If you’ve been required to e sign documents online from your bank or other large corporations, you may have envied that functionality. However, even a small business can require an electronic signature from its online form users.
Indeed, EmailMeForm users can enable electronic signature collection to any form in just five minutes. Plus, you can make the user’s e signature a mandatory field, meaning that users must sign to send the form.
About EmailMeForm electronic signature forms
Small business owners find themselves needing an electronic signature form more often than you think. We know this firsthand because you asked for it! This feature is always popular amongst our users.
Our forms allow you to collect electronic signatures (also called digital signatures, or e signature) easily. Here, give it a try.
However, our online signature forms are also easy for your users. They can sign using their pen, stylus, or mouse from a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Why would a small business need to collect a digital signature?
You might like the idea of a fancy digital signature form but feel unsure of why any small business would need to use one.
Here are five examples of how small businesses can benefit from an online signature.
- Home contractors: Do you ask homeowners to approve a work order before work commences? Lose the bulky clipboard and ask them to e sign on your tablet.
- Courier and delivery services: Prove you delivered goods on time by asking recipients to give you a digital signature.
- E-commerce vendors: Require credit card holders to sign for their purchases using our secure online forms.
- Daycare centers and schools: Email out permission slips to parents before a field trip to eliminate the little ones losing the paper and feeling left out on field trip day.
- Any small business: Ask prospective employees to verify that the information collected in an online employment application is true and accurate by signing off on the document.
In each of these cases, the business improves productivity by minimizing paperwork. However, the business owner is additionally protected by obtaining a user’s signature.
Let’s build a form that requires an electronic signature
Before we get started, let me say that I am a content writer with EmailMeForm; I’m not an advanced form user.
For our example today, you’ll follow along as I build a form that I plan to use for my small freelance writing business.
I am beginning to ask my clients for written customer testimonials and will be sending this form out to clients by email, asking them to review the services I’ve provided. Adding a signature line to this form enables them to grant me express permission to share this information publicly.
So, I am creating a live form as you join me. Let’s go.
Log in to Form Manager
First, log in to your EmailMeForm account; you’ll land in the Form Manager.
From here, you can either choose an existing form to modify or build a new form from scratch. Click the yellow “new” button.
After you click the “New,” a prompt displays to allow you to select either a template or to create your form.
I chose to create my own in this case. However, feel free to browse the awesome templates for things like employment applications and work orders.
Build Your Form
Once you arrive in the form builder environment, you set your form title, settings, and Captcha. Don’t forget to personalize the success message, too!
Then, add the fields that you need for your form using the “Add Fields” tab.
For my example, this is what I added:
- User name
- Email address
- Company name
- URL of the company website
- Testimonial statement space
- Signature area
- My logo
- Hidden Captcha
Next, I clicked the “Field Settings” tab and made some of the fields (including the signature) “required” to ensure I capture that data. In addition, I masked email and used the “instructions” space for the signature field to let users know that they are authorizing me to use their credentials.
Finally, save your form
Once you have everything the way you want it, please save your form. I was writing instructions and taking screenshots–I forgot and had to re-do my form. Told you I am not an advanced user!
After you save, choose your next action from the save confirmation message. I went back to the Form Manager.
Test Your Form (optional)
From the form manager, choose your form and click the </> code button.
Under the “link” section, click the blue “[copy]” in the URL section.
Paste that into your browser and go. The live copy of your form will appear. I always like to complete one with my information to reassure myself that I’m satisfied with it from a user’s perspective.
I also tried the electronic signature. It looked ugly. However, there’s a “clear” button to allow the user to re-try signing it, so I gave it another whirl.
If you are happy with all that you see, you may return to the Form Manager and implement your form on your website, in your social media, for email marketing, or any other way that you wish.
Ramp up productivity with e-signatures
Now that you’ve mastered the skill of setting up a form that collects an electronic signature from the user, you will unlock new ways to use it that increase your productivity. Best of all, you’ll cut the clutter of signed papers and have your data secured safely by EmailMeForm.
But, don’t take my word for it.
Sign up to EmailMeForm and get started on creating your own online signature form today.
Collecting digital signatures is often done on credit card authorization forms. If ever you’re doing this, you will find this feature a must-have.
Deborah Tayloe
Deborah is a blogger and freelancer who often writes for EmailMeForm. When she’s not blogging, you’ll probably find Deborah working on DIY projects around her home in North Carolina.
