Collecting client signatures

In this article, you'll learn where your customers sign and where to find their signatures afterward. A signature is your record that the customer agreed to the work you described and to the total they paid.

Signatures aren't saved on the client record. They're collected in three places:

  • Online, when a customer approves an estimate in their customer portal
  • Online, on a custom document you send from a job
  • In person, on your phone when they pay with Tap to Pay

Signatures on estimates

Customers can't approve an estimate in the portal without signing it. There's nothing to switch on for this.

Here's what the customer does:

  1. They open the estimate from your text or email and click Approve. If the estimate asks for a deposit they can pay by card, the button says Approve & pay deposit instead.
  2. A drawer opens called Sign & Approve, or Sign & Pay when there's a deposit. Under Add your signature, they draw in the Sign box with a finger or a mouse. Clear wipes the box so they can start over.
  3. If you have their email address, they can tick Get a copy via email to get the signed estimate in their inbox.
  4. They click Approve, or Continue if a deposit comes next.

If they click without signing, they're asked to sign in the box first. After they approve, their signature goes into the signature box on the estimate, so you'll see it on the estimate and on its PDF.

Note: A customer who doesn't want to go ahead clicks Decline instead. Declining doesn't ask for a signature.

Signatures on custom documents

Custom documents can ask for a signature too. You can set that up in two ways:

  • On the template. Add a signature to the template when you design it in Settings > Documents. The template list then shows Required in its Signature column on the web, and Signature required in the phone app.
  • When you send. On the web, tick Ask the customer to sign it in the Send document window. In the app, it's a switch with the same name. It starts on for templates that have a signature, and you can change it for any one send.
Sending a document that needs a signature
Sending a document that needs a signature

When the customer opens the link, the page says Your signature is needed below. Under Sign to approve, they draw their signature, type their full name and click Sign document. After that, the document shows the date they signed it.

Checking whether it's been signed

Every document you send from a job is listed in that job's Documents section. On the web, it's on the job's Attachments tab. In the app, it's on the job page, under the attachments.

  • A document that still needs a signature has awaiting signature after its name.
  • Once it's signed, the line underneath says Signed by, the name they typed, and the date.
  • Click or tap a document to open it the way your customer sees it, signature included.

Signatures in person with Tap to Pay

When you take a card with Tap to Pay in the phone app, the customer signs on your phone before they tap their card. On an iPhone the button is called Tap to Pay on iPhone. On Android it's Tap to Pay. Stripe has to be connected, and your phone has to be set up for Tap to Pay first.

  1. On the Collect payment screen, tap the Tap to Pay button and hand the phone to the customer.
  2. They check the amount and tap Approve Amount. If you ask for tips, they pick one and tap Add tip, or Continue for no tip.
  3. Under Add your signature, they tap the box that says Tap to sign.
  4. A full-screen Please sign below pad opens. They sign with a finger and tap Done. Clear starts over, and Cancel closes the pad.
  5. They tap Pay and the total, then tap their card on the phone.

The Pay button stays greyed out until they've signed. Their signature is saved to the invoice when they tap Pay.

Tip: To see a signature later, open the invoice in the app and tap the Signatures row. Each signature shows with the date it was signed. If nobody has signed yet, it says No signatures yet.
Note: You can only sign in person with Tap to Pay in the phone app. The web doesn't have an in-person signing screen.