What is the difference between accepting and signing?

Signing asks the recipient to sign in named places on the document and to fill text, dates and checkboxes. Acceptance asks for one click on the whole document. Both are logged, both come back as a sealed PDF with a certificate, and both cost the same. If the other side expects to sign, use Signing. If you only need their yes, use Acceptance.

Is an accepted document legally binding?

Yes, for documents that need no special form, such as quotes, orders and sign-offs. In law, a click on Accept is the same kind of electronic signature as a drawn one. What matters in a dispute is whether the person saw the document, clearly agreed, and whether you can show who did it. The certificate records that. Some documents need a notary, a witness, handwritten ink or a qualified electronic signature. Neither signing nor acceptance covers them. Examples are wills, property sales and mortgages, marriage contracts, gifts of property and many powers of attorney. In some countries the list also includes personal guarantees, employment terminations and company share transfers. This is not legal advice.

What if the recipient opens the document and never accepts?

Reminders go out on their own, and you see the status of every request in DocsAutomator. The $0.50 charge applies once the recipient has opened the document, whether they accept, decline or let it expire.

Can the recipient say no?

Yes. The recipient can decline and write a reason. You see the reason in DocsAutomator, and the request closes.

Can a consumer accept a quote that obliges them to pay?

Acceptance does not yet support documents that oblige a consumer to pay. EU and UK law asks for extra steps before the button. Ask your lawyer which flow fits those documents.

What does it cost at high volume?

The first 500 documents in a billing month cost $0.50 each. Every document above that costs $0.35. If you send many thousands a month, write to Rupert, the founder, at rupert@docsautomator.co and he will set it up with you.

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Signing & Acceptance

Q: What does the recipient need?

An email address and a browser. The recipient opens the link from the email on any phone or computer. They do not create an account.

Send it, get a yes.

Quotes, offers, policy sign-offs and HR packs go out from your data and come back accepted with one click. Contracts go out the same way and come back signed. Every yes is logged, with a certificate on the PDF.

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Recipient reviewing a document before clicking Accept

Key Benefits

What it is

One closing choice

Every automation in DocsAutomator has one closing choice: signature, acceptance, or none. Together they are Signing & Acceptance. Some documents need a signature. Most quotes, offers and sign-offs do not. They need a clear yes from the right person, on record.

One click, nothing to draw

With acceptance, DocsAutomator generates the document from your data, as it does today, and emails it to the recipient. The recipient opens it on a phone or a laptop, reads it and clicks Accept. There are no signature fields and nothing to draw.

A typed name, or a no with a reason

If you want more certainty, you can ask the recipient to type their name before they accept. If the answer is no, the recipient can decline and give a reason.

A Certificate of Acceptance on the PDF

You and the recipient both get the accepted PDF with a Certificate of Acceptance on the last page. The certificate records the time, the email address, the IP address, the device, the typed name and a fingerprint of the exact document they saw. The PDF is sealed with a digital certificate and an independent timestamp, so it is tamper-evident: a PDF reader shows if the file changed after it was sealed. The accepted PDF is saved where your signed documents go today, for example your Google Drive folder or the record in your data source.

Sign or accept?

If the other side expects to sign, use Signing. If you only need their yes, use Acceptance.

Signing

Acceptance

When

Signing

A counterparty expects to see a signed document, or the document has fields to fill.

Acceptance

You need a yes on record, and nobody expects a signature line.

What the recipient does

Signing

Signs in the named places on the document. Fills text, dates and checkboxes. Several signers can sign in order.

Acceptance

Reads the document and clicks Accept. Types their name if you ask for it.

What you get

Signing

The signed PDF with a Certificate of Completion.

Acceptance

The accepted PDF with a Certificate of Acceptance.

Examples

Signing

Contracts and agreements where the other side expects to sign.

Acceptance

Quotes, purchase orders, offers, SOP sign-offs, policy and handbook acknowledgments, consent forms, internal approvals.

A click on Accept and a drawn e-signature are the same kind of signature in law: a simple electronic signature. Acceptance is the right close for documents that need a clear yes, not a signature ceremony. Both come back as a sealed PDF with a certificate, and both cost the same. This is not legal advice.

Who it is for

Send quotes and contracts from Airtable

Quotes and offers

A customer does not sign a quote. They read the price and say yes. Send the quote from your Airtable, Google Sheets or other data source, and the customer accepts it from the email in a few seconds. You see the yes in DocsAutomator and in your record, with the time and the name.

SOPs and policy sign-offs

When a procedure or a policy changes, each person who must follow it opens it and clicks Accept. You keep one sealed PDF per person, with the date they accepted. When an auditor asks who confirmed version 4 of the procedure, the answer is a folder, not a spreadsheet of emails.

HR packs

Handbooks, safety briefings, equipment policies and onboarding documents need an acknowledgment, not a contract signature. Send one document per new starter from your HR table, ask them to type their name, and file the certificate with their record. The employment contract itself still goes out for signing.

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How it works

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Choose Acceptance under How it completes

Open the Signing & Acceptance card, and under How it completes pick Acceptance instead of Signature required. Add the recipients from your data, decide whether they must type their name, and choose whether DocsAutomator emails the request or gives you the link.

The Signing & Acceptance card with Acceptance selected under How it completes

The recipient reads and clicks Accept

The recipient opens the link from the email on any phone or computer, reads the whole document on one screen, types their name if you asked for it, and clicks Accept. Or they decline and tell you why.

The acceptance page with the document, the typed name and the Accept button

The sealed PDF comes back with its certificate

You see the yes in DocsAutomator, with the time and the name. The accepted PDF, with the Certificate of Acceptance on the last page, lands in your Drive folder or your record. Reminders go out on their own until then.

An accepted PDF with the Certificate of Acceptance and the status in DocsAutomator

Learn more in our Knowledge Base

Get detailed guides, field references, and further information about acceptance.

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How billing works

Signing & Acceptance is available on every paid plan. Plan prices and document prices do not change. While you set up an automation, you can preview the full flow for free.

$0.50 per document, charged when it is opened

Signing and acceptance cost $0.50 per document, charged when the recipient first opens it. That is one flat charge, however many people the document goes to. A request that nobody opens costs nothing.

$0.35 above 500 a month

Above 500 documents in a billing month, each document costs $0.35. The same rule applies to signing and acceptance, and to every workspace.

Already signing? Three small things change

Your signing flow stays as it is. Three small things change: you are charged when the recipient first opens a document instead of when it is sent, new automations send reminders by default, and you get an email two days before a request expires.