Build Service Agreement Templates

A well-built template is what makes a service agreement feel effortless: your business and job details fill in automatically, and the customer only has to sign. This guide covers how to lay one out so it works on the first try. If you haven't turned the feature on yet, start with Set Up Service Agreements.

The two parties

Every service agreement template has two roles, named exactly:

• First Party — your business. This side holds all the details PaceCount fills in for you.
• Second Party — your customer. This is who actually signs.

Use these exact names (they're case-sensitive). Both roles must exist on the template even though, by default, only the customer signs.

Who signs, and where the signature goes

By default, agreements are client-only: PaceCount completes your side automatically when the agreement is generated, so the customer is the only person who signs. That means your template needs just one signature field, and it belongs to the Second Party.

Put your customer's signature (and a signing-date field, if you want one) on the Second Party. Don't add a signature field for the First Party unless you turn on Admin completes First Party first for the template — otherwise you'd have a signature field that no one ever uses.

If the admin must finish the First Party side before the customer can sign (required First Party fields and/or a business signature), turn on Admin completes First Party first in Settings → Service Agreements. Add a First Party signature field only when the business must also sign; otherwise First Party can be fields-only.

Put your details on the First Party

All the fields PaceCount fills in automatically belong on the First Party — including the customer's own details. You're preparing the whole document; the customer just signs.

From Settings → Service Agreements → Build, lay out your fields and assign each auto-fill field to the First Party role. Use the in-app Field Naming Guide (a click-to-copy list right in the builder) to name them exactly. Standard names cover things like your business info, the customer's name and contact details, and job context like the service date and services selected.

Fields you don't include are simply skipped, and a name that doesn't match a standard one is just left blank for the signer — nothing breaks either way.

Recommended layout

1. Assign every auto-fill text field to the First Party, using the standard names from the Field Naming Guide.
2. Give the Second Party only their signature and, optionally, a signing-date field.
3. Leave Admin completes First Party first off unless the admin must finish First Party in DocuSeal before the customer.
4. Save. If you renamed the template inside the builder, click Save to PaceCount so the name syncs.

Common mistakes to avoid

• A signature field on the First Party in client-only mode. No one signs it. Keep the single signature on the Second Party, or turn on Admin completes First Party first and have the admin complete that side.
• Naming a signing-date field just Date. That name is reserved for the auto-filled document date. Use Signature Date (or Second Party Signature Date) instead so it fills in and signs correctly.
• Putting customer fields on the Second Party. All fill-in fields go on the First Party — the customer only signs.
• Renaming roles. They must be exactly First Party and Second Party.

How this differs from user forms

Signed user forms are single-party: the customer is the only role and the only signer. Service agreements always use the two-role setup above, even when only the customer signs. Pick a service agreement when you're sending a contract tied to an appointment.

Common questions

• Do I need two signature fields? No. For the default client-only setup, use one signature field on the Second Party. Add a First Party signature only when Admin completes First Party first is on and the business must sign.
• A field didn't fill in. Check the name matches the standard name exactly (names are case-sensitive), that it's on the First Party, and that your business details are complete in Settings.
• Can I change my mind later? Yes — you can toggle Admin completes First Party first per template at any time from Settings → Service Agreements.