Requesting your Signature

What to consider when selecting an e-signature tool for your growing business.

Author

Jason Forte
September 23, 2025

Picture this: You’ve just completed a deal with a supplier in Lagos and now you’re stuck waiting for a week or two while the documentation and contracts come through. Sounds familiar right?

In this article, we’ll talk about how to choose the right e-signature software, what to look out for and what steps you can take in the next week to bring your documentation and contracts processes under control.

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What’s in an Autograph?

I get it, there are only a few people who really love paperwork. That's why, for business owners and operators who are dealing with documentation on a daily basis, having a good e-signature tool in place can save time and remove headaches.

For many businesses new to building automation into their business processes, the thought of picking a piece of software that will house some of the most important documents can be a bit daunting.

I'll try make it a bit simpler for you. But first here’s a little bit about why you should care.

Why should you care about e-signature software?

Over the last decade, digital transformation initiatives in organisations have led to adoption of e-signatures. There is however a bit of a lag for some companies and this is likely due to bureaucratic institutions, regulators and government organisations that companies have to deal with not having such good support for digital signatures.

We saw one stat that Africa has been slower than the rest of the world to adopt e-signature tools. One report we found stated that only 15-20% of African SMEs use e-signatures regularly - compared to 50% in North America.

But here's the thing: businesses using e-signatures in markets like Kenya and Nigeria are already seeing the benefits, especially for cross-border trade documents and mobile money agreements.

Picking an e-signature solution is important because it can lay the foundations for building strong, robust and scalable automated systems. They can help you keep track of important contracts between you and your suppliers and customers.

If you have good e-signature tools integrated correctly with your existing systems they can even be used to assess & reduce the risks in your business relationships and make it simpler to comply with regulatory requirements.

Factors When Picking an E-Signature Tool

There are many factors that affect how you decide between different e-signature tools. What I've done is digest those into what I think are the 5 most important.

I think these are important because if you don't consider them properly, you may end up having a bad time with automation (especially with AI and other cutting edge tools) later down the line.

I'd suggest building up a short-list of vendors and then evaluating based on the following factors before making a decision.

Factor 1: Economic Impact

One of the top-of-mind things for leaner companies is the cost of the software. It's important to understand how the vendor charges and how that will affect you as you scale.

Fixed vs Variable Costs: In the early stages it may make sense to have a fixed monthly cost. Some vendors provide very favourable terms for their intro packages but as you grow the more expensive packages can catch you out.

Here's my rule of thumb: If you process fewer than 10 documents monthly, look for pay-per-use options. Above 50? Fixed monthly plans usually win. Also watch out for hidden costs like API calls, storage limits, and additional user seats.

Think about the number of documents you have per client or per customer and then try to forecast what could happen in 2 years if those numbers increase.

Factor 2: Compliance Requirements

Before selecting a vendor, you need to consider the types of documents you'll be storing and signing. In most cases, documents can contain sensitive info that needs to be protected using strong security best practices.

For e-signatures the most common frameworks that clients look for are ISO 27001, HIPAA & SOC but you may not need all of them to get started. If you're operating in South Africa, consider POPIA compliance. For Nigeria, check alignment with the Evidence Act. Kenya's legal framework is quite progressive on e-signatures, but verify your specific document types are covered.

I've also seen that in some cases vendors may put certain security features in higher cost payment plans. Consider this as you build your decision matrix. Also check if the vendor has local data centres in Africa - this can be important for some regulations.

Factor 3: APIs and Integrations

Especially as you start to look at building AI enabled automation and workflows, having strong integrations means that the solution will be easier to build upon and expand on in future. Integration with WhatsApp can also be a big factor, especially when working on the move.

The best integrations are those provided by the vendor (or first-party integrations). For instance Zoho Sign has strong integrations with its own Zoho CRM and Zoho Inventory. Both Google and Dropbox have e-signature features built into their document hosting solutions. These usually are the easiest to implement in your business.

When working across tools, i.e. between Zoho and Google Docs, the next level of integration is APIs, Webhooks and Automation platforms. It's common to see vendors coming out with tools to support integrations with workflow tools like Zapier and Make.

Don't forget about local tools - can it integrate with Paystack, Flutterwave, or your local accounting software? In markets where mobile dominates, SMS capabilities might matter more than desktop features.

These integrations can allow you to expand your applications and build automation later.

Factor 4: Ease of Use

It's important to ensure that the tool you pick is easy for you and your team to use. It happens that companies or business leaders bring in tools and don't spend enough time helping their teams adopt the new tools - this can lead to bad return on investment for your e-signature initiative.

Consider both the ease of use for you and for your clients. There's nothing worse than closing a deal and then spending days going back-and-forth on email because your software is hard to use or not intuitive.

The mistake I see most often is not considering your signers' context. Do they have reliable internet? Can the interface work on basic smartphones? Is it light on data usage? Also check for multi-language support if you work across different regions.

Again we recommend also looking for integrations with WhatsApp, Slack or any of the tools you and your team work with on a daily basis.

Once you've created a short-list of vendors, it can be beneficial to run a pilot with a subset of customers over a period of time to evaluate if the tool works for your team and customers.

Factor 5: General Vendor Analysis

Lastly I recommend that you do a general assessment of the vendor before picking your final solution. This includes things like, will the vendor be around in 3 years? Once you've started using an e-signature tool, it can become embedded in your organisation in a way that prevents replacement if the company you use closes.

Understanding if the product is evolving, is it easy to get support and do you have a point of contact with the vendor who you can ask for guidance or best practices as you evolve?

For African businesses, also consider: Does the vendor have any presence on the continent? Can you pay in local currency? Is support available in your timezone?

Quick Wins to Start With

Before diving into complex contracts, here are three documents that are perfect for testing e-signatures:

  • Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)

  • Service agreements or quotes

  • Purchase orders

These are typically simpler, less sensitive, and people are more willing to try new signing methods with them.

Taking Action: This Week's Challenge

Over the next few weeks, think about how you're handling document automation and any contractual processes in your organisation. Here's what you can do this week:

Monday-Tuesday: Audit your top 5 most-signed documents. How many signatures do you need per month? How much time is your team spending waiting for or preparing documents?

Wednesday: Research 3 vendors - consider one international option (DocuSign, Adobe Sign, PandaDoc), one with strong African presence (like Zoho), and check if your existing tools have built-in e-signature capabilities.

Thursday-Friday: Sign up for one free trial and test it with an internal document first. Create a simple evaluation matrix based on the five factors above.

By Friday: Have a pilot plan ready. Pick 2-3 willing customers or suppliers to test with over the next month.

Be aware, not every client will be ready for e-signatures. Have a Plan B for those who insist on paper. But even digitising one document type can save you hours each month.

Remember: The goal isn't perfection. It's progress. Start small, learn fast, and scale what works for your business.

Now you've done the prep work, you're ready to run the pilot and evaluate if e-signature tools can work for your business.

Resources

That’s all for this week.

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