E-signature software for bookkeepers needs to do four things well: send engagement letters and consent forms from reusable templates, remind clients who have not signed, keep a record of who signed what and when, and charge a price that fits a practice sending a few dozen documents a year. Most extra features matter far less than these.
Which documents a bookkeeper sends for e-signature
The documents a bookkeeper sends for e-signature are mostly the ones that start, change or end a client relationship. Engagement letters come first. After that come consent forms for sharing data with a third party, authorizations to act for the client with a bank or payroll provider, and the letter that closes an engagement.
A typical list for a small practice:
- Engagement letter for every new client, and a revised one when the scope or fee changes.
- Consent to share data, such as permission to send statements to a tax preparer.
- Authorization forms for setting up payroll or bill payment on the client's behalf.
- Year-end confirmations where the client signs off that the books are complete.
- Disengagement letter when the work ends.
Authorization forms often arrive from the provider itself rather than from your template. If you set up payroll or bill payments for clients, the posts on payroll software for bookkeepers and bill pay software for bookkeepers cover how those tools handle client approval.
Check where signed copies need to end up. A client on a cloud ledger may want them attached in the ledger or a shared portal, while a client running a desktop accounting file usually keeps them in a folder beside the books. The comparison of downloaded and cloud accounting software explains which clients tend to stay on desktop.
Count how many of these you sent last year. That number, not a vendor's tier names, decides which plan you need.
E-signature templates and reminders for engagement letters
E-signature templates let you save an engagement letter once, with fields for the client's name, the services and the fee, and fill them in for each new client. Reminders send a follow-up when a client has not signed after a few days. Together they turn sending a letter into a two-minute task and stop unsigned letters from sitting forgotten.
What to look for in templates:
- Fields that fill from a form, so you type the client name once.
- Optional sections you can switch on or off, for services some clients take and others do not.
- More than one signer, for businesses with two owners.
- Version control, so you know which letter wording a client signed.
What to look for in reminders:
- An automatic schedule you set once, such as three and seven days after sending.
- A clear view of every letter still unsigned across all clients.
- A way to stop reminders when a client tells you they are reviewing it with a lawyer.
What should an e-signature audit record show?
An e-signature audit record is the log the software keeps for each signed document. It should show who received the document, when it was opened, when each person signed, and the email address used. You keep it with the signed file. If a client later disputes what they agreed to, this record is your evidence.
Download the signed document and its audit record together and store them in the client's file, not only in the e-signature account. If you change e-signature vendors or close the account, records left behind may be hard to reach. Ask each vendor how long signed documents are kept and in what format you can export them.
The legal weight of an electronic signature depends on the rules where you and the client are, and on the type of document. For most engagement letters this is routine, but if you are unsure about a particular form, ask the party that will rely on it. Questions about what a bookkeeper may sign or authorize on a client's behalf tie into wider questions about the role, covered in do you need a license to be a bookkeeper.
How do you judge e-signature pricing per envelope?
Judge e-signature pricing by dividing the yearly cost by the number of envelopes you will actually send. An envelope is one sending of one or more documents to one or more signers. A flat monthly plan that includes a hundred envelopes is poor value if you send forty a year. A pay-per-envelope plan suits low volume.
A worked example with made-up prices, for a practice that sends 40 envelopes a year:
| Plan (example) | Yearly cost | Envelopes included | Cost per envelope used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat plan, 15 per month, unlimited | 180 | Unlimited | 4.50 |
| Per-envelope plan, 3 each | 120 | Pay as you go | 3.00 |
| Bundle, 60 per year for 150 | 150 | 60 | 3.75 |
At 40 envelopes, the per-envelope plan is cheapest in this example. At 80 envelopes it would cost 240, and the flat plan would win. Run the numbers on your own count before you choose, and redo them when your client list grows.
Check the extras: some plans charge for templates, extra senders or audit record downloads. A plan that looks cheap can cost more once those are added.
E-signature habits that weaken a signed letter
E-signature habits that weaken a signed letter are shortcuts that make the record harder to rely on later. The most common is sending to a shared office address, so you cannot show which person signed. Others include editing a template after sending and keeping the signed copy only inside the vendor's account.
Habits to avoid:
- Sending to a general inbox such as an office or info address. Send to the person who has authority to sign.
- Changing the letter after it went out. If terms change, send a new envelope instead of editing.
- Leaving records in the vendor account. Export and file each signed letter and audit record.
- One template for every client. A letter that does not match the services a client takes is a poor record of what you agreed.
- No signed letter at all for small clients. The smallest clients are often the ones where scope is least clear.
The engagement letter is also a good place to say how client statements are handled: who sends them, how they are collected and how long files are kept. If you process statements in batches, a sentence about the tool you use helps the client understand where their files go. AutoBankConvert, for instance, lets you choose how long originals are kept after export, which you can state in the letter. AutoBankConvert's overview lists the other storage details worth naming.