Understanding signatories

As you configure Pulley and work through your initial task queue, you'll encounter the concept of signatories, which play a distinct role separate from both admins and stakeholders.

Understanding what signatories are, what they can and can't do, and who in your company should hold this role is important groundwork before you start configuring documents or working through signature tasks.

A signatory is a person authorized to sign legal documents on behalf of the company. In Pulley, signatories electronically sign equity-related documents: stock certificates, option agreements, SAFEs, board resolutions, and other corporate documents that require an authorized signature to be legally binding.

Signatories are typically officers or board members with legal authority to bind the company. The individuals to designate typically depend on your company's bylaws and Certificate of Incorporation, which often specify who has signing authority for different document types.

Pulley has three distinct roles that are often confused because one person can hold any combination of them. Understanding how they relate is essential before you start designating signatories or inviting people to Pulley.

These roles are independent. Being an admin doesn't automatically make someone a signatory. Being a signatory doesn't give someone cap table access. And holding equity as a stakeholder has nothing to do with either of the other two roles.

One person can hold all three. A co-founder who manages the cap table, signs option grants, and holds founder shares is simultaneously an admin, a signatory, and a stakeholder. They toggle between the admin dashboard and their personal stakeholder portal using the dropdown menu in the top left corner of Pulley, and they receive signature requests alongside their other admin tasks.

A signatory's access in Pulley depends entirely on whether they also have admin access.

Signatories without admin access: the most common case for officers who don't manage equity day-to-day, operate from the stakeholder portal view. They have no admin dashboard, no cap table visibility, and no ability to issue or manage equity. Their Pulley experience is limited to:

Signatories with admin access: co-founders, CFOs, or others who both manage equity and hold signing authority have the full admin dashboard and see signature requests alongside their other pending tasks in the task notification system.

When a document is released for signature in Pulley, signatories and stakeholders are notified at the same time. There is no required signing order — either party can sign first. Signatories receive:

Signatories can complete their signature by clicking the link in the email directly or by logging into Pulley and navigating to their pending tasks.

The right signatories for your company depend on your legal structure and bylaws. Common signatories include:

When deciding, check your bylaws and Certificate of Incorporation for who has authorized signing authority, consider who will actually need to sign equity documents in practice, and consult legal counsel if you're unsure. Not every admin needs to be a signatory, and not every signatory needs to be an admin.

Signatories by document type In Pulley, signatories are designated by document type. One person may sign option grants while another signs SAFEs or stock certificates. You can assign different signatories for different types of equity documents, or have the same person sign all types. This configuration happens in Configure signatories.

Primary vs. secondary signatories Pulley allows you to designate up to two signatories for stock certificates: a primary and an optional secondary. The secondary signatory is not required. If you only designate a primary, certificates will be signed by that person alone. If you add a secondary, both signatures will appear on certificates. This is useful if your bylaws require dual signatures or if you want a backup signatory for operational continuity.

Changing signatories If you need to replace a signatory, for example, when an officer leaves the company, you'll remove the old signatory and add the new one in Configure signatories. Contact support if you have pending signature requests in flight during a signatory change to confirm how those are handled.