Fix common Salesforce e-signature failures fast

The problem, in two sentences

Your org sends contracts from Opportunity and then signatures fail or come back unusable: wrong fields, broken signature positions, or the signed PDF doesn't attach. These are common Salesforce e-signature failures and most are fixed with simple admin changes rather than code.

Why Salesforce e-signature failures look so messy

Before you start blaming the e-sign provider, check the usual suspects an admin can fix in minutes. The failures you see usually fall into five buckets: bad merge data, pagination and signature placement, file size and storage location, authentication problems for signers, and trigger/automation mistakes. I’ll walk through each with precise, click-by-click checks you can do right now in your org.

1. Merge fields are blank or wrong

Symptoms: Generated document has empty address lines, $0 totals, or old clause text.

Why: Template uses fields that aren’t populated on the record you merged from — e.g., using Opportunity.CloseDate when you actually sent the Quote.
Fix: Check the template’s field mapping against the actual record you click from. If you use a button on Quote, open the Quote record and confirm the fields are populated there.
Admin steps: Edit the template in DocGen, confirm the merge path (record type and lookup levels). If you rely on parent lookups, use the preview feature to pick a sample record and inspect the filled document.

2. Signature positions shift after repagination

Symptoms: Signatures appear on the wrong page or float over clauses when the document repaginates between draft and signed PDF.

Why: Fixed coordinates break when the document length changes. This happens a lot with long attachments like a 60-page contract or when conditional clauses appear.
Fix: Use anchor tags for signature placement. Anchor tags survive repagination because they match text, not coordinates.
Admin steps: Update your Word or PDF templates to include clear anchor text such as "[Signer1: Signature]" and set DocGen to use that anchor for the signer. Test with the longest contract variant your team uses — for example, a hypothetical 60-page agreement that includes all optional clauses.

3. Signed PDF not saved or hits Notes & Attachments size limit

Symptoms: After signing, you can’t find the signed document on the record or it fails to attach.

Why: Notes & Attachments is capped at 25 MB. If your documents approach that size, or if you bundle multiple templates, the attachment will fail.
Fix: Switch the template’s storage to Salesforce Files for large documents (DocGen supports both and will write back to Files when needed).
Admin steps: Open the template settings and set the output to Files instead of Notes & Attachments. Re-run a test with a large bundle to confirm the signed PDF lands on the record.

4. Signer authentication fails or slows things down

Symptoms: Signers can’t access the document, or you’re spending hours confirming identities.

Why: Your e-sign flow may assume email verification only when some contracts need stronger identity checks, or the per-signer password stored on Contact is missing.
Fix: Use the per-signer password option and one-time codes where required. DocGen supports emailed one-time codes and per-signer passwords read from the signer’s Salesforce record.
Admin steps: Update signer definitions in the template to require one-time codes or to pull a password field from the Contact/Lead record. Communicate the expectation to sales so signers aren’t surprised.

5. Automations trigger the wrong record or run at the wrong time

Symptoms: Signature runs use stale data, or multiple signature requests are sent for the same Opportunity.

Why: A flow or process builder might fire on Quote creation but reference Opportunity fields, or a stage-change trigger runs while a draft PDF is still attached.
Fix: Confirm the trigger source and scope. Use checks in the flow to ensure required fields exist and add a block that prevents duplicate sends.
Admin steps: Open the Flow or Process Builder that calls DocGen. Add an entry condition like Document_Status__c = 'Ready' and use the record-id passed by the button or process. For stage-based sends, add a brief pause or a status field so a file save completes before sending.

Quick testing checklist you can run in a sandbox

Run through this with a realistic record — for example, a Quote on an Opportunity with 200 renewals per month hypothetical volume to simulate load:

Generate a preview from the same button your sales reps use and inspect merged fields.
Test anchors: include the longest clause set to force repagination and confirm signature anchors hold position.
Attach a large bundle and confirm the signed PDF returns to Salesforce Files, not Notes & Attachments.
Test signer authentication with a Contact that has and doesn’t have a password field to see failure modes.
Trigger the flow or stage change and confirm only one signature run starts.

When to call for help and what to gather first

If fixes above don’t resolve the failure, collect these items before you ask support: the template name, example record ID, the exact error message from the signature provider (if any), and whether you used Files or Notes & Attachments. That lets the support team reproduce the issue quickly.

Savvy DocGen sends documents for signature using your Circularo account and writes the signed PDF back to the same record. It puts signatures using anchor tags so positions survive repagination, supports per-signer passwords and one-time codes, bundles templates, and handles files up to 40 MB by writing to Salesforce Files when needed. There’s no managed package to install and it works in sandboxes the same as production.

If you want to try these fixes with your own templates, try Savvy DocGen in a sandbox and run the checklist above.