Docusign is one of the most popular services out there for esignatures. But, for small landlords, esigning leases using Docusign has a huge problem that is hard to overlook: a high price which is even worse than you think the more you do the math.
Esignatures Make Sense
It makes a lot of sense to esign a lease – it is safe, convenient, and way faster than dealing with paper, printers, and stamps. However, for the large number of small landlords who have one to ten properties, Docusign is expensive.
Docusign is Pricey
A landlord is likely to do either a new lease or lease extension for every property they have yearly. So, for a small landlord with five units, that is five leases or extensions per year.
Docusign’s pricing for real estate starts at $10 per month for a single user and is limited to 5 documents per month! If you need something more (let’s say one month per year you do more than five leases), the plan price doubles to $20 per month. So, a Docusign plan for a small landlord will be at least $120 per year, and sometimes $240/year.
For a landlord who has five leases or lease extensions to esign per year, the cost per esigned document works out to $24 per document on Docusign’s least expensive plan ($120/5). That is incredibly expensive!
While Docusign is pricey, there is no reason a small landlord should be denied the benefits of esignatures – such as the ability for roommates to sign a lease document on their smartphones and without the need for a printer.
eSignToday is an Affordable Lease Signing Solution
eSignToday brings the advantages of esigning leases and lease extensions to small landlords at a reasonable flat rate price. With eSignToday there is NEVER a monthly fee. Just pay a flat $0.50/esignature. If you and your tenants esign five leases or lease extensions with eSignToday, the price is around $5/yr (you and your tenant esign 5 online documents … which is 2 x 5 x $0.50/esignature) versus Docusign’s $120/yr – a savings of $115/yr!
Set up up an account at eSignToday.com and enjoy an affordable esignature service that is priced perfectly for small landlords and their leasing needs. With eSignToday, you’ll save year in and year out over Docusign.
Tradition (some call it routine) plays a large role in how we do things even if it’s not an efficient process. While change can be difficult, it can also be highly rewarding to the point that we tell ourselves later, “Self, why didn’t I make that change earlier? My life would have been so much easier!” In today’s era of technology and mobility, landlords are recognizing the benefits of electronic signatures for lease agreements and taking the leap to incorporate them into running a successful rental property business.
Benefit #1: Save Time
Probably the most significant and noticeable benefit for landlords using electronic signatures for lease agreements is the time they will save. With esignatures and online leases, landlords eliminate all of the steps involved with a traditional paper method – printing leases, meeting tenants for signing, making copies for all parties, and filing them in a cabinet. Just the time for travel and meeting tenants for a signature can be significant, especially if landlords do not live near their rental property. With an esignature service like eSignToday, landlords email the lease, tenants esign on their phones, and all parties receive a fully signed lease, which is also automatically stored. Electronic signatures make the entire lease signing process fast, painless, and highly efficient.
Benefit #2: Improve Document Management
Electronically signed lease agreements can easily be stored on your own digital device or in your electronic signature service account. By eliminating paper and going electronic, you have better storage and retrieval. Plus, you save money and help the environment.
Benefit #3: Build Reputation
Just like landlords, tenants also want to make their lives easier. Because esigning a lease agreement is fast and easy, tenants are happy when they can esign on their smartphones while on the move. They don’t have to take time to meet the landlord and wait for a signed copy. Esigning the lease agreement is simple. Happy tenants will recommend their landlord to others, which can lead to fewer vacancies and overall easier landlording.
Take the Leap
When it comes to finding the right electronic signature software for landlords, there is a lot of choice. Factors such as cost and ease of use will help determine which tool to use. Nevertheless, electronic signatures for lease agreements are highly beneficial for landlords looking to save time, improve operational efficiencies, and build strong tenant relationships.
The ability to electronically review and sign documents is a huge benefit for all parties involved. The elimination of paper and printers and the time savings with document delivery are just a few of the many benefits. Federally compliant esignatures are valid and legally binding, and they are treated similarly to how a paper-based handwritten signature would be treated. Whether you search the Web for “esignature”, “electronic signature”, or even “digital signature”, you’ll see there are a lot of different providers, all with their own pros and cons. Considerations such as cost, user-friendliness, and notifications will drive decisions. Here is a snapshot of the best electronic signature software today:
Summary of the Best Esignature Software
Software
Highlights
eSignToday
– Inexpensive esignature @ $0.50 each – Upload own document – Signatures and dates on last page – No complex drag and drop or field completion required – Created by ClearNow, an online rent payment service
HelloSign
– A DropBox company – Drag and drop fields into document – Paid plans start at $20/month
SignNow
– Plans range from $20/month to $50/month – Features, like custom branding, vary by plan
Pandadoc
– Products serve the business/enterprise level – Helps businesses with document automation – Paid plans start at $25/month
DocuSign
– Early entrant in esignature industry – since 2003 – Vast feature set and good for complex esigning needs – Plans start at $15/month
RightSignature
– Early entrant like DocuSign – Drag and drop fields into document – Plans start at $15/month but need to call to get started
Esignature Software in Detail
eSignToday: eSignToday sets itself apart from other esignature software by its low cost and simplicity. At just $0.50/esignature, there are no monthly fees – you simply pay for each signature that you need. In terms of simplicity, eSignToday walks you through four simple steps where you upload your own document and add the email address of each person who needs to esign. Esignatures appear on the last page with each signer’s name and the signature date. You eliminate extra time inputting fields and asking signers to complete those fields.
HelloSign: Now part of DropBox, HelloSign has you first upload your document that needs to be signed. Then, you have to drag and insert fields such as names and dates into the areas of your document you want signed. HelloSign has different pricing plans including a free version with a maximum of three signatures per month. After their free version, plans start at $20/month (or $15/month if you pay the annual amount up front).
SignNow: Similar to HelloSign, you drag and drop fields throughout your documents where you need the signer to complete. SignNow focuses its products on the business/enterprise user, and their pricing plans reflect such. Starting at $20/month and going up to $50/month (billed monthly), each plan varies in the features available to the user such as custom branding and bulk sending. If you need a lot of signatures and looking to keep costs low, SignNow’s plans are a consideration.
Pandadoc: Pandadoc’s focus is on the business/enterprise level given the features available to help drive revenue and close deals. While their solutions have an esignature component, Pandadoc also helps businesses with document automation to improve workflow. They offer a free plan just for esigning and three paid plans starting at $25/month (or $19/month if you pay annually). Support is not available “24/7” for the free plan.
Docusign: The granddaddy of esignature software is DocuSign. DocuSign has evolved beyond simple esigning into document automation and contract analytics. Its feature set is vast and geared for complex esigning needs. DocuSign has a number of differently priced plans ranging from esignature plans to API plans. Their least expensive plan starts at $15/month (or $10/month if you pay annually).
RightSignature: Up there with DocuSign as one of the early entrants to the esignature arena is RightSignature. RightSignature offers a variety of options for companies of varying sizes where users upload documents and drag and drop fields within the document before sending it off for completion. Though RightSignature has plans starting at $15/month ($10/month if you pay annually), you have to call them to get started.
Conclusion
While we’ve highlighted the best electronic signature software, there is a lot of choice when it comes to selecting the best tool for you. Factors such as cost and ease-of-use will play a role in your decision to select one over the other. Free trials or cheap esign services, like eSignToday, allow you to try out different esignature services without breaking the bank. More complex and feature-rich software like DocuSign and RightSignature may satisfy your needs but at a higher price point. Nevertheless, the list of electronic signature software grows and esignature tools are available for the individual user all the way up to the enterprise-level user.
When you have documents to sign, an esignature service makes a ton of sense. Anyone can sign at any time, and any where . . . on a phone, tablet, or laptop. Esignatures eliminate printers, paper, and delays.
Unfortunately, while there are many esignature services, most are not affordable as many of them (for example, Docusign, Adobe Sign, or HelloSign) require a monthly subscription. So if you only need one or two signatures a month, paying $15/month or more is overkill. Or, if one month you’re doing a lot of esignatures and the next month none or few, why keep paying for an expensive esignature service?
There is no monthly subscription with eSignToday. Instead, you pay $0.50 for each signature you need. That’s it.
eSignToday is available to anyone who needs a document signed, and it’s easy and cheap:
