i'm a sole practioner with approx 250 clients.
i'm looking for a document signing solution (possibly file sharing as well)
just been given a quote by docusign for £10k pa.....they've either massively miscalculated what we need or they should start wearing a mask
can anyone recommend a suitable and hopefully more cost effectice option?
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Replies (24)
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I’m paying £75pcm for 5 user licence of VirtualCabinet w/ £900 set-up costs. I got a c50% deal as it was a quarter-end and they wanted the sale.
I think DocuSign have misunderstood you - I’d go back to them and check if I was you.
Adobe Sign (Previously EchoSign) is an alternative and comes with a subscription of Adobe Acrobat Pro. Shouldn't be more than £155 a year.
It is not document sharing really, you are sharing a document with someone so that they can sign it really. You can integrate with SharePoint Online to allow files to be stored. You can also with SharePoint Online share files with external parties.
Have a look at DocSAFE. Used it for a very long time with no real issues. Pricing is on the website
Hello
I use Iris Openspace , with PTP.
Iris Openspace may be your affordable solution
You do not have to be a IRIS user.
I have pasted the following from their website:
''However, IRIS OpenSpace is not restricted to the IRIS Accountancy Suite and documents outside of IRIS can also be uploaded to IRIS OpenSpace by accountant or client/s for exchange and review.
Exchange documents at the touch of a button
Obtain client approval electronically quickly and legally
Fully integrated into the IRIS Accountancy Suite
Easily upload reportsdirectly at the same time you print
Clients can uploadtheir business documents too
Safe and secure with industry standard SSL encryption and password controlled access on an individual basis
Complying with UK Data Protection rules all documents are stored on servers based in the EU
Flexible solution pay for the space you require month by month at £5 per GB
Quick and easy to use
No software to install, run or maintain''
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Another vote for Iris Openspace.
We don't use any other Iris products and its free. Yes thats right - FREEEEEEE!!!
I've just opened an account with Iris Openspace and it wont let me do anything unless I'm an Iris user - its needs a Iris customer reference to activate the free 1GB allowance.
I've rung them up and they've confirmed this too - so doesn't appear to be free anymore to non-Iris users?
I had that also, but gave them a call and they gave me a reference number and i'm now able to get this tested
I am just trialing StayPrivate. Seems very easy to use and reasonably priced - single user version is free.
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on StayPrivate, especially with regards to how easy it is for clients to set it up at their end, to enable them to access emails/attachments you send to them. Thank you
I have only used it a couple of times and, so far, no negative feedback. The first time an email is received, the recipient has to set up a pin and from then on they can get access to our portal whenever a secure email is sent. They can also reply securely or insecurely. Obviously if they reply insecurely and they include the original email containing sensitive information, it will no longer be secure.
I have also tested it by sending a pdf tax return to my home email and this works perfectly including e-signing.
It was very easy to set up so you could give it a try without obligation (I have no connection with them!). I received a call from them shortly after setting it up to ask if I had any queries so customer service seems good at this early stage.
We also use Adobe/echo sign which our clients find very easy to use as there is no need to setup passwords etc..
The only clients that have had an issue are those with very old computers and those who stuggle with everything computer based.
It is also an inexpensive option.
Why look at solutions like DocuSign that only deal with document storage and signature when there are cheaper solutions that provide all this as part of a complete practice management suite, handling workflow and CRM etc., as well. Check out Senta or AccountancyManager.
There is Google Dochub pro at $4.99/month.
30 day free trial.
Have not tried it, but seems worth a look.
I use E-Sign for document signing & saving, as & when (payg option), but not file sharing. Lots of features, cheaper than DocuSign. Works for me.
https://www.e-sign.co.uk/
I've looked recently at a few of the e-signing options as an alternative to sending out VAT returns etc as email attachments ( thinking GDPR) and they are convenient. Something I have noticed though is that they tend to use links within emails to access the relevant document on their secure storage.
However since the email to the client ( containing the link) passes through the normal email system is this really any more secure than attaching the VAT return/ Income tax return etc ( if the email was intercepted the link would give access to the original document). Convenient - yes in terms of the e-signing but secure ?
Am I missing something here ?
If you are sharing a document with a 3rd party and it contains sensitive or personal information consideration should be taken to how it is sent. You can send documents securely in various ways. You could simply encrypt the document before sending by adding a password to it. The send the password separately. You could add email encryption (Office 365 and Google Cloud offer this feature) You could also look at a document sharing solution that has secure file transmission.
Thanks - I was particularly thinking of the esigning ability. Almost by definition something which requires a signature is going to be personal data. The esigning packages I've looked at are not ideal in that the link to the document is included in an email. In one case the document to be signed can be password protected but the password is supplied in the same email as the link ! I did look at StayPrivate which has the document to be E-signed in a secure area requiring authentication but they seem to be relatively new and there are not many posts mentioning them here on AW.