How to Use Fixed Positions in SignatureAPI with Microsoft Power Automate

Automate document signing with fixed position places using SignatureAPI and Microsoft Power Automate

Overview

This tutorial demonstrates how to streamline the employment contract process by automatically sending, signing, and storing contracts using fixed positions for places. By integrating Microsoft Forms (for data collection), OneDrive (for storing PDF forms), and the SignatureAPI connector (for electronic signatures), you can eliminate manual errors and delays in onboarding new employees.

For this tutorial, you will use the W-11 form from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which collects information from taxpayers as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act Employee Affidavit. This approach works for any PDF form with fields that need to be filled at fixed positions.

What You’ll Learn

• How to trigger a flow with a new Microsoft Forms response.
• How to determine fixed position coordinates for places on a PDF form.
• Creating and sending a signature envelope using SignatureAPI with fixed positions for places.
• Monitoring the signing process and retrieving the signed document.
• Saving the signed contract and notifying HR automatically.

The Problem

HR departments often struggle with manually handling contracts, causing delays in onboarding. Some of these contracts have fixed positions for places that need to be filled. That is the case with the W-11 form.

• Slow processing - manual tasks create delays.
• Errors - mistakes from manual data entry.
• Tracking difficulty - challenges in monitoring signing status.

How Automation Helps

Automation simplifies this process by:

• Automatically sending contracts upon form submission.
• Using fixed positions for places that need to be filled.
• Tracking signature status and storing documents automatically.
• Informing HR instantly once contracts are signed.

Requirements

Before starting, make sure you have:

• Power Automate - To build workflows.
• SignatureAPI account - For electronic signatures.
• Microsoft Forms - For collecting employee information.
• OneDrive - For storing your PDF forms.
• Outlook - For sending notifications (other email providers also work).

This flow also assumes that you have the W-11 PDF form template in your OneDrive, and that you have all the coordinates for the places that need to be filled.

Flow Overview

The automation process follows these steps:

1. Trigger: Microsoft Forms submission starts the flow.
2. Data Retrieval: Get employee details and fetch the W-11 PDF form template from OneDrive.
3. Signature Process: Create an envelope via SignatureAPI, add recipient details, and attach the W-11 PDF form.
4. Add Fixed Positions: Add the places with the fixed positions to the W-11 PDF form.
5. Monitoring: Wait for the W-11 PDF form to be signed.
6. Storage & Notification: Save the signed W-11 PDF form in OneDrive and notify HR via email.

Here is what your final Power Automate flow will look like:

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Follow these steps to automate your employment contract process using Microsoft Forms, SignatureAPI, and Power Automate:

Step 1: Get the Fixed Position Coordinates

First, determine the coordinates for each place on your PDF form where data needs to be filled in or signed. You can use a PDF coordinate tool or measure coordinates manually to find the exact positions.

To prepare your PDF form:

1. Get the coordinates of the places that need to be filled. You can use a PDF coordinate tool or measure coordinates manually to determine the top and left values for each place.
2. Flatten the form to a single-page PDF if needed.
3. Upload it to OneDrive (or another preferred storage service).

The fixed positions for the W-11 form are going to be the following:

[
    {
        "page": 1,
        "top": 154.0,
        "left": 86.4,
        "place_key": "employee_name"
    },
    {
        "page": 1,
        "top": 154.0,
        "left": 482.4,
        "place_key": "security_number"
    },
    {
        "page": 1,
        "top": 178.0,
        "left": 158.4,
        "place_key": "first_date_employment_0"
    },
    {
        "page": 1,
        "top": 178.0,
        "left": 194.4,
        "place_key": "first_date_employment_1"
    },
    {
        "page": 1,
        "top": 178.0,
        "left": 230.4,
        "place_key": "first_date_employment_2"
    },
    {
        "page": 1,
        "top": 178.0,
        "left": 345.6,
        "place_key": "employer_name"
    },
    {
        "page": 1,
        "top": 235,
        "left": 113,
        "place_key": "employee_signature"
    },
    {
        "page": 1,
        "top": 235,
        "left": 476,
        "place_key": "employee_completed_date"
    }
]

Important: The top and left coordinates are in points and are relative to the top-left corner of the page. The top value is the distance from the bottom of each place to the top of the page.

Step 2: Create the Microsoft Form

Create a Microsoft Form to collect the necessary employee details (First Name, Last Name, Email Address).

1. Visit Microsoft Forms and sign in.

2. Click New Form.

   

3. Name the form and add these required questions:

   • First Name (Text, required)
   • Last Name (Text, required)
   • Email Address (Text, required)
   

4. Save and publish your form.

   

Step 3: Set Up the Power Automate Flow

Now, create the automated workflow in Power Automate, triggered whenever a form is submitted.

3.1 Configure the Trigger

Set the flow trigger to run whenever your form is submitted.

1. Go to Power Automate and select Automated Cloud Flow.

2. Choose the trigger When a new response is submitted (Microsoft Forms).

   

3. Select the form you created earlier.

   

3.2 Retrieve Employee Details

Next, retrieve the employee details submitted through the form.

1. Add the action Get response details.

2. Select your form (Form ID) and the response (Response ID) from Dynamic Content.

   

3.3 Retrieve the PDF Form from OneDrive

Fetch your PDF form template stored in OneDrive.

1. Add Get File Content using Path from the OneDrive connector.

2. Select the PDF template stored in your OneDrive.

   

Step 4: Set Up the Signature Process

In this step, you will configure SignatureAPI to create, send, and track the signature process.

4.1 Create a SignatureAPI Envelope

Begin by creating an envelope to hold your document and signature process.

1. Add the Create an Envelope action (SignatureAPI connector).

2. If prompted, authenticate your connection using your SignatureAPI key from the SignatureAPI Dashboard.

3. Set an Envelope Title (for example, employee name) and email message using dynamic content.

4. From the advanced section, set the Envelope Routing to sequential.

   

4.2 Add the Recipient

Next, specify who will receive and sign the document.

1. Add the Add Recipient action.

2. Map Recipient Name and Recipient Email using form details (Dynamic Content).

3. Set the Recipient Key (for example, employee), matching your place keys.

   

4.3 Attach the W-11 PDF Form

Now, attach your PDF form to the envelope.

1. Add the Add a document - PDF action.

2. Select File Content from the OneDrive action.

3. Set the Document Title (for example, “W-11 Form”).

   

Step 5: Add the Fixed Positions to the W-11 Form

5.1 Define Signature Placement

Specify where the employee should sign on the document.

1. Add the Add a place - Signature action.

2. Set the Place Key to employee_signature.

3. Set the Recipient Key using dynamic content.

4. Set the Document ID using dynamic content.

5. From the advanced section, set the Place Height to 30. This can be adjusted according to the available space for the signature. See the Signature Height Docs for more details.

6. From the advanced section, select the Page Number, Distance From Top, and Distance From Left coordinates. Set them to the employee_signature place values from the fixed positions.

   

5.2 Define the Employee Completed Date Place

Specify the place for the employee completed date.

1. Add the Add a place - Recipient completed date action.

2. Set the Place Key to employee_completed_date.

3. Set the Document ID using dynamic content.

4. Set the Recipient Key using dynamic content.

5. From the advanced section, select the Page Number, Distance From Top, and Distance From Left coordinates. Set them to the employee_completed_date place values from the fixed positions.

   

5.3 Define the Text Input Places

For all other places that are text inputs, use the Add a place - Text Input action. For example, the employee name:

1. Add the Add a place - Text Input action and rename it to Add a place - Text Input - Employee Name.

2. Set the Place Key to employee_name.

3. Set the Document ID using dynamic content.

4. Set the Recipient Key using dynamic content.

5. From the advanced section, select the Page Number, Distance From Top, and Distance From Left coordinates. Set them to the employee_name place values from the fixed positions.

   

Repeat the same process for the other text input places, using the corresponding fixed position coordinates and place keys.

Step 6: Start the Signing Process

Trigger the sending of your envelope to the employee for signing.

1. Add the Start Envelope action.

2. Select the appropriate Envelope ID using dynamic content.

   

Step 7: Monitor and Finalize the Contract

Configure your flow to wait for the signing to complete, retrieve the signed contract, and notify HR.

7.1 Wait for Signature Completion

Pause the flow until the employee signs the contract.

1. Add the Wait for Envelope Completion action.

2. Select the correct Envelope ID using dynamic content.

   

7.2 Retrieve the Signed Contract

Once signed, automatically retrieve the completed document.

1. Add the Get a Deliverable action.

2. Select the correct Deliverable ID using dynamic content.

   

7.3 Save the Signed Contract to OneDrive

Save the signed document for record-keeping.

1. Add the Create File action (OneDrive connector).

2. Set the folder path and filename (ending in .pdf).

3. Map File Content from the deliverable.

   

7.4 Notify HR via Email

Automatically inform HR that the contract has been signed and saved.

1. Add the Send an Email action (Outlook connector).

2. Configure the email recipient (HR), subject, and message.

3. Attach the signed contract file from dynamic content. Use the File Content from the Get a Deliverable action, and set the filename to end in .pdf.

   

Step 8: Test Your Automation

Finally, test the entire process end-to-end.

1. Save your Power Automate flow.
2. Submit a test response through your Microsoft Form.
3. Verify the following:
   • Contract is sent to the employee.
   • Signature process initiates correctly.
   • Signed contract saves successfully in OneDrive.
   • HR receives an email notification with the signed contract attached.

Use the following checklist:

• Contract sent successfully.
• Employee receives and signs contract.
• Signed document stored correctly in OneDrive.
• HR receives email notification with attachment.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

Common Issues:

• API Key Errors: Ensure your SignatureAPI key is correct and authenticated.
• Dynamic Content Mapping: Double-check that place key names match exactly with the fixed position coordinates you defined in Step 1.
• File Access Issues: Verify permissions and file paths in OneDrive.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• What if the contract is not sent? Check your SignatureAPI dashboard for errors and verify recipient details.

• Can I adapt this for other document types? Yes, this method is adaptable for any PDF form that requires fixed position places.

• How do I find the coordinates for my own PDF? You can use a PDF coordinate tool or measure coordinates manually. The top and left values are in points, measured from the top-left corner of the page.

Best Practices & Security

• Always securely manage API keys and avoid hardcoding them in your flows.
• Regularly check flow runs in Power Automate for any errors.
• Document any flow or template changes for future reference.

Additional Resources

• SignatureAPI Documentation
• Microsoft Forms Help
• Power Automate Community

Conclusion

By completing this tutorial, you have successfully automated the process of sending, signing, and managing employment contracts using fixed positions. This workflow frees your HR team from repetitive tasks and ensures new employees have a smooth onboarding experience.

Happy Automating!