Is getting contracts and tax forms signed a hassle? E-signatures without the high price

Generally, yes. The federal ESIGN Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), adopted by most states, say a signature can't be denied legal effect just because it's electronic. Business contracts, leases, engagement letters and service agreements can usually be signed electronically.

Two caveats:

• A few documents are excluded. Wills and certain family-law documents, for example, have their own requirements and can't simply be e-signed. If you're unsure, ask an attorney or ask us.
• IRS forms follow IRS rules. Whether a form can be e-signed, and what has to happen first, varies by form. The rules for Form 8879, the one most taxpayers sign, are below.

The signature isn't the hard part. Printing, scanning, finding the right line, getting two people to sign separately, and paying for e-signature software are.

Here's what we run into every tax season:

• Clients overseas have no printer or scanner and have to find a print shop for one page.
• Older clients can't read the English form, don't know where to sign, and miss a line.
• Couples sign in each other's spot, or one spouse signs both names.
• Signature boxes have to be dragged into place one by one, and one mistake means resending the whole packet.
• E-signature services are expensive. They charge by the month and by the user, so a small business, landlord or small practice that signs a handful of documents still pays for a full subscription.

Every signer gets a private link, signature fields are placed for them, and they're walked through one field at a time. When they finish, the signatures are applied, a completion certificate is attached and the firm reviews it before filing it away.

• No account, no app: signers open a private link on a phone or computer. Send it by email, text, WhatsApp or WeChat, or show a QR code.
• One field at a time: signers first read and accept the electronic records and signature disclosure, then go "Start, Next, Finish." A missed field blocks submission. They can also decline, or choose "sign later."
• Signature options: type a name and pick a font, or draw with a finger or mouse. After adopting it once, each field is a single tap, and the date fills in automatically.
• Spouses sign separately: each person has a link and a color. The other person's fields are grayed out and can't be clicked.
• Language: the signing page switches between Chinese, English and Spanish.
• Rather sign on paper? Download the PDF with yellow markers and the print-and-sign instructions, sign by hand, then upload a photo or scan (multiple pages are fine). The firm accepts it or asks for a retake.
• Sign in person: sign on the firm's device. Staff first check a government-issued photo ID, and the system records which staff member checked it and when.
• Proof when it's done: signatures are stamped on the original, every page gets the envelope number, and a completion certificate is added at the end. It shows consent time, signing time, IP, device, signature method, the event history, and SHA-256 fingerprints of the original and signed files.

Not through our system, at least not today. IRS Publication 1345 requires identity verification, such as knowledge-based authentication (KBA), before a taxpayer remotely e-signs Form 8879, with each spouse verified separately. Our system doesn't have KBA. So Form 8879 goes one of two compliant ways:

• E-sign in person at the firm: staff check a government-issued photo ID (driver's license, state ID, passport and so on), and the system records who checked it and when.
• Print, sign by hand and upload: the client prints the 8879, signs it in ink and uploads a photo or scan. A handwritten signature that comes back by mail, fax, email or upload isn't a remote electronic signature, so KBA doesn't apply.

A low monthly fee, built for small businesses, landlords, families and small practices that sign anywhere from a few to a few dozen documents a month. The exact fee depends on how many documents you send and how many people use it, so ask us.

The reason we offer this is simple. YCL is a CPA firm. Every tax season we need clients to sign Form 8879, engagement letters and service agreements, so we know firsthand how hard signing is and how much the software costs. We built this signing process for our own clients first, and we now offer it on the same terms to other small businesses and fellow practitioners.

All three work, fastest first. Form 8879 must use one of the last two.

• Option A: Sign online (fastest). Open your private link and follow the prompts, typing or drawing your signature. This is the usual route for contracts, leases, engagement letters and service agreements.
• Option B: Print, sign by hand and upload. Download the PDF with yellow markers, print it, sign in ink, and upload a phone photo or scan. Works for Form 8879.
• Option C: Sign in person at the office. Sign on the firm's device after staff check your photo ID. Also works for Form 8879.
• Paper by mail, fax or drop-off: firm staff can scan and upload it so it lands in the same record.