The last 2 weeks were devoted to Client Management.  I thought it would be good to follow up with some of my favorite tech tools.  These aren’t necessarily used for managing projects (like the tools I shared last week) but they have made my life a LOT easier and a LOT more efficient.  First up… Echosign!

Get Contracts Signed Quickly

Echosign is an online tool that allows users to upload their contracts, email them to clients, and have them virtually signed.

What I LOVE about Echosign:

I’ve noticed I get contracts back much quicker by having clients sign them virtually instead of having them print, stick in an envelope, and snail-mail.  It also makes following up easier for me since I can easily send reminders.

I also love that I can prepare documents more quickly. I have a few template contracts that I don’t have to recreate each time.  (I’ve inserted a few fields that are updated with client info: name, date, etc.)

Another thing I love is that the contracts are filed online.  This has cut down on all of my printing, printing, printing and filing, filing, filing.

Limitations to Echosign:

You cannot customize contracts that were previously uploaded to the Echosign.  Once you upload your contract (in word, pdf, other) it is final.  (An “image” of your contract is created and you cannot ammend text.)  You can paste custom fields as mentioned above, but you cannot re-write entire sections.  If you have custom contracts, this tool is limited.  What I’ve learned to do is have my standard contract on here and then upload a separate “term sheet” for each client if there are specifics to the specific client.

The lowdown on Echosign:

Echosign is incredibly affordable at $14.95 / month and there is a free trial for your first 5 signatures.  You can find out more at www.echosign.com.