Call me old fashioned, but nothing feels as good as putting pen to paper. That’s one reason I write professionally… if I could handwrite this article, I would. And when I applied to TNW, part of my self-pitch was my adoration of editing with my trusty red pen.

To me, there’s nothing sexier than beautiful handwriting. Okay, well there are other things that are sexier, but you get my drift…

But in the tech world of quick and dirty contracts, printing and signing paperwork is an antiquated regimen. There are much better ways of doing it.

So when Eversign came calling (or rather, writing), I jumped at the chance to review their e-signature product. And at only three weeks old, this company is giving its competitors a run for their money.

Software

Founded in 2017, Eversign provides easy-to-use, secure, and collaborative electronic signature solutions.

The product is b uilt and maintained by Apilaye r, the company behind some of the most popular developer tools focused on building productivity-boosting APIs and SaaS products.

Services

Eversign is more than just a way to sign documents. Eversign seamlessly integrates your everyday workflow through the world’s most popular applications including Google Docs, Dropbox, and Salesforce.

Oversee documents with the audit trail and manage unlimited contacts and signatures for whatever may come your way. With team management built in, everyone from the sales department to legal and HR can easily create a document.

That’s the best part of Eversign – it’s insanely flexible and everyone can use it. And while its competitors may focus solely on enterprise companies, Eversign is great for enterprises,  SMEs, and individuals.

Even if you just want to annoy your co-worker with a legally binding referral….

Or test out just how many saved signatures you can have…

FYI, the number is more than 10 for one individual. I haven’t actually made it to the point that it will no longer allow me to save signatures, I just got tired of doing it…

Security

Eversign ensures encrypted transactions by implementing the highest grade of security standards currently available. Each data stream going into or out of Eversign is secured by industry-standard 256-bit HTTPS encryption while documents are encrypted using unique hash keys. Through the company’s tamper-evident Audit Trail, each signing process carries a detailed log of all transactions.

Additionally, with two data centers and your choice to host in either the US or Europe, those pesky little government privacy issues may be a thing of the past.

Signatures

The goal of Eversign is to break the “print-sign-scan” cycle and make the paperless signature process simple and easy. As such, there are three ways you can sign or initial:

Type your name and choose from a set of fonts

Draw your signature using your mouse or finger

Upload a PNG image of your existing signature

Need to create and sign a document on the spot? No problem. Eversign allows in-person signing directly on a device of your choice.

Cost

Eversign has four pricing plans to fit any budget. For this review, we wanted to test the free version (and yes, we mean free). While templates aren’t included in this option, you do receive a generous five documents per month. For a freelancer starting out, this is the best option as it’s efficient and cost effective.

My only issue with this plan was if there are any edits that need to be made to documents (an incorrect email address or a misspelled word in the document).

It was a bit of a pain as editing wasn’t possible and I had to use one of my five documents just to repeat the process…. Note: Always double check your email address if you have a limited amount of docs that can be sent…

At $9.99 for the Basic plan, you can enjoy unlimited documents and three templates. So if you’re looking for something a bit more foolproof and still inexpensive, I highly recommend this pricing point.

Is it actually legal?

It sure sounds fast and convenient – and it beats the heck out of dealing with registered mail – but are e-signed contracts actually legal?

Absolutely.

In most countries, electronic signatures are legal, enforceable and binding for contracts and other documents. Eversign signed documents come with the  highest level of compliance with both local and international security and authentication requirements.

Is it for you?

Electronic signature software eliminates the need for paper documents and the tediousness of a paper trail, allowing all parties to sign at their convenience without mailing or faxing documents for signatures.

When obtaining a written signature is inconvenient or impossible, an e-signature can be your new best friend.

Because aside from John Hancock, signatures aren’t sexy. But with Eversign, they can finally be convenient.