Electronic Document Signing

I evaluated electronic signature tools for a client.  I found four reasonable options.  Each has strengths and weaknesses.

From a services standpoint, it is clearly worth the effort to ramp up and use one of these tools for your vendor and client contracts.  Stop killing trees.  Stop filling filing cabinets.  Save time.


Summary:

• If your priority is ease of use: Adobe e-Sign (free)
• If your priority is both ease of use AND documents that look like what you are used to: EchoSign ($15/month)
• If you priority is documents that look like what you are used to, and your documents are each very unique: RightSignature ($14/month)
• If you priority is documents that look like what you are used to, and many of your documents are similar (templates): DocuSign ($25/month)

Details:

Electronic signatures are fundamentally different from ink signatures.  Ink signatures establish the signer's identity through handwriting.  Electronic signatures establish identity based on the email account, login, and password that were used to log in to the electronic signature tool.  The audit trail of the tool maintains that a certain person approved ("signed") a certain document at a certain date and time.

The complexity and cost of the more expensive tools comes from them trying to make electronic signatures LOOK like ink signatures.  You are literally only paying for aesthetics--paying in both money and the time it takes to sign and send each document.  Generally speaking, the cheaper options are also easier and faster for your co-signers to use.


1. Adobe e-sign
Free
By far the fastest and easiest to use.
Only supports PDF documents.
Does not allow for filling in any fields.
Looks nothing at all like ink.
Shows a clear audit trail on a new page that it attaches to the end of the document.

2. EchoSign
$15/month
Very fast and easy to use.
Supports all common documents formats (Word, PDF, etc.).
Does not allow for filling in any fields.
Looks a little like ink.
Adds the ink-like signature, full name, date, and email address to the bottom of the document.  You have to log in to the tool to see the audit trail.

3. RightSignature
$14/month
A little bit cumbersome to use at first.
Supports all common documents formats (Word, PDF, etc.).
Allows filling in fields, but this feature will add several minutes of work for you each time you send a document.
Looks just like ink.
Automatically signs documents for you when you send them.
Shows a clear audit trail on a new page that it attaches to the end of the document.

4. DocuSign
$25/month
Exactly like RightSignature, except:
- When you send a document that is basically the same as one you have sent before it recognizes the form fields and does all of that for you automatically.
- Does not let you automatically sign documents you send--it's rather clunky about that.
- You have to log in to see the audit trail.
This is the only company that required a credit card in order to demo, and I have received lots of marketing email from them.

My customer chose EchoSign.  She is not a highly technical person, and she seems to be very happy with the service.