Transitioning to Envelope Sharing

Answer

Overview

This article provides details on transitioning from a non-envelope-sharing account to an envelope-sharing account, explaining how it impacts user accounts, document access, and subscription management.

What is a Non-Envelope-Sharing Account?

A non-envelope-sharing account is an individual subscription setup where each licensed user has their own separate account, independent of others within the organization.

Characteristics of a Non-Envelope-Sharing Account:

Individual Quotas: Each user has their own envelope quota, which cannot be shared with or used by other users.
Independent Settings: Each user manages their own account settings, and their usage is tracked separately.
Isolated Documents: Documents are stored separately within each user's account and are not accessible by other users unless explicitly shared.

No Centralized Control: There is no organization-wide management of accounts, making it harder to enforce company-wide policies and access control.

What is an Envelope-Sharing Account?

An envelope-sharing account allows all users under an organization to share a common envelope quota and collaborate more efficiently on documents and workflows without per-user limitations.

Benefits of an Envelope-Sharing Account:

1. Shared Envelope Quota

All licensed users contribute their individual envelope quotas into a single, organization-wide quota.
Envelope quota can be used by any user within the organization as needed, providing more flexibility for users to utilize the available envelopes.

2. Centralized Account Management

A Super Admin can oversee all user accounts under a single organization.
Easier to manage subscriptions, user roles, and permissions from one place.

3. Role-Based Access Control

Regular Users: Can access only their own documents.
Admins: Can access their own documents and those of assigned users.
Super Admin: Has full access to all documents within the organization.

4. Improved Collaboration & Document Access

Users within the organization can work together more efficiently.
Admins and Super Admins have visibility into document statuses, reducing bottlenecks.
Templates creation and sharing can be done at an organizational level for the respective users

5. Compliance & Security Benefits

All users follow a unified security policy.
Access control ensures documents are managed as per company guidelines.

Important Points for Transitioning to Envelope Sharing

When transitioning to an envelope-sharing account, the following changes will occur:

1. Account Consolidation

All existing users with individual (non-envelope-sharing accounts) will be moved under the Super Admin's account.
All the users and the super admin will be under the same company account and the super admin will be able to manage the roles and permissions.
Individual non-envelope-sharing accounts will be converted into a Trial account, but the users will still have access to their accounts to view Historical data.

2. Envelope Quota Adjustment

Previously assigned individual quotas will merge into a shared organizational quota.
Users will no longer have personal envelope limits but will access the organization-wide quota.

3. Documents and Templates

Any documents/envelopes (Executed, Shared, Completed, or Drafts) from the non-envelope-sharing account will not be migrated to the envelope-sharing account.
Templates created or shared in the non-envelope-sharing account will continue to reside in the non-envelope-sharing account and will not be migrated to the envelope-sharing account.
To access their historical Documents/Envelopes and Templates, users will have to access their non-envelope-sharing accounts.

4. User Roles & Permissions

Regular Users: Can view their own documents and the documents they are part of.
Admins: Can view their own documents, the documents of users managed by them, and the documents they are part of.
Super Admin: Can view all documents across the organization, regardless of their involvement.

5. Accessing Non-Envelope-Sharing Accounts

Users can choose to log in to their non-envelope-sharing trial account on the login screen by selecting the respective Account#.
Once logged in, users will also have the option to switch their accounts to access their non-envelope-sharing accounts.

Next Steps for Transition

Step 1: Review the Benefits of Envelope Sharing

Before proceeding with the transition, ensure you understand how envelope sharing will impact your organization:

Simplified Management: All users will be under a single account managed by the Super Admin.
Shared Envelope Quota: Instead of individual allocations, the entire organization will share a common envelope quota.
Centralized Control: The Super Admin and Admins can monitor and manage user roles, permissions, and envelope usage.

Important Note: Once transitioned, reverting to a non-envelope-sharing account is not supported.

Step 2: Identify the Super Admin and Administrators

The Super Admin (Subscription Owner) will oversee all users and have full access to all documents.

Additional Admins can be assigned to manage specific users.
Regular users will retain access to their own documents and those they are involved in.

Step 3: Notify Your Users

Communicate the following to your team before the transition:

Their accounts will now be under a single envelope-sharing subscription.
They will continue using the same login credentials as per their previous accounts
Their envelope quota will be shared, and individual quotas will no longer exist.
Admins may now have access to additional user documents, based on permissions.

Step 4: Backup & Confirm Data Accessibility

Once the transition is complete, historical documents from individual accounts will not be accessible in the envelope-sharing account. To ensure no data is lost, users should:

Download important documents from their individual accounts before transition.
Verify that they have a local or external backup of any necessary files.
Request assistance from the support team if document retrieval is required before transition.

Step 5: Initiate Transition to Envelope Sharing

The transition will be processed automatically after confirmation by the Super Admin (Subscription Owner).
All existing individual non-envelope-sharing accounts will be converted to trial accounts while the envelope-sharing account is set up.
The account owners of the individual non-envelope-sharing accounts will be added as Regular users under the envelope-sharing account.
Once the transition is complete, individual trial accounts may be deleted (if explicitly requested and confirmed by the individual non-envelope-sharing account user).

Important Note: Once individual accounts are deleted, their associated documents cannot be recovered. Please ensure all necessary files are backed up before proceeding.

Step 6: Post-Transition to Envelope-Sharing Account Checklist

After the account is transitioned to envelope sharing, complete these steps to ensure a smooth transition:

Verify that all users can log in.
Confirm that the shared envelope quota is applied correctly.
Adjust user roles and permissions as needed.
Notify support if any issues arise.

Step 7: Ongoing Account Management

The Super Admin can add or remove users as needed.
Additional envelopes can be purchased at the organization level.
Admins can monitor envelope usage and generate reports.

How to Enable Envelope Sharing

You can enable Envelope Sharing depending on how your subscription was purchased. Follow the instructions below based on your subscription type:

For New Subscriptions

If you are purchasing a new subscription, whether online or through a sales representative, Envelope Sharing will automatically be enabled for your account. This includes both Editor+ plans with and without the Admin Console.

For Existing Subscriptions

Offline Subscriptions:
If your current subscription was purchased through a sales representative or other offline method, you can request to enable Envelope Sharing by contacting our support team at esignsupport@foxit.com or by creating a support ticket.

Online Subscriptions:
If your subscription was purchased directly through the Foxit.com, please follow the steps mentioned below:

- Log in to your Foxit account.
- Navigate to Plan & products > My subscription.
- Locate your subscription.
- If eligible, you’ll see an option to Enable Envelope Sharing. Follow the prompts to complete the process.

Subscription Management: Sign in to your Foxit account, then Navigate to Plan & products - My subscriptions.

Enable Envelope Sharing Confirmation: Review the details before enabling envelope sharing. Once activated, this change cannot be reversed.

Confirm Envelope Sharing: Click Enable Envelope Sharing.

Envelope Sharing Activated: You’ll see this success message after confirming and transitioning your account to envelope sharing.

FAQs

General Account & Data Access

Q: Will users lose access to their existing documents?

A: No, all existing documents will remain accessible within the non-envelope-sharing account.

Q: Can I revert back to a non-envelope-sharing account?

A: No, once transitioned to an envelope-sharing account, reverting to a non-envelope-sharing account is not supported.

Q: How will billing be affected?

A: Billing will be based on the envelope-sharing subscription rather than individual accounts.

Q: What happens to my individual account when we transition to an envelope-sharing account?

A: Your individual account will be converted to a trial account, and the respective user will be added under the Super Admin's envelope-sharing account. Users will maintain two accounts:

Non-envelope-sharing trial account for accessing historical data
Envelope-sharing account to create new documents and templates

Q: Will my login credentials change after the transition?

A: No, you will continue to use the same credentials to log in to both accounts: the non-envelope-sharing trial account and the envelope-sharing subscription account.

Q: What happens to my historical data after the transition?

A: Your historical documents will remain accessible within the non-envelope-sharing account, as the data (Documents/Envelopes and Templates) will not be migrated.

Q: Can individual users continue working on documents created before the transition?

A: No, all existing documents will remain under the non-envelope-sharing account. Since this will be a trial account, users will not be able to send any documents from the non-envelope-sharing account.

Envelope Quota & Subscription

Q: How does envelope usage work in an envelope-sharing account?
A: Instead of individual quotas, all users share a single envelope quota that can be used by anyone within the organization.

Q: Can we assign specific envelope limits to individual users in an envelope-sharing account?

A: No, the entire quota is shared across all users, and there are no per-user limitations. However, admins can monitor usage and set internal policies using department-based limitations.

Q: Will I be charged differently after transitioning to an envelope-sharing account?

A: No, there will be no change in the billing after transitioning to a single envelope-sharing subscription.

Q: Can I purchase additional envelopes after transitioning?
A: Yes, additional envelopes can be purchased at the organization level and will be added to the shared quota.

Roles & Permissions

Q: What will be the role of account users transitioned from non-envelope-sharing to envelope-sharing?

A: All the non-envelope-sharing account owners are added as “Regular Users” under the single envelope-sharing subscription account.

Q: How do user roles change after the transition?
A: Roles are now managed at the organization level:

Regular Users: View their own documents and those they are involved in.
Admins: View their own documents, those of assigned users, and documents they are involved in.
Super Admin: Has full visibility into all documents within the organization.

Q: Can I change user roles after the transition?
A: Yes, the Super Admin can assign and modify roles as needed through the account settings.

Q: Can envelope-sharing accounts have multiple Super Admins?

A: Yes, there can be multiple Super Admins in an envelope-sharing account, but only one subscription owner. Also, multiple Admins can be assigned to manage users.

Reverting & Account Changes

Q: Can I revert to a non-envelope-sharing account after transitioning to an envelope-sharing account?

A: No, once transitioned, reverting to a non-envelope-sharing account is not supported due to compliance and system constraints.

Q: Can we split an envelope-sharing account back into individual accounts?

A: No, accounts cannot be split back into non-envelope-sharing subscriptions. However, you can manage users within the envelope-sharing account by adjusting roles and permissions.

Q: What happens if we decide we no longer want envelope sharing?

A: You will need to maintain the envelope-sharing account, as individual accounts cannot be restored. If envelope sharing is not suitable, consider managing users via roles and permissions to control access.

Support & Troubleshooting

Q: What should I do if a user cannot access their documents after the transition?
A: Ensure the user is logging in with the correct credentials. If issues persist, contact support for assistance in verifying account access.

Q: Who should I contact if I have billing concerns after the transition?
A: Reach out to our support team at esignsupport@foxit.com for clarification on charges and subscription details.

Q: Where can I get more help regarding envelope-sharing accounts?

A: You can refer to the User Guide or contact customer support for further assistance.