How to get documents signed digitally

“Yeah, go ahead” over the phone feels like approval right up until there's a disagreement about what was agreed. A signature on the quote — or on the completion sign-off — turns a conversation into a record, and getting one no longer means printing anything or chasing paper back.

TradePlanr handles both directions: send a document for the customer to sign on their own phone, or hand them yours on site and capture the signature there and then. Either way the signed PDF is stored against the job, dated, and there when you need it.

1. 1. Open the document that needs signing

   From the job, open the document you want signed — most often a quote awaiting approval, or a completion sign-off at the end of the work. Anything generated in TradePlanr can carry a signature, so the same flow covers approvals at the start of a job and acceptance at the end of it.

2. 2. Send it for signature

   Choose Send for Signature and the customer gets a link by email or text. They open it on their phone, review the document and sign on screen with a finger — no account to create, no app to download, nothing to print. For quotes, that's the difference between “I'll have a think” and a signed acceptance while the job's still fresh in their mind.

   A customer's phone showing a TradePlanr quote open at the sign-on-screen stage

3. 3. Or capture the signature on site

   When the customer is standing next to you, skip the sending: open the document, tap to sign, and hand them your phone. It takes seconds, and it suits the two moments that matter most — getting the go-ahead on the doorstep, and getting the work signed off as complete before you leave.

   A completion signature captured on site closes the job cleanly: the customer has confirmed they're happy, on the record, while the work is in front of them.

   A customer signing a completion sign-off on screen on the tradesperson's phone

   Tip

   Make the completion signature part of packing up, like counting the tools in. It's thirty seconds that ends most "I never agreed to that" conversations before they start.

4. 4. Check what's signed and what's waiting

   Documents sent for signature show their status against the job, so you can see at a glance which quotes are still sitting unsigned. If one's been quiet for a few days, re-send the link with a short note — the same gentle-nudge habit that works for invoices works for approvals.

5. 5. Find the signed PDF later

   Every signed document is stored as a PDF against the job and the customer, with the signature and date on it. When a dispute, a warranty question or an insurance query surfaces months later, the signed record is two taps away — not in a folder in the loft.

   A job's documents list showing a signed quote and a signed completion certificate with their dates

Signed quote before you start, signed completion when you finish — two signatures per job, captured in seconds, and the paperwork argues on your behalf if it ever has to.