signNow review

With all this hybrid working across a global workplace, companies to fast shifting to secure digital document solutions. We’ve seen a massive rise in the best cloud storage and PDF editors to keep files accessible but safe. 

When it comes to signing documents without printing them, the best eSign software is ideal, letting you create digital signatures, work together, and share and track files. And signNow from airSlate is tailored-made for the task. 

signNow: Pricing & plans

• A eSign service for businesses with subscription tiers adding additional features and security tools - but a 7-day free trial is available 

As signNow is an online service, it’s unsurprisingly subscription-based.  You’re presented with 4 different tiers, with a yearly commitment saving you up to 60% compared to paying monthly. There's also a 7-day free trial to see if it works like you need it to. 

The Business plan is cheapest. With it, you’re able to send a document to be signed to other parties. You’ll find tools to fill in forms, you’re allowed to create as many templates as you need, connect to other online storage services such as OneDrive, Google Drive, and Box. There’s access to a mobile app, so you can keep track of your documents on the go. This will cost you $20 a month or $96 a year.

Business Premium adds a few extra features for $30 a month or $180 a year. This includes reminders, sending documents in bulk, and adding your custom logo design (it’s easy to make one using the best logo maker). You can find a ‘kiosk mode’ for the mobile app, letting you grab someone’s signature in person, which is useful. 

In addition to this, Enterprise subscribers gain the ability to request payment when a person signs a document. You’ll also benefit from better security, being able to attach additional documents when signing, and introduce fillable fields to your templates. This plan is priced at $50 a month or $360 a year.

Finally the Business Cloud subscription introduces multiple users to the same account, CRM/ERP integration, HIPAA and 21CFR Part 11 compliance. The price is based on the number of users, with a minimum of 5 per account, starting at $50 per month per user or $600 per year per user. 

• Pricing & plans: 4/5

signNow: Setting digital signatures

• Creating an e-signature is an easy process that’s as hands-on as you need it to be

The sign-up process is actually as simple as it can be. All you need to start is your email address and password. A click on an email they send you to verify your address is genuine, and you’re good to go.

Once in, you type in your name and signNow will offer you a generic signature and initials, based on a cursive font. If you’re fine with that, click on Next. You can change it later if you wish, or right now by clicking on Change Signature or Change Initials.

Doing this gives you multiple options, which are the same for either your signature or initials. You’re able to rewrite your name, change the font that’s used (there are 8 on offer), draw your signature using your mouse or trackpad, which is always fun. Alternatively, you can upload an image of your signature.

During the setting process, you’ll be encouraged to add the email address of some of your colleagues, to make it easier further down the road to share your documents with them. As with your signature, if you don’t want or need to do that right now, you can skip this process and return to it at any time later on. You’re now ready to start working with PDF documents.

• Setting digital signatures: 4.5/5

signNow: Preparing documents

• Add various types of editable fields to a file quickly and easily

When working with documents, the first thing you need to do is tell signNow who it will need to be sent to. You’ll also find a list of recent recipients to make it easier to send work to people you collaborate with often. If you have to fill it in yourself, just click on the Add Myself button.

‘Save and Continue’ gets you to the working interface proper, which is similar in layout to others we’ve seen before. To the left is a sidebar with all the tools available to you, from your signature, to text boxes, radio buttons, drop-down menus, formulas and more. You can add any of these to your document, a large preview of which takes up most of the interface, to that sidebar’s right. The right sidebar offers a thumbnail preview of all the document’s pages.

signNow is designed to set up which recipient is allowed to fill in specific elements, and this is clear from the very start: just above the tools in the left sidebar is a list of people who will be allowed to edit the document you’re currently working on. You can even modify that list right from that section.

Each one of your colleagues sports a different color, with each one applied to the elements added to a document. We felt this made it very simple to see at a glance who is allowed to modify different sections of a document.

To add an element, click on it, then move the cursor over to your document (no need to drag). You’ll see your cursor has that element attached to it. Position your cursor over the correct location and click to add the element.

Don’t worry if its position is not exactly right, you can now drag it and also resize it, until you’re happy with it. You’re also able to change which recipient gets to alter that element thanks to a pulldown menu above it.

Click again on your document to add the same element elsewhere. This makes it easy to quickly populate your file with editable text fields for instance, without having to go back to the sidebar each time. You’ll find that setting up a document with all relevant fields can be done very efficiently with this method.

• Preparing documents: 4/5

signNow: Completing documents

• Fill in just the sections you need, but the lack of formatting options is disappointing

Once your document is prepared, signNow brings you to the Send Invite section, which is where you set up how you’re going to notify the people who need to fill in the document. One recent feature is the ability to contact people via SMS as opposed to email. You get to customise your message for each, and when ready, click on ‘Send Invite’.

It’s a little odd to have to send an invite to yourself in order to begin filling in the fields you’ve added, and signing a document, but that’s how signNow works - treating you the same as all the other members of the team.

Once you’re in that stage, click on each field to enter the appropriate information. As you do, they will turn green, helping you see at a glance what you still need to do. You have no apparent ability to alter the font or perform any other formatting. This limits your options but also makes it easy to input the necessary data quickly.

Click on Finish, top right, when you’re done. Although if you’ve missed a field somewhere, signNow will inform you of that and even allow you to see where they’re located (most useful when working with multi-page docs. Selecting Close saves your work so you can get back to it later, and ‘Decline’, is pretty self-explanatory.

signNow’s main dashboard lets you see at a glance which documents have been done, which are incomplete, who hasn’t yet signed it, etc. You even have a way to resend invites to specific colleagues to nudge them gently. This is also where you can archive documents, print, download and delete them.

• Completing documents: 3.5/5

signNow: Scorecard

Should I buy...?

Buy it if...

You need to frequently work with others, and have to manage and monitor a list of colleagues who regularly fill in and sign documents.  

Don't buy it if...

 You’re less involved in working with and managing others, compared to filling in your own documents or you prefer using software over working online.