Your Client Hasn't Signed the Contract. Here's What Actually Works.
A client who agreed on the call and then went quiet has usually not changed their mind. The contract slipped down their inbox, landed with someone who has to approve it, or asked them to do more than they expected. Follow up with a date that matters to them, ask once whether anything needs to change, and make the next contract quick to sign.
By Monica TalbertPublished Nov 2026Why a client who said yes still hasn't signed
Accountants chasing engagement letters, agencies waiting on statements of work and freelancers holding a start date all describe the same pattern: the client agreed, the paperwork went out, and then nothing. It is rarely a no. It is usually one of these.
It is not urgent to them
"Please sign at your convenience" reads as optional. Without a date attached, the contract competes with everything else in their week and loses.
Someone else has to say yes
Your contact agreed, but finance, legal or an owner signs. The contract is sitting in a forward you never saw.
Signing is a chore
Print, sign, scan, email back. Or an account to create, a password to set and twelve initials to place on a phone screen. Each step is a place to stop.
Something in it surprised them
A payment term, a cancellation clause or a total that differs from what they remember. Clients often stall rather than push back.
Three follow-ups, then stop
You do not need a clever script. You need a date the client cares about, one honest question and a clear end. Most people who send a lot of contracts settle on something close to this.
- 1
A short nudge tied to their date
Two or three business days after sending
Hi Dana, checking you received the agreement for the website rebuild. If you want to keep the March 3 start, I need it back by Friday so I can book the team.
- 2
Ask whether anything needs to change
About a week later
Is there anything in the agreement you would like to change, or someone else who needs to see it? Happy to walk your finance lead through the payment terms on a quick call.
- 3
Close the loop politely
When the date has nearly passed
I am going to release the March start slot on Wednesday so I can offer it to another client. If the timing has moved, just let me know and we can pick a new date.
The date in the first message should be theirs, not yours. "If you want to keep the March 3 start" works because it protects something they asked for. "We need this for our records" does not.
Hold the work until the contract is signed. Accountants on the AAT forum put it bluntly: don't do any work until they sign it. Starting early takes away the only reason the client had to finish the paperwork.
Make the next contract easier to sign
Most of the chasing is decided before you press send.
- Ask who signs on the call. If it is not your contact, send it to the person who signs, with your contact copied.
- Put the deadline in the email, not only the contract. One sentence with the date and what happens on it.
- Ask for as little as possible. One signature and a date, not initials on every page, unless your lawyer says otherwise.
- Let them sign on a phone without an account. Many contracts are opened on a phone between meetings. If signing needs a laptop and a login, it waits.
- Repeat the numbers in the email. If the total and the payment terms match what they heard on the call, there is nothing to stall over.
Which approach fits how many contracts you send
| If you send | What works | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| A few contracts a month | Email the PDF, flag it for follow-up in Outlook as you send it, or set a calendar reminder, and send the three messages yourself. | Free and personal. You remember to follow up only if you check the reminder, and you track status in your head. |
| A steady flow of contracts | An e-signature tool that shows who has opened and signed, sends reminders on a schedule and expires a request after a date. | Less chasing and a record of who signed when. Another tool to learn, and reminders still need a human message for the stuck deals. |
| Contracts built from the same template | Save the signers, the email message and the reminder settings on the template so every send goes out set up the same way. | Nobody forgets to turn on reminders. Only worth it if the contracts really do come from one template. |
If you send a handful of contracts a month, the first row is enough and you don't need new software. Outlook can flag the message for follow-up as you send it, with a reminder for you, and that covers the nudge.
How TurboDocx handles the chasing
TurboSign, the e-signature part of TurboDocx, is one way to take the second and third rows off your plate. Signers open the link and sign on any device without creating an account. Your dashboard shows which documents are still waiting, and you can resend the signing email to whoever is next from the document's menu.
Reminder emails and an expiration date are off until you turn them on. You can switch them on for your whole organization in the e-signature settings or for a single document when you send it. If the contract comes from a Word or PowerPoint template, you can save the signers, message and reminder settings on the template so they load every time. Each signed document comes with an audit trail, so you have a record of who signed and when.
Where TurboDocx doesn't help. An automated reminder will not fix a contract the client disagrees with. If the deal is stuck on price or terms, the second follow-up above, a real question from a person, does more than any reminder schedule. And if you send two or three contracts a month, a flagged email is simpler than a new tool.
Questions people ask
How long should I wait before following up on an unsigned contract?
Two to three business days after you send it is a reasonable first nudge for most service contracts. If you agreed a start date on the call, follow up sooner and mention that date, because that is the thing the client cares about.
How many times should I follow up before I stop?
Three is usually enough: a short reminder, a second note that asks whether anything in the document needs to change, and a final message that names the date you will release the slot or the price. After that, a silent client is telling you something.
Should I start work before the client signs?
Most freelancers, agencies and accountants who have been burned say no. Starting work removes the one reason the client has to sign, and if there is a dispute later you have nothing in writing about scope or price.
Can reminders be sent automatically?
Yes. Most e-signature tools, TurboSign included, let you turn on reminder emails and an expiration date when you send. In TurboSign they are off until you switch them on, either for your whole organization or for one document.
Related
Sources
- AAT Comment forum: "Engagement Letter Chasing". Accountants discussing clients who never return engagement letters, and the advice not to start work until they do.
- Microsoft Support: Flag email messages for follow up. How to flag a message for follow-up as you send it, with a reminder for you, in Outlook. Checked November 2026.
- TurboDocx Docs: Managing your signatures. Resending a signing email, voiding a document and the audit trail.
- TurboDocx Docs: Signature setups on templates. Saving signers, fields, message, reminder and expiration settings on a template.
Try it on your next contract
The free plan includes 5 signature documents a month, enough to see whether it saves you a follow-up or two.