How-to
How to sign a contractor agreement online
Whether you're the client or the freelancer, a contractor agreement is worth signing properly. Here is what to check before sending, and how the signing itself works.
Updated · 3 min read
What the agreement should contain before you send it
A contractor agreement is one of the documents most likely to actually get disputed later, so it's worth getting right before it goes out for signature, not after.
- Scope of work. What is being delivered, and — just as important — what is explicitly excluded.
- Payment terms. Rate, schedule, and what happens on late payment or early termination.
- Intellectual property. Who owns the work once it's paid for; this is the clause most often assumed rather than stated.
- Termination. Notice period and conditions for either side to end the arrangement.
If any of these are missing from your template, add them before uploading — an e-signature link is a fast way to get a bad agreement signed just as easily as a good one.
Placing the fields
A signature field at the end is the minimum. Add a date field next to it, and consider initials fields next to the payment terms and the IP clause specifically — the two sections most likely to matter if there's ever a disagreement. Marking these required means the document cannot be completed without them.
Sending and signing
Upload the PDF, place the fields, and send to the other party's email. One credit is debited at send. They receive a secure link and sign without creating an account — the same process described in how to sign a document without creating an account. If it's a two-way agreement where both the client and the contractor need to sign, send it once to each; the web app handles one recipient per document today, so a mutually signed agreement costs two credits, one per signer.
What both sides should keep
Download the final signed PDF and the Certificate of Completion, and file them with the invoice or payment records for that engagement. The certificate lists the timestamped audit trail — sent, viewed, signed — and a checksum of the final document, which is exactly what you'd want on hand if a payment or scope dispute ever comes up months later.
When a template-based tool is the better choice
If you're sending the same contractor agreement to dozens of new hires a month, a tool with reusable templates and bulk sending — which Signavos does not have yet — will save more time than the per-signature price saves money. For the freelancer or small studio sending a handful of agreements a month, the math usually runs the other way; see how much does e-signature software cost? for the actual break-even numbers.
Send a contractor agreement for e-signature with Signavos and pay per signature instead of per month.
Frequently asked questions
- Is an electronically signed contractor agreement enforceable?
- In most cases, yes, under the same electronic-signature laws covering any e-signed contract — see are electronic signatures legally binding? This is general information, not legal advice.
- Can I reuse the same agreement for multiple contractors?
- You can upload the same PDF and place fields fresh for each new send — there's no template feature yet to save that layout, so each send is set up individually.
- What if the contractor declines to sign?
- They can decline with a reason directly on the signing page; you're notified immediately and the decline is recorded in the audit trail.
- Does the contractor need to pay anything to sign?
- No. Only the sender's account is charged, and only for sending — signing is always free for the recipient.
Send your next document without a subscription.
Upload a PDF, place the fields, send. Your recipient signs without an account and you pay per signature — nothing renews.
Start paying per signature