How to get a client to sign a proposal online

The short answer

Send one PDF with one clear price, one decision to make and a date it expires. Put the signature field where the decision is, send it through an e-signature tool so the client can sign in a browser without an account, and follow up once if it has not been signed in a few days. Keep the signed copy and its audit trail with the project.

For ordinary commercial agreements between businesses, a simple electronic signature is generally accepted in the US, the UK and the EU. There are exceptions, covered below. This is general information, not legal advice.

Why proposals stall

From my own projects, the proposals that took longest to come back had one of these problems:

• Too many options. Three packages with four add-ons each means the client has to go and think, and thinking means a meeting.
• The price was not where they expected it, or it was split across a page of line items with no total.
• Nobody was named as the person who signs. The contact forwarded it to a manager, who forwarded it to finance.
• No end date. A proposal with no expiry tells the client there is no reason to decide this week.
• Signing meant printing. Anything that needs a printer gets left until Friday, then next Friday.

Each of these is fixable before you send.

Set the proposal up to be signed

One price, stated plainly

Show the total, what it includes, and the payment schedule, on the page where they sign or right before it. If you want to offer options, offer two at most, and make one the default. The quote generator gives you clean line items with a total and a valid-until date if your proposal is mostly a price.

An expiry date

"This proposal is valid until 19 October 2026." Two weeks is normal. It is honest, because your availability and your costs do change, and it gives the client a reason to decide. If they come back after it lapses, you reissue it, at the same price if nothing has changed.

The terms in the same document

If the client signs a proposal that says "terms to follow", you now have to get a second signature. Put the payment terms, revisions, cancellation and rights in the proposal, or attach the contract to the same signing request. My guide on what to include in a freelance contract lists the clauses. For the scope, a short statement of work section does the job.

Ask who signs before you send

One line in your last email before the proposal: "Who should I address the proposal to for signature?" It saves a week of forwarding. If two people need to sign, such as the project lead and someone from finance, find out the order.

Sending it for signature

A typical e-signature flow looks like this:

1. Upload the final PDF. Once it is sent, the document should be locked, so what the client signs is exactly what you sent.
2. Place the fields: signature, date, name or initials where needed. Do not make the client fill in what you already know.
3. Add the signers. If there is more than one, decide whether they sign in order (the client signs, then you countersign) or in parallel.
4. Send. Each signer gets an email with a link and signs in the browser, on a phone or a computer.
5. Everyone gets the signed PDF by email when the last person has signed.

Countersigning last is a good habit: you see exactly what the client signed before you commit.

Write a short cover email

The signing email from the tool is generic. Send your own short note just before it: "I've sent the proposal for the Northwind renders for signature. It's the scope and price we discussed on Tuesday, 4,200 GBP, two weeks from the CAD files. It's valid until 19 October. Once it's signed I'll send the deposit invoice and we can start on the 13th." Name the price, the start, and what happens next.

Follow up once, then call

If it is not signed in three or four days, one reminder. If it is not signed after a week, call or message the person directly. Silence usually means something in the proposal needs a conversation, and an email will not surface it.

What the audit trail is for

A good e-signature tool records, for each signer, the email address the link was sent to, when it was sent, opened and signed, and the IP address and browser used. It usually adds this as a certificate page to the signed PDF, and records a hash (a fingerprint) of the document so any later change can be detected.

That record is what you would rely on if the client later said they never agreed. It shows that the person with access to that email address opened and signed that exact document at that time. It does not prove who was holding the phone, which is why the higher signature levels below exist.

What the law says, in general terms

• United States. The ESIGN Act (2000) says a signature or contract may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form. Most states have also adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. There are exceptions, listed in 15 U.S.C. 7003, including wills and testamentary trusts, adoption, divorce and other family law matters, and court documents.
• European Union. The eIDAS Regulation (910/2014), Article 25, says an electronic signature may not be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence solely because it is electronic or because it is not a qualified electronic signature. eIDAS defines three levels: simple, advanced and qualified. Only a qualified electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten one across the EU, and it requires identity verification by a qualified trust service provider. Some contracts in some member states, often property and certain employment matters, require a particular form.
• United Kingdom. Section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 makes electronic signatures admissible in evidence, and the Law Commission concluded in 2019 that an electronic signature can be used to execute a document where the signer intends to authenticate it and any formalities for that kind of document are met. Deeds have extra requirements, such as witnessing.

For a freelance proposal or service agreement between businesses, a simple electronic signature with an audit trail is what most people use. For anything that needs a deed, a notary or a qualified signature, use the process that requires.

After it is signed

Send the deposit invoice the same day, with the proposal reference on it. My guide on deposit invoices covers the wording. Then send a short kickoff email with dates and what you need from the client; the project kickoff email templates have a few to copy. Speed here sets the tone for the whole job.

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