DocuSign: Execution Date Blank on Document (Pre-Sign cfexporter Payload)

Mitigation shipped: Workspace feature flag DOCUSIGN_PRE_POPULATE_EXECUTION_DATE. When enabled and the contract uses DocuSign, save_pre_sign_pdf_for_template_contract computes a formatted “today” (workspace timezone + date format) and get_contract_docx_preview sets cfexporter_payload["blanks_json"]["contract$execution_date"] after the payload is built and before generate_docx_for_payload—so the generated pre-sign PDF includes a visible date.

Available MCP Tools for Investigation

Slack

• Search this incident class: prior discussion Storj DocuSign execution date (#incident-20250211-high-storj-execution-date-not-populating-via-docusign).
• Rootly: Incident 2962 — SiteRx execution date (example customer: SiteRx, WSID 31514, cluster US, workflow Practice Services Agreement).

BigQuery — Contract Signing Method and Execution Date

⚠️ Run BQ queries one at a time — parallel execute_sql calls may return 500 errors.

Contract row (replace dataset for cluster):

SELECT
  c.id,
  c.public_id,
  c.status,
  c.execution_date,
  c.created,
  c.modified
FROM `spotdraft-prod.prod_usa_db.public_contracts_v3_contractv3` c
WHERE c.id = {contract_id};

Signature setup — confirm DocuSign:

SELECT
  ss.id,
  ss.signing_method,
  ss.sent_for_signature,
  ss.is_completed,
  ss.mark_executed_after_signatures
FROM `spotdraft-prod.prod_usa_db.public_contracts_v3_contractsignaturesetup` ss
WHERE ss.contract_id = {contract_id}
  AND ss.is_deleted = FALSE;

Look for signing_method matching DocuSign (e.g. DOCU_SIGN / DOCU_SIGN_V2 — confirm enum values in code for your query window).

GCP Cloud Logging

Log line emitted when pre-population runs (successful path):

• Message pattern: Pre-populating execution_date for DocuSign contract (see contracts_v3.services.contract_v3_service.save_pre_sign_pdf_for_template_contract).

Example filter shape (adjust project and IDs):

SEARCH("Pre-populating execution_date for DocuSign contract")
jsonPayload.contract_id="{contract_id}"

Or filter by async task id when debugging a specific pre-sign run:

SEARCH("Pre-populating execution_date for DocuSign contract")
jsonPayload.task_id="{task_id}"

Known example from QA investigation (Mar 2026): task_id 3a492abf-7124-4278-911a-164eda102b1c in spotdraft-qa logs (link was shared in the incident channel).

Prod vs QA: prefer jsonPayload.* field filters in structured logs; some environments may differ—verify field names in a sample log row.

Groundcover

• Use for traces/logs around GENERATE_PRE_SIGN_PDF / save_pre_sign_pdf / cf_exporter if your cluster is wired to Groundcover.
• Correlate with contract_id and timestamp of “send for signature”.

Atlassian (Jira)

• SPD-42045 — linked from Rootly for this incident class (verify current status in Jira).

Environment-to-Dataset Mapping

When to Use / Not Use

Use when:

• Customer uses DocuSign and the execution date variable in the DOCX is blank on the executed PDF.
• Support or CS pastes API / HAR data showing contract$execution_date is null in contract details / cfexporter-related payload while the template clearly includes that variable.
• Same template works for Spotdraft Sign but not DocuSign (Spotdraft Sign regenerates executed PDF; DocuSign does not).

Do not use when:

• Execution date is missing only from a generated repository report or column picker → execution-date-missing-from-report.
• Generic document generation timeout / Word / CF exporter errors without execution-date context → contract-signing-triage (may combine with this skill if DocuSign + null execution date is confirmed).

Step-by-Step Investigation Workflow

1. Confirm identifiers: {contract_id} or contract URL, {workspace_id}, {cluster}, signing provider (DocuSign vs Spotdraft Sign).
2. Confirm variable in template: From customer or Draftmate — execution date slug is typically contract$execution_date (example: SiteRx Practice Services Agreement incident).
3. Inspect payload: From contract_details / support HAR — is contract$execution_date null before or after execution? If null pre-send, this skill applies; if populated in API but not on PDF, escalate (different path).
4. Confirm signing method (BQ or admin): DocuSign vs native sign drives whether the pre-populate flag path applies.
5. Check feature flag: Is DOCUSIGN_PRE_POPULATE_EXECUTION_DATE enabled for {workspace_id}? If not, null payload for unsigned contracts is expected without the workaround.
6. Logs: For a recent “prepare for sign” / pre-sign PDF run, search for Pre-populating execution_date for DocuSign contract and contract_id. Absence may mean flag off, non-DocuSign method, or task failure earlier in the chain.
7. Post-deploy QA: If the date appears but format looks wrong, verify workspace date_format and timezone (format_datetime in pre-populate path) — staging example from Mar 2026 incident thread.

Code Paths (Reference)

How to Confirm / Disprove Likely Causes

Mitigation / Workaround

1. Customer communication: The date shown with the flag is the date the contract was sent to DocuSign (or “today” at send time per implementation), not guaranteed to match the day all parties signed. If execution spans multiple days, dates can be “out of sync” with real execution — align expectations before enabling.
2. Enable workspace feature flag DOCUSIGN_PRE_POPULATE_EXECUTION_DATE (internal process per FeatureFlagService / admin — follow your org’s flag rollout procedure).
3. Already executed contracts without the date in the PDF cannot be fixed retroactively without re-signing or manual amendment — same as original incident comms.
4. No engineering workaround for true execution date on the DocuSign-executed PDF without changing signing product or legal/process acceptance of send-time date.

Escalation Triggers

• Flag enabled, DocuSign confirmed, logs show pre-populate, but field still blank on PDF.
• Document generation failure (Rohit thread — staging contract) with execution-date work in progress — treat as possible regression or separate CF exporter error; gather task_id and stack traces.
• Customer requires true execution date on the PDF and rejects send-time semantics — product / legal discussion, not a quick flag toggle.

Related Incidents & Links

Connections to Other Skills

• execution-date-missing-from-report — Report/export column visibility and columns_filter; not DocuSign payload null.
• contract-signing-triage — Pre-sign PDF failures, Celery limits, generic signing errors; use alongside this skill when symptoms overlap.