Which platform do you use, and why?
"I use iLovePDF which has an e-sign facility. I use this platform as it made the next quality PDFs for my property brochures and did e-sign at the same time."
This is the answer we did not expect. Every comparison on this site, and almost every comparison anywhere, assumes a business sets out to buy signing software. Wisden Homes did not. It bought a tool for making property brochures, and signing came with it.
iLovePDF is best known as a set of PDF tools, but its signing product is a working e-signature service rather than a way of pasting a signature image onto a page. It produces an audit trail recording who signed, when, from which IP address, with a timestamp, and converts signed files to PDF/A for long-term archiving. For why that record matters, see What is an audit trail for e-signatures?.
What is one document your business now signs electronically that it did not two years ago?
"Our agency agreements for sellers."
An agency agreement is the contract between the seller and the agent. It is an ordinary contract, so it needs no witness and no particular level of signature.
What changed once you switched to digital, in time, cost or risk?
"Cost wasn’t significant as I was using the platform for PDF, it was something like £40 a year. Saved a lot of time as sellers can read the contract in their own time and sign and return out of hours. It is seen as binding by all parties in the way a paper copy is and both parties get an e-copy to keep."
The cost figure is worth noting against the platforms we review, which are generally priced per user per month. Because the signing was bundled with a tool already being paid for, the marginal cost of moving to electronic signing was close to nothing.
The time saving is more interesting, as it is not just about speed of signing, it is about removing the traditional appointment, to review and sign documents in an office.
What went wrong, or nearly did?
"Sometimes owners fail to spot it in their emails, and it sits for a while."
A paper contract handed across a desk gets signed or refused. An emailed one can simply be missed, and the chasing falls to the agency. It also explains why reminder settings, which look like a minor feature when comparing platforms, turn out to be really useful for small businesses.
Is there a document you still will not sign electronically, and why?
"Although I like the feel of signing documents in a solicitor’s office, I think I would feel just as secure signing any document via e-sign, whether it was a house sale, car purchase etc."
Some documents in a house sale do carry extra requirements. The contract can be signed electronically with no witness. The transfer deed and the mortgage are deeds, and need either a witness physically present or a qualified electronic signature. See Can property documents be signed electronically in the UK? for how those differ.
What would you tell another agency considering it?
"Go for it, it’s very useful!"
