How to Collect E-Signatures on Proposals and Contracts

Closing a deal shouldn’t feel like a marathon. Yet too often you’re stuck printing, scanning, and mailing documents while the momentum slips away. It’s frustrating, time-consuming, and slows down your business.

That is where e-signatures slide in. This solution brings ease to signing any of your business documents from anywhere in a matter of minutes, legally.

By using reliable e-signature software, you can send proposals and contracts for approval within a few minutes. In combination with this, you can also track progress and keep every record secure.

With Client Manager, you can try it all free for 7 days. Get ready to experience a smoother signing process right away.

What Are E-Signatures, and Why Do They Matter for Business?

An electronic signature is just another way of giving approval for documents as proposals, agreements, and contracts. This is quite unlike some scanned handwritten form of signature.

A digital signature takes things a step further. It also adds advanced encryption and identity verification, which makes it even harder for anyone to tamper with your signed documents. It sounds cool. We know that. 

The advantages of switching to e-signatures for businesses are very clear:

• Close deals faster

• Less Paperwork 

• Enhances their professional image with the clients

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According to laws, the ESIGN Act and UETA give e-signatures the force of law, with the suggestion that some compliance steps are followed.

The best e-signature solution will contribute to making workflow simpler; at the same time, it must keep things secure and compliant.

How to Collect E-Signatures on Proposals (Step-by-Step)

Usually, sending a proposal is the first step in sealing a deal. But if the client must print, sign, scan, and return it, the whole process can drag on over quite a few days. An e-signature platform assists in making everything smoother, faster, and more presentable. 

Here is how you can simplify the process with an e-signature platform:

1. Create a proposal template: Create it by including your price details, scope of work, and terms in a professional format.

2. Add signature fields and roles: Assign fields where the clients sign, initial, or date, and add your own counter-signature (if needed).

3. Send securely for review: You can send e-signature proposals directly to your clients through email. Also, complete them with built-in reminders.

4. Track progress in real time: You can see when your client has opened the proposal and drop a friendly reminder if the signature is still pending.

5. Store signed proposals safely: Every signed file comes with an audit trail, security, and record-keeping. 

   
   

ClientManager can handle all this within minutes, from creating, sending, to collecting e-signatures on proposals without leaving the platform.

How to Collect E-Signatures on Contracts (A Step Guide)

Proposals get the ball rolling, but contracts are where the real commitment happens. They’re the foundation. Contracts have more weightage than the proposals. However, this is mandatory to ensure that they are signed securely and correctly.

Here is how to simplify the process with a reliable e-signature platform:

1. Upload or create your contract: You have to start with a clean template, or if you want to upload your own existing agreement, then you can.

2. Assign roles and fields: Add signature blocks for the clients. You have to add initials for key clauses and counter-signature spots if there is a need.

3. Include Consent to e-business: You have to make sure that the contract will clearly state the agreement of both parties to use an electronic signature online.

4. Send for signing securely: Share the contracts through encrypted links or emails, along with the automatic reminders to keep things moving.

5. Finalise and archive: When it is signed, the file will be locked with an audit trail, which ensures that it cannot be interfered with and is legally compliant.

   
   

Collecting e-signatures on contracts with ClientManager becomes peaceful. One platform can handle everything from digital agreement signing to record storage. So you can focus on building trust and closing deals.

Best Methods to Ensure Legality and Security

E-signatures can make the signing of your documents simple and fast. But it’s important that you follow the best methods to keep everything compliant and protected. 

Make sure not to use any e-signature software that does not comply with ESIGN and UETA. This will make sure that your contracts are legally binding in the United States. Always add a clear agreement section so that both parties agree to start their business digitally. 

Moreover, enable signer authentication to strengthen the data security. Whether through email verification, SMS codes, or even from multi-factor authentication. 

It should be possible to include an audit trail in every signed file with timestamps, IP addresses, and version history. You should make sure that the signed documents are stored safely in your system for future access.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in E-Signatures

Collecting online e-signatures is simple, but a few repeated mistakes can cause delays or even something worse. So you should make your documents unenforceable. 

• One mistake is depending on a generic image of a signature instead of using a secure digital contract signing process. 

• Another one is skipping proper signer authentication, which can raise questions such as who actually signed the document. Some also forget to include a consent portion, which is necessary under U.S. law to make the e-signature valid. 

• Finally, if you do not maintain good records or an audit trail, then it could be pressing when someone questions a signature.

  
  

By not making these same mistakes again and again, by using an e-signature platform. You can ensure that every agreement is professional, completely secure, and legally binding.

Why Choose ClientManager for E-Signatures?

It is difficult to select the best software among the many options available in the market. But ClientManager will make the design easy by bringing proposals, contracts, and e-signatures all in one place. Instead of managing various platforms, you can make, send, and even track every document from a single platform.

Client Manager e-signature options include audit trails, secure storage, automatic reminders, and full ESIGN/UETA compliance. So that every agreement that you send will be professional, secure, and legally binding. 

Are you a solo freelancer or running a growing team? Well, that doesn’t matter to us because we have designed it to suit every business type. 

Your clients can sign documents from any device, anywhere, so getting agreements finalized is as easy as a few clicks. And the best part? You can try it out with a free 7-day trial and cancel anytime if it’s not the right fit.