Getting online signatures

[thewebwriter]

All of my work is done online and have most things how I want them. My only real concern is getting signatures for contracts etc. Up until now I have conducted this type of thing via email attachment but it is not very professional.

How do you get contracts signed remotely? There are a host of companies out there that provide the service but how good are they? I only get one or two new or changes to contracts per month so not looking for anything overly expensive.

your help and advice is much appreciated.
Thanks

[Harold Mansfield]

All of my work is done online and have most things how I want them. My only real concern is getting signatures for contracts etc. Up until now I have conducted this type of thing via email attachment but it is not very professional.

How do you get contracts signed remotely? There are a host of companies out there that provide the service but how good are they? I only get one or two new or changes to contracts per month so not looking for anything overly expensive.

your help and advice is much appreciated.
Thanks
Adobe Acrobat (http://landing.adobe.com/en/na/products/echosign/61511-free-sign.html)

[Brian Altenhofel]

I use Adobe Document Cloud (https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/documents/for-business.html) (have used for several years beginning as "EchoSign"). I see about a 50/50 mix between that and DocuSign (https://www.docusign.com/) among my vendors and clients.

[Freelancier]

I have yet to do it, just because I've been worried about the question "how do I validate that the person signing it is really the person who should be signing it"? I know that's also true of ink being sent in via email or fax, but I wonder how the court would uphold someone saying "wasn't me!".

[Harold Mansfield]

I just avoid contracts all together. I don't offer anything that I need to lock anyone into, and my services aren't expensive enough to warrant taking someone from another state to court over a contract with me.

On the other hand if I were hiring an outside company for more expensive work, I'd want a contract with them that clearly spells out the deliverables.

[thewebwriter]

thanks or the replies everyone. I would have gotten back sooner but had problems replying. not sure if it was my connection or the server.
Anyway, I take a look at both Adobe and Docusign.

The reason I want a contract, I outline exactly what I am doing and what the client should expect and what I expect for my troubles. I have enough work to get on with and have divorced myself completely of eLance and Guru. Moving forward, I don't want to trip up.

once again, thanks

[Harold Mansfield]

thanks or the replies everyone. I would have gotten back sooner but had problems replying. not sure if it was my connection or the server.
Anyway, I take a look at both Adobe and Docusign.

The reason I want a contract, I outline exactly what I am doing and what the client should expect and what I expect for my troubles. I have enough work to get on with and have divorced myself completely of eLance and Guru. Moving forward, I don't want to trip up.

once again, thanks
Of course. You have to do what's best for you.
Either of those options should work just fine along with delivery receipts and attaching the agreed upon deliverables to the invoice.

I also make my clients aware of my Terms of Service and link to them from the invoice as well. That one thing once saved me $1500 when a problem client tried to say that he had no idea what my Terms of Service were and I never made him aware of them.

[MyITGuy]

I have yet to do it, just because I've been worried about the question "how do I validate that the person signing it is really the person who should be signing it"? I know that's also true of ink being sent in via email or fax, but I wonder how the court would uphold someone saying "wasn't me!".

By the time you get to a contract being signed, you usually have enough supporting documentation that would make their claim invalid. I.E.
Phone Calls/Voicemails - Even if its logs from your phone provider showing dates/times of the call
E-mails - If the e-mail is one assigned for corporate use, then you can provide correspondence showing that they initiated/knew of the transaction. If they provide a generic e-mail such as yahoo/gmail or etc then this becomes more difficult.
IP Address - Most services log the IP Addresses of the signer, which if needed you could subpoena the provider to verify the service location (Not specific to the individual since it can be shared among many individuals, however can be used as additional proof).

If you lack any of this information then you can ask them to provide photo ID that contains a signature. The person signing the agreement would likely be the only one in possession of the ID, and you could also use this ID to compare signatures.

[thewebwriter]

thanks or the replies everyone. I would have gotten back sooner but had problems replying. not sure if it was my connection or the server.
Anyway, I take a look at both Adobe and Docusign.

The reason I want a contract, I outline exactly what I am doing and what the client should expect and what I expect for my troubles. I have enough work to get on with and have divorced myself completely of eLance and Guru. Moving forward, I don't want to trip up.

once again, thanks

[thewebwriter]

Looks like I'm having problems again. Just reposted a duplicate.

What I was going to say was that you are all correct. I don't need a contract. I interact with my clients through Trello. I post everything pertaining to the project there and it is viewed and commented on by the client. An email agreeing to the proposal, quote, milestones etc should suffice.
We review each milestone before payment and moving on to the next stage so I don't know why I ever worried. lol

thanks

[Brian Altenhofel]

I have yet to do it, just because I've been worried about the question "how do I validate that the person signing it is really the person who should be signing it"? I know that's also true of ink being sent in via email or fax, but I wonder how the court would uphold someone saying "wasn't me!".

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7001

[Freelancier]

Brian, that link just reinforces what I said (or at least doesn't contradict it). The clauses are all about that an electronic signature is not the basis for denying the validity of a contract, not what ensures that the person signing the agreement actually signed it.

In my case, this isn't about services, but a rental agreement where I'll never meet the person and they might trash my home in the short time they stay there. So I need an enforceable agreement that I can be positive the person actually signed it.