If you’re a freelance designer, or developer—heck, if you’re a globally renowned digital agency—you must not do business without binding paperwork; don’t even pick up a sketchbook unless the client is signed up and committed. Every designer has a horror story about the client who seemed trustworthy, and then pulled a fast one. Whether it’s the client who vanishes when the invoice is due, or the client who keeps adding, and adding, and adding to the list of tasks, all clients—good and bad—can be managed with sound paperwork. The kicker is, a designer that asks for a signed contract is one of the first things good clients look for. Good clients are not only happy to sign contracts, they want to—requesting a signed contract tells them that you’re a professional, and you know what clients want? A professional designer! Despite the benefits to you, and the assurance it provides a client, signed paperwork isn’t always easy to arrange—especially when so many of us work remotely. It’s pretty tough to ask a client to download, print, sign, scan, and then email a contract to you. Which is exactly where eversign comes in. eversign is a cloud-based system that enables the signing of electronic documents in a way that is legally binding and globally recognized. To get a document signed, just upload a PDF and use eversign’s document editor to add input fields for data like names, dates, and contact details. eversign’s templates allow you to write a document once, save it as a template, and adjust it for every new client, so you can set up your documents once and reuse over and over. eversign maintains a repository of your documents, so you’ll never lose a contract again—no more rooting around the garage for that box of files. If you want to, you can export them to your desktop for quick reference. You have the option to set them to auto-expire, so they’re only on record as long as necessary. And because security is important, you can permanently remove them from eversign’s system—not just soft-delete like some cloud storage. Should there ever be a problem, eversign’s comprehensive audit trail will quickly clean up any misunderstandings. The record of all interactions will show names, email addresses, time stamps, and the IP address of the person accessing the document. Actually signing a document couldn’t be easier. You can draw your signature on a touch screen or pad, type it and select one of the supplied script fonts, or upload your actual signature. However you choose to do it, once your signature is online, you can give add consent to a document in seconds. Of course if you are meeting a client face to face, then you can still have them sign your documents. Just open the document up on your laptop, tablet, or cell. When you bump into a huge business opportunity, nothing says “ready for business” like a digital non-disclosure agreement, ready to sign on your cell phone. Using eversign you can manage multiple business accounts, each with its own team members, contacts, and documents. You can even add branding for each business, so your clients are confident with whom they are dealing. Going paperless in the office really has never been easier. And if this gets you excited, then eversign even has a JSON-based REST API, giving you the option to make your in-house system paperless. eversign’s legally binding document signature system is a huge benefit to designers who want to protect themselves from bad clients. But the real benefit is the impression you leave with good clients when you can sign them up, with a few taps on a mobile device. [-- This is a sponsored post on behalf of eversign --]