture a specific decline reason and any additional notes. This structured feedback is then stored within the CRM, enabling you to automate follow-up actions, analyze trends, and gain valuable insights into lost opportunities.

How a Recipient Declines a Document

When a recipient decides not to sign a document, they can formally decline it using the following steps.

1. Open the document link they received.
2. Click the menu icon located in the top-right corner of the document view.
3. Select the Decline Document option from the menu.
4. If available, select one or more reasons for declining from the list provided.
5. Optionally, add any further explanation in the notes field.
6. Click Submit to finalize the decline.

Once submitted, the document's status is updated to Declined and it is moved to the Archived section. The document can no longer be signed, and the decline details are recorded.

How a Business User Declines a Document

Users within your business can also decline a document directly from the CRM, which is useful when a deal is no longer valid or you wish to formally close the process.

1. Navigate to the Documents & Contracts section.
2. Locate and open the document you wish to decline.
3. Use the available decline action for the document.
4. Confirm the action to update the document's status.

After a business user declines a document, it is treated the same as a recipient decline, with the status updated and the document moved to the archive.

Using the Declined Status in Workflows

You can automate your team's response to a declined document by creating a workflow trigger.

1. Go to Workflows and create a new workflow or edit an existing one.
2. Add a new trigger and select Documents & Contracts.
3. Set the trigger filter for document Status.
4. Choose Declined as the status.
5. Add the desired actions to the workflow, such as sending an email notification, creating a task, or updating a pipeline stage.

Including Decline Reasons in Email Templates

To personalize communication about a declined document, you can use specific custom values in your email templates.

• Document Decline Reasons: This value will insert a list of the reasons selected when the document was declined.
• Document Decline Reasons Body: This value will insert any additional notes provided during the decline.

You can use these values in follow-up emails or internal notifications to provide context for the decision.

Tracking and Viewing Decline History

All declined documents are stored for review, allowing you to understand the circumstances behind each decision.

1. Go to Documents & Contracts.
2. Select the Archived view to see all declined documents.
3. Open the specific document you want to review.
4. Select View History to see a detailed timeline of the decline event.

The history view will show who declined the document, the date and time it was declined, the selected reasons, and any notes that were added.