Understanding Parties and Actions in a Pactvera
Parties identify who is participating in a Pactvera. Actions define what each party must do. A Pactvera may include individuals, organizations, or both.
What Is a Party?
A party is an individual or organization participating in the agreement or transaction.
Parties are added at the Pactvera level and then referenced throughout its documents, forms, and transaction steps.
A party may be responsible for:
- Signing or reviewing documents
- Completing forms
- Making or confirming a payment
- Providing an item of value
- Completing an inspection or delivery confirmation
- Authorizing the release of value
- Receiving a product, payment, service, or entitlement
Each party may have one or more actions.
Types of Parties
Individual Party
An individual party participates on their own behalf.
An individual party:
- Completes their own assigned actions
- Uses ChainIT ID to access and authenticate protected actions
- May be selected from Connections or Employees
- May be invited using an email address or mobile number
The individual is directly responsible for completing the assigned action.
For example, an individual customer may be required to sign a purchase agreement and make a payment.
Organization Party
An organization party participates as a legal entity.
An organization party:
- Receives actions assigned to the organization
- Assigns those actions to authorized users within the organization
- May be selected from Connections
- May be invited using its Tax ID or email address
The sender does not select the person who will act for another organization. The receiving organization assigns each action according to its own authority structure.
For example, a manufacturer may assign a document-signing action to an authorized signer and a release action to a different user with release authority.
Your Organization
Your organization may also be added as a party.
When your organization has required actions, you may be prompted to select an authorized user to complete them. Different actions may be assigned to different users.
CC Recipient
A CC recipient receives notice-only access or a copy of the completed Pactvera.
A CC recipient:
- Is not a party
- Cannot be assigned required actions
- Does not affect whether the Pactvera can be completed
Use CC when someone needs visibility but does not need to participate in execution.
What Is an Action?
An action is a required or informational task associated with a party.
Actions tell participants what they must do and allow Pactvera to determine whether the agreement or transaction is ready to progress.
Actions may be associated with:
- A document
- A form
- A payment obligation
- An item of value
- A transaction condition
- A release or payout step
- Another agreement-specific requirement
Required actions generally block completion until they are finished.
Agreement Actions
Pactvera Agreements commonly include the following actions.
Needs to Sign - The party must complete the assigned fields and sign the document.
Needs to Approve - The party must open and review the document.
Submits Form - The party must provide and submit the requested information.
Transaction Actions
Pactvera Transactions may include agreement actions along with actions related to an exchange of value.
Transaction actions may include:
- Selecting or providing an item of value
- Funding an item into the transaction
- Making a payment
- Confirming receipt of an external payment
- Completing an inspection or quality-control task
- Confirming delivery or acceptance
- Authorizing release
- Reviewing and accepting payout details
- Completing another transaction-specific obligation
The available actions depend on the transaction type and the role assigned to each party.
Parties, Actions, and Assignees
These terms represent different parts of the Pactvera structure.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Party | The individual or organization participating in the Pactvera |
| Action | The task the party is required to complete |
| Assignee | The specific individual who completes an action |
| Authorized user | A user whose organizational authority permits them to perform the action |
| CC recipient | A person who receives notice or a completed copy but does not perform an action |
For an individual party, the party and assignee are generally the same person.
For an organization party, the organization is the party, while an authorized user within that organization is the assignee.
How Organizational Assignment Works
When an organization receives a Pactvera:
- The organization receives the task in the Dashboard.
- An administrator reviews the available tasks and assigns them to appropriate users.
- The assigned user completes the action within ChainIT ID or the web portal.
- Pactvera verifies the user’s identity and applicable authority when the action is performed.
Different organizational actions may require different authority.
For example:
- A signing action may require an authorized Pactvera Signer.
- A release action may require a TCA Releaser.
- A payment, inspection, or confirmation task may be assigned according to the organization’s configured roles and permissions.
Being an employee, organization administrator, or folder member does not automatically authorize a user to complete every Pactvera action.
Click here to learn more about organizational authority.
Roles Are Assigned to Parties First
During Pactvera creation, actions are generally configured against parties based on their role.
For example:
- Customer — Needs to Sign
- Customer — Makes Payment
- Manufacturer — Provides Product
- Broker — Completes Inspection
- Manufacturer — Releases Product
If a party is an organization, that organization later assigns the action to an authorized individual.
This prevents the sender from determining who may legally or operationally act for another organization.
One Party Can Have Multiple Actions
A party may be responsible for more than one step.
For example, a customer may need to:
- Sign a purchase agreement
- Complete an order form
- Make a payment
- Confirm delivery
These are separate actions even though they belong to the same party.
Each action can have its own status, assignee, prerequisites, and completion requirements.
Different Actions Can Be Assigned to Different Users
When an organization has multiple actions, they do not all need to be completed by the same person.
For example:
| Organization action | Possible assignee |
|---|---|
| Sign the agreement | Authorized signer |
| Complete an inspection | Quality-control employee |
| Confirm payment receipt | Finance employee |
| Release the item | Authorized releaser |
This allows the Pactvera to reflect the organization’s actual division of responsibility.
Action Order and Dependencies
Some actions can be completed independently. Others may depend on earlier actions or conditions.
For example:
- A participant may need to sign before a payment task becomes available.
- An inspection may need to be completed before release.
- A payment may need to be completed or confirmed before an item can be released.
- Payout acceptance may occur only after a monetary transaction has been released.
In a Pactvera Transaction, completing all document actions does not necessarily complete the Pactvera. Funding, payment, inspection, release, payout, or transfer actions may still remain.
Funding, Payment, and Release Are Different Actions
Pactvera Transactions separate the stages of value exchange.
Funding
Funding commits an item of value to the transaction.
For example, a product may be committed to the transaction before it is released to the recipient.
Payment Obligation
A payment obligation records what one party owes another. Payments are made within ChainIT through a task.
Release
Release authorizes the committed value to move after the required conditions are satisfied.
Transfer or Disbursement
Transfer or disbursement is the final movement of the product, service, entitlement, or funds to the recipient.
These actions represent separate transaction states. Funding an item does not mean it has been released, and releasing a monetary transaction does not necessarily mean the payout has already been accepted or disbursed.
How Actions Affect Completion
A Pactvera is completed only after all required actions and conditions have been satisfied.
For a Pactvera Agreement, this may include:
- Documents being signed or viewed
- Forms being submitted
- Approvals being completed
For a Pactvera Transaction, this may also include:
- The item of value being funded
- Payment being completed or confirmed
- Inspection or delivery tasks being completed
- Release being authorized
- Payout details being accepted
- Transfer or disbursement being recorded
CC Recipients are not required to complete any actions and do not block completion.
Before You Send
Review the following before sending a Pactvera:
- Every required participant has been added as a party.
- Each party has the correct role.
- Actions are assigned to the correct party.
- Individual and organization parties are classified correctly.
- Required document fields are mapped to the correct parties.
- Transaction payment and value-transfer responsibilities are correct.
- Release actions are assigned to a party with the appropriate authority.
- CC recipients are not being used where an actual action is required.
Incorrect party or action configuration may require the Pactvera to be corrected and sent again.
Example: Product Purchase Transaction
A product purchase could include three organization parties:
| Party | Actions |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sign the contract, provide the product, release the product |
| Customer | Sign the contract, make payment, confirm receipt |
| Broker | Sign the contract, complete inspection, confirm freight release |
Each organization assigns its actions to the appropriate authorized users.
The Pactvera is not complete merely because the contract has been signed. The required payment, inspection, release, and transfer actions must also be completed.
Summary
Parties establish who is participating in a Pactvera. Actions establish what each party must do.
The key distinctions are:
- Individuals act on their own behalf.
- Organizations assign actions to their own authorized users.
- A party may have multiple actions.
- Different organizational actions may require different assignees and authority.
- Required actions block completion.
- CC recipients do not perform actions.
- Pactvera Transactions may include funding, payment, release, and final transfer actions in addition to documents and forms.