The private signing process is a functionality offered by Mifiel to companies that, due to the nature of the information they handle or for regulatory reasons, need to sign documents without anyone else having access to the content.
This functionality covers this need through end-to-end encryption. This type of encryption -similar to that used by messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal-, encrypts documents so that only the creators and signers have access to them, as long as the parties identify themselves with their e.firma.
There are currently two ways to use this functionality:
- Through mifiel.com.
- By integrating the Mifiel API.
For both cases it is necessary to have the End-to-end encryption advanced functionality credited in your account. If you would like more information, please contact our sales team through the chat on this page.
In this article we detail the necessary steps to create documents within mifiel.com. Before you start, it is essential that the organization you belong to has been set up. If you do not have the guide to do so, please contact your sales analyst via chat on this page to obtain it.
Contents
- Register your signers' public certificates
- Prepare and send documents for signature
- Manage your documents
- Download and save your documents
1. Register your signers' public certificates
The public certificate (.cer file) is one of the two files that compose the e.firma. Mifiel uses the certificate of each of the signers to encrypt the document and thus guarantee that only those people can see it and sign it. For this reason, if any of the parties does not have it or it is revoked or expired, you will not be able to continue with the process.
As the name says, certificates are public, so anyone can consult them. You can request them directly from your signers or download them from the SAT portal. For the latter, all you need are their RFCs. Here we explain step by step how retrieve these certificates from the SAT.
To speed up the process, we recommend you to upload the certificates of all signers (and yours if you are also going to sign at some point) before starting to prepare your document. Here we explain step by step how to register these certificates in Mifiel.
As mentioned above, if an e.firma -and therefore its certificate- has already expired or been revoked, the system will flag an error. In this case, we recommend you contact the signer to ask them to renew it.
2. Prepare and send documents for signature
Within your Mifiel account, go to the 'My Documents' section. You can drag the document requiring signatures or select it from a folder on your computer, a USB stick or a cloud file.
Make sure the file you are uploading is in PDF format.
Once you have done this, you will be taken to the next screen, where you will see the document. Click 'Continue'.
This page contains two sections:
Section 1. Signers settings
In case one of the parties has already signed in Mifiel before (and has an account), when you enter your email, the name and RFC fields will be filled automatically. If they have not signed before, you will have to fill these fields manually.
When entering the email of a signer who is already registered but whose e.firma is expired or revoked, the system will show an error. In this case, you must verify with the SAT (following these instructions) that the e.firma is valid. In such case, you can download the .cer file and register it.
If an e.firma is not valid, you will not be able to add that person as a signer.
- If you are one of the signers, you must also add your information.
- There is no limit to the number of signers you can invite. To do so, click on '+Add signer'.
Make sure you invite all the people who should sign the document because, once it has been created, you will not be able to invite anyone else. If this happens, you will have to delete it and start the process again.
Section 2. Document settings
The parameters in this section are configured by default, but you can modify them according to your preferences.
Expiration date
This is the deadline for the parties to sign the document. If the date arrives and not everyone has done so, the document will be automatically deleted and may no longer be signed.
By default, this functionality is disabled. To make use of it, move the button to the right. The system assigns 30 days as the expiration date, but you can type in any number of days you wish. Then click 'Save'.
Reminders
The system sends automatic reminders every 3 days to parties who have not signed. You can set them as often as you prefer or disable them.
Message to signers
This functionality allows you to send messages to signers. Either who they can contact in case of questions, changes that have been made or any special instructions. All parties will receive the same message.
Once you have completed all the information, click 'Request Signatures'.
The Mifiel system will connect in real time to the SAT to double check that the e.firmas of all signers are valid.
If this is the case, invitations to sign will be sent. If one or more of the signers have a revoked or expired e.firma, the system will show an error. You can check with the SAT to see if the signer has a new e.firma. If it exists, download its public certificate (.cer file) and register it in the 'Certificate Registration' page. If one of the parties does not have a valid e.signature, they will not be able to sign the document, so you will not be able to add him/her as a signer.
All parties will receive a notification by mail requesting their signature. Once everyone has done so, they will receive another email with instructions on how to download the signed version of the document.
3. Manage your documents
You can check the status of your documents at any time in the 'My Documents' section.
What do the statuses mean?
Signed by all: When all parties have signed, you can view the document, archive it and download the signed files, which is explained in the next section.
In progress: This is a document that has one or more signatures pending. The actions you can perform in this case are:
- View the document, signer information and status, expiration date and the frequency of sending automatic reminders.
- Remind parties who have not signed individually. The reminder will be sent immediately.
- Edit the name or email of a signatory, but not their RFC (this action is not allowed for encrypted documents).
- Delete signers who have not signed.
- Delete the document. This action cannot be undone.
If you want to perform any of these actions, click on the 'View detail' button corresponding to the document you want.
4. Download and save your documents
Once all parties have signed, you can view and download the document from your account or from your email. Consult the article How to decrypt and download documents signed in the private signing process to learn how to perform the process.