With the electronic signature feature, you can sign documents electronically and they are still legally binding. Online signatures are verified by email and phone of the signatory. This saves you a lot of time and makes your work more efficient. We have developed the electronic signature mini-application in cooperation with DigiSign and it is free in its basic version.
In this article, you will find out:
- Where you can find the electronic signature feature
- How to upload a document to be signed
- How signing the document works
- What a declined document looks like
- How to work with documents to be signed in the CRM system
- All about pricing and electronic signature settings
Important: Documents signed electronically have the same legal weight and are as legally binding as documents signed in the traditional way on paper. The legislation relating to the regulation of electronic signatures is based on Regulation No. 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on electronic identification, authentication, and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC ("eIDAS"). Please note that if you are located outside the EU, it is up to you to check if electronic signatures signed this way are valid and legally binding in your country.
Where to find the electronic signature feature
The Electronic Signature tab can be found on the record detailed card. The tab is available automatically, you don’t have to enable it in Settings. The following records have this tab available:
- Account
- Contact
- Deal
- Quote
- Sales Order
The Electronic Signature tab shows an overview of the documents you have already uploaded. To upload a new document, click the Select and sign a document button.
Uploading a document for signing
In the following window, select how you want to upload the new document.
You have four options:
- Upload file - select the file from your device or just drag and drop the file.
- Select attachment - select the file from attachments linked to the specific record.
- Custom template - The reports that you have in Raynet as a Custom Template will be available. Only those where you have checked Generate to PDF will be available, see image below.
- Custom field - The PDF files you have uploaded to your own custom field of the type "File" will be available.
Then you need to select a specific signer. The user who uploads the document for signing is in the section Our Signer by default, but you can also add other users. In the Counterparty Signer section, you select the Contacts (or Accounts - Individuals). It is also possible for the document to be signed only by the counterparty. The maximum number of signers on each side is 10 (i.e., a maximum of 20 for both parties).
A check will also take place to see if you have the email address and a phone number stored for these parties. These details are needed in order to verify the signature. You can fill in the phone number with any country code.
There is also the option to choose between Handwritten and Simple Signature. When the Simple Signature option is selected, the document is signed only by clicking a button. This type of signature is ideal for basic documents when you already know the other party or when the contract involves small amounts.
In order for you to see the dropdown with both signature types, you need to go to Settings » Add-ons » DigiSign » Settings » at the bottom of the page click on Show advanced settings » check the box to allow users to see the signature type selection dropdown when creating a new document. You can also set the Default Signature Type here.
The last thing you edit in this window is Signature validity, Reminder before expiration (the user is reminded of the signature by a CRM system notification) and the Signature Order in which you want to collect signatures. You can select:
- Everybody at the same time
- First us, then the counterparty
- First the counterparty, then us
- According to custom order
Once you have everything filled out, click the Continue button.
A window will appear in which you specify the position of the signatures by dragging the Signature field to the appropriate position in the document. To finish editing, click the Send button.
After sending successfully, a confirmation window will appear.
Signing the document
The signing itself then takes place via email. This is the case for both parties. Simply open your email inbox and click on the email with the subject Electronic signature TO:.
In the incoming email, click on the link Go to Documents.
In the next step, we will verify your identity. After clicking the Start the authentication button, an automated SMS message with a PIN code will be sent to you. Enter the numerical code. By doing that, we will verify your identity and grant you access to the document.
A window will show up with the document to be signed. Once you’ve looked the document over and everything looks correct, it is time to get to signing.
Click on the field with the signatory’s name to pull up a new window for the signature itself. A touchpad, mouse, or smartphone is all you need for this. Complete the signature and submit it to the system via the Confirm the Signature button (the system will ask you again if you really want to confirm).
The counterparty then goes through the same signing process. Once both parties have signed the document, it will be emailed to you as a downloadable link.
Declining to sign
The recipient of the document awaiting signature can decline to sign.
Both the document and the signatory are marked as Rejected and you can filter by this status.
Canceling a sent document
You will find a Cancel button next to a document that has been sent and has the status "Waiting". Clicking this button will stop the document from being sent. The recipient will no longer be able to sign the document. In the change history, the status "Canceled" will be displayed in Raynet for all users involved in the signing, and a cancellation notification email will be sent to these people.
Email not delivered notification
If Digisign is unable to deliver the email (e.g., due to a non-existent email address), we will let you know. A red exclamation point will appear next to the signer with the description "The recipient's email provider has refused to deliver the message. Please check if the address is correct". In this case, when you click the button to send the email again, a field will appear where you fill in a new email address. Once that is done, you can send the email again. It will not be counted as another envelope sent.
Working with documents in the CRM system
In addition to uploading new documents, you can check the status of uploaded documents in your CRM system or filter by signature.
The Electronic Signature tab provides an overview of the uploaded documents. Click on the preview to see the status of the document, whether it has been signed by both parties or is still waiting for signatures. Also find out when the signing deadline expires and check the detailed history of changes.
Filter by Electronic Signature criteria in Accounts, Contacts, Deals, Quotes, and Sales Orders. The advanced filter for Accounts looks like this:
Pricing and settings
You will find the pricing and other Electronic Signature settings in Settings » Add-ons » Electronic signature. If you click on the gear icon, you will be redirected to Electronic Signature Settings.
Four documents (envelopes) per month are free. You can upgrade your plan according to your needs. Paid plans will then be automatically included in your payment for Raynet. No need to sign up anywhere.
Click on Show advanced settings if you want to set more values for electronic signatures.
Here you can set the default signatory, signature type, and language and how a signed document should be saved. By selecting a default language, you define the entire process — emails, SMS, and the signing itself. Either set a default language for signing or check the box to allow users to see the language selection dropdown when creating a new document. Once you define the language selection process, you can prepare the content of the emails.
Within the predefined content of the email, you can also use parameters for adding data to the document to be signed. Examples can be found by clicking on the question mark.
How do we calculate signatures?
If you add several documents as part of a single sending process, where you request a signature on each document, it counts as one signature action, i.e., one envelope. There is not a fee for each signature separately, but for each envelope. The documents are lined up in order. However, there are two limitations:
- One envelope must not exceed 20 MB.
- The maximum number of signatories from each party is 10 (i.e., a maximum of 20 signatures in total).
Keep in mind that that all signatories will always see all the documents sent, even if they are to only sign one of them.
How do we protect your signed documents?
The Electronic Signature module in Raynet is provided by DigiSign under Digital solutions s.r.o. This service is regularly monitored, backed up and tested including penetration tests and thus meets the highest security requirements. Access to documents is protected by two-factor authentication.
All servers for our Electronic Signature application are hosted in a secure datacenter environment in the EU, whose provider holds an ISO 27001 certificate. All transfers are secured with SSL certificates and selected data is encrypted. The application developers have many years of experience in developing cloud applications. All data is processed in accordance with the GDPR.