Signature and Initials Fields indicate where signatures or initials should be applied to a document.

A person's Electronic Signature or Initials will populate only wherever a corresponding Signature or Initials Field is applied. If no Signature or Initials Field exists within a Template, a user will not be able to apply their signature to a document. 

Types of Signature & Initials Fields

In TiM, there are two types of Signature and Initials Fields: Crewmember vs. Approver.

Crewmember Signature & Initials Fields

The Crewmember Signature and Initials Fields allow the employee to apply their signature to a document. 

A "Crewmember" or "employee" in TiM is anyone who is Invited to complete and submit Startwork for a Project. 

Approver Signature & Initials Fields

Any Signature and Initials Field other than the Crewmember is an Approver Signature and Initials Field. 

When applied within a Project's Startwork Templates, Approver Signature and Initials Fields build out the Project's Approval Workflow. If no Approver Signature or Initials Field exists within a Project's Template, the Approval step will not be included in the overall approval workflow.

For more information, see: How an approval workflow is created in TiM

Gatekeeper

The Gatekeeper Signature and Initials Fields allow anyone with Approve Startwork as: Startwork Gatekeeper Permission to apply their signature to a document, after the employee submits the Startwork.

NOTE: The Gatekeeper Signature Field is unique. All other Approval Signature and Initials Fields must be applied somewhere in a Template in order to trigger the approval step to be included in the approval workflow. But the Gatekeeper Signature and Initials Fields are different, because the approval process always starts with a Startwork Gatekeeper, even if a Gatekeeper Signature or Initials Field has not been applied within the packet Template. In other words, the Gatekeeper approval step is unique because it is the only step that can be a signing or a non-signing step. 

For more information, see: 

What is a Startwork Gatekeeper?

How to create different types of approval workflows in TiM

Prod. Acct. 

The Prod. Acct. Signature and Initials Fields allow anyone with Approve Startwork as: Production Accountant Permission to apply their signature to a document, after the employee submits the Startwork and after the Gatekeeper has completed their review.

UPM

The UPM Signature and Initials Fields allow anyone with Approve Startwork as: UPM Permission to apply their signature to a document, after the employee submits the Startwork and after the Gatekeeper has completed their review.

AUPM

The AUPM Signature and Initials Fields allow anyone with Approve Startwork as: AUPM Permission to apply their signature to a document, after the employee submits the Startwork and after the Gatekeeper has completed their review.

Prod. Super

The Prod. Super Signature and Initials Fields allow anyone with Approve Startwork as: Production Supervisor Permission to apply their signature to a document, after the employee submits the Startwork and after the Gatekeeper has completed their review.

Line Producer

The Line Producer Signature and Initials Fields allow anyone with Approve Startwork as: Line Producer Permission to apply their signature to a document, after the employee submits the Startwork and after the Gatekeeper has completed their review.

Studio

The Studio Signature and Initials Fields allow anyone with Approve Startwork as: Studio Exec Permission to apply their signature to a document, after the employee submits the Startwork and after the Gatekeeper has completed their review.

Signature & Initials Field Sub-Settings

Each Signature and Initials Field has sub-settings. To reveal sub-settings, hover your cursor over the field and you will see the sub-setting options within a gray box:

Required Checkbox

Though the default setting is for all Signature and Initials Fields to be required, you have the option to make a Signature or Initials Field optional.

When a Signature or Initials Field is marked Required, ie: the checkbox next to "Required" is selected, an employee or approver will be required to apply their signature to the field before they can submit Startwork or complete their approval step.

When a Signature of Initials Field is not marked Required, ie: the checkbox next to "Required" is UN-checked, an employee or approver will not be required to apply their signature to the field, and will be able to submit Startwork or complete their approval step with no signature applied. 

Transparent Checkbox

Though the default setting is for all Signature and Initials Fields to be transparent, you have the option to make a Signature or Initials Field non-transparent.

When a Signature or Initials Field is marked Transparent, ie: the checkbox next to "Transparent" is selected, the Signature or Initials will appear, and any text or image printed on the form PDF will also show, layered beneath the Signature or Initials.

When a Signature or Initials Field is NON-Transparent, ie: the checkbox next to "Transparent" is UN-checked, the Signature or Initials will appear, but any text or image printed on the form PDF beneath where the Signature or Initials Field has been placed will not show, it will be covered up by the Signature or Initials. 

Linked Fields

Each Signature and Initials Field has corresponding "Linked Fields" that can populate the Date the signature was applied, the Signatory's Name, and/or the Signatory's Job Description.

To apply Linked Fields, hover your cursor over the Signature or Initials Field and select the checkbox next to the type of Linked Field you want to apply. 

If you do not want to use Linked Fields, you can remove them. To remove linked fields, hover your cursor over the Signature or Initials Field and DE-select the checkbox next to the type of Linked Field you want to remove. Or, you can hover your cursor over the Linked Field and click the trash can icon within the Linked Field's sub-setting.

Above Scale Checkbox

Approval Signature and Initials Fields (ie: all except for the Crewmember field) have a sub-setting that reads, "Show this signature only if: The packet recipient is marked as Above Scale".

If the checkbox for this field sub-setting is selected, it means that the Signature or Initials will only be collected if an employee's Employment Details indicate that they are Above Scale, ie: in Employment Details / the Invite, the checkbox next to "Select if this employee is Above Scale" is selected. 

The Above Scale Checkbox is utilized most often on Studio Exec Signature Fields, because typically Studio Executives need to sign off on employees who are being paid above scale.