Digital signature contracts?

I do not do it for my DJ contracts and I also do technology for a law firm and they still do not use it as they believe it could be a way around a contract. Now other lawyers may tell you different but mine say not a good idea right now.

If you had some way for clients to sign up and get a unique PIN number, then you may be able to claim you verified their identity, and therefor have a valid contract. I think it would hold up in Oklahoma, but I have no idea what other states require.


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I don't know about the electronic signature but, when contract is mentioned the first though in my head is talk to Cap Capello.

Electronic signatures have been recognized since the (first) Clinton administration. For non-lethal agreements, by all means. However, the three law firms whom I've retained and consulted have all stated what I suspected. What price are you willing to risk or pay for expediency? Is it customer service and vendor laziness? What benefit is an electronic signature to your business future? Is there a quantifiable competitive edge?

Only you can answer that for your business.

I agree, Jeff. No problems for the very few exceptions where I've deviated from 99% normal policy. But I have to tell you, every time I do deviate from my bullet-proof contract on which I spent thousands of dollars in development, I instantly regret my decision, then sit on the dge of my office chair waiting for it to come back and bite me.

"Damn it, Capello, your contract is for your business protection and personal peace of mind. What the hell are you thinking?"

And then I swear I'll never do it again (until the next time.)

We use electronic signatures. About 10 years now. Like all paper ones before that, none have yet to be contested. In my opinion, if push came to shove, it would be easier to prove an electronic signature than a paper one.

Again, just my opinion.

We use services like ewebmin. It records the date it was signed, and I'm guessing it could be proven what computer they used to do it....and also allow people to sign in person via an iPad.

It's more convenient for me. There's nothing to suggest that it adds any risk.

I don't lose any sleep.

Tom Brady signed his last contract Via electronic signature. The pats and Brady have much more to lose than I do.

All the time.....

First and foremost - I don't have any blank contract forms or templates available. If a person returns a contract to me E-signed or unsigned it is because one was sent to them personally, and generated to their unique specifications. Given the terms and instructions - returning it alone with a confirming email with or without a signature indicates you have read and accepted it. Otherwise, how did figure out where, when, and how to return it?

Most of my bookings involve a significant amount of electronic communication detailing intentions, plans, and descriptions, all of which substantiate a meeting of the minds. The contract is mere formality - acting more like an invoice than some all powerful constraint.

For many loyal repeat clients with evolving event needs I don't even execute a formal contract. It's more like an open line of credit and I simply invoice them after the event. After 20+ years of repeat business the contract terms are understood, and for recurring business in the absence of a contract the terms default to those of any previous engagement. Use of the services alone is understood to be an assent to the previously agreed conditions. This allows me to get on-board immediately with last minute recurring client needs without mere paperwork causing ill-will or frustration for either of us.

The signature alone is not what saves you - you have to demonstrate a meeting of the minds. One time customers (like weddings) can do that satisfactorily with a signature on the contract, and best with a deposit of earnest money. I prefer the deposit as proof of agreement from a one time customer.

Repeat clients have a history of past performance which might also meet a legal standard regarding agreement.

I just had to do an e-signature. The guy fixing the cable had me to sign off that way. It's the latest thing in modern technology. Some don't like modern technology and I'm not crazy about some of it. We've become a lazy society. My question as others have stated is how will you verify that the signature is the person who the contract is for? It's one thing if you have all of that persons info to verify who that person is like me with the cable company.

I have been using E-signatures for a couple of years and since I started, many people prefer it that way. My number of destination weddings has increased dramatically and so far all all of them have preferred digital signing and electronic payment.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

I just had to do an e-signature. The guy fixing the cable had me to sign off that way. It's the latest thing in modern technology. Some don't like modern technology and I'm not crazy about some of it. We've become a lazy society. My question as others have stated is how will you verify that the signature is the person who the contract is for? It's one thing if you have all of that persons info to verify who that person is like me with the cable company.

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This is nowhere near the "latest" technology, it's been around well over 15 years

Jas said:

For those that have been using it, what method or program are you using to create a contract with a space for the E-signature? The primecuts form has fields that can filled out with acrobat, but once signed and saved those fields are closed or uneditable.

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It depends on the purpose of the document. You can imagine that an E-signature on a PDF loan application would require a digital certificate from a third party issuer. For a purchase order perhaps all you would need is a self-certified signature on a PDF.

For a W-9 tax ID form you could easily quick-sign which is simply permanently affixing an image of your hand-written capture into the PDF.

Websites like FASFA and the IRS use a PIN and self-certification. It really depends on the level of scrutiny a document requires and the monetary value of what is being transacted.

Jas said:

For those that have been using it, what method or program are you using to create a contract with a space for the E-signature? The primecuts form has fields that can filled out with acrobat, but once signed and saved those fields are closed or uneditable.

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It is part of the package with gigbuilders.com.

For me, the agreement that gets signed is used mostly for double checking things that we agreed to way back when the agreement was made. Sometimes that's way before the event. It shows what was included, for what price, at what location. It also gets brought up if there is a cancellation.
It's not too uncommon for a client to ask if something was included or not. We can quickly answer yes or show them on the agreement where it was not listed. This saves a lot of time.

It really just helps me and the client both understand what exactly was agreed to.
I guess if something had to go to court, which it never had in 25 years, the person could say they never signed it, but I have to imagine that is extremely unlikely.
So, electronic signatures work very well for me, as people can sign the agreement in moments, and pay over the phone with a credit card, and they are booked. So much better for me than mailing an agreement and waiting.

My opinion may change if I ever had to go to court, and a judge ruled against me because I used an electronic signature. But I believe there is a better chance of a zombie attack than that happening.