Signing shouldn't be its own project
For most small businesses, getting a document signed means exporting a file, uploading it to a separate signing tool, typing the client's email again, waiting, then downloading the signed copy and filing it somewhere. A solo attorney does that for every engagement letter. A med spa does it for every consent form.
Each step is small. Together they mean signed paperwork lives apart from the customer it belongs to, and someone has to remember to chase the ones that never came back.
How it works in Everything Portal
Documents and e-signature are part of the portal, next to contacts, invoices and the pipeline.
- Write it or attach it. Write a document in the portal with merge fields that fill in the customer's name, company or any custom field. Or attach a PDF you already use.
- Save it as a template. Your engagement letter, service agreement or consent form becomes a template you reuse with one click.
- Send it. Each signer gets a private link by email. They open it on any phone or computer, agree to sign electronically, then type or draw their signature.
- Track it. You see when the email is opened, when the document is viewed and when each person signs.
- Everyone gets the signed copy. It comes with a signing certificate showing who signed, when, their IP address, city and device, plus a SHA-256 fingerprint that shows the document hasn't changed since signing.
The signed copy is filed on the customer's record, with their emails, bookings, deals and invoices. For a step-by-step walkthrough, read how to get a document signed electronically.
What makes an e-signature hold up
In the US, the ESIGN Act (2000) and UETA give electronic signatures legal effect for most business documents. There are exceptions, such as wills and certain family-law and court documents. What helps a signature stand up is evidence: the signer agreed to sign electronically, they got the document through a link sent only to them, there's an audit trail of what happened and when, and there's proof the document wasn't altered afterward.
That's what the consent step, private link, signing certificate and fingerprint are for. For anything high-stakes, check with a lawyer.
Automations around signing
Because signing lives inside the portal, it can move the rest of your work along. Automations can start when a document is sent, signed, completed or declined:
- Document completed: tag the contact as a client, send a welcome email and create an onboarding task.
- Document sent: wait three days, then create a task for whoever sent it to check that it's been signed.
- Document declined: assign the contact to the owner and create a task to call them.
A law firm gets a task to open the matter the moment the engagement letter is signed. A home services company gets a task to schedule the job and send the first invoice as soon as an estimate agreement is completed.
Who uses it
- Law firms sending engagement letters at intake.
- Clinics and med spas sending consent and release forms before appointments. Patient data needs care, so check your own compliance obligations.
- Contractors and home services getting estimates and contracts signed before work starts.
- Agencies sending service agreements, with their own name and logo on the signing page through white-label.
- Hotels and venues getting event contracts signed before the deposit invoice goes out.
Getting started
Upload the PDFs you send most, or rebuild them as templates with merge fields so the details fill in for you. Send a test to yourself to see what signers see. Then add one automation for "document completed" so the next step happens without anyone remembering. See what's inside for how documents fit with the rest of the portal.
