Hi,

I know that it is the norm that we should have signed contract forms in place before work can commence, however I noticed that some of you don't even give your clients your mailing address. So, how do you get/receive signed contract forms? Do your clients even sign such forms? I'd be interested to hear your response, as I am very intrigued to not post my mailing address to clients, however I would like some free options into receiving signed contracts (rather like digital signatures)

Thanks and regards

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Julia Neal ...because we ♥ admin!
http://julianeal.wordpress.com

Hi Julia
I use a letter of agreement, sent via email - rather than an actual contract. For new VAs: I do NOT suggest doing this. The *only* reason I operate this way is because in a referral-only practice all of my clients are friends and colleagues of one another. I don't work with clients from outside that circle so I remove numerous variables. I also take a substantial deposit on all new clients.

The letter of agreement I send basically states that their reply in the affirmative along with receipt of their deposit equates to an agreement of the terms outlined.

I sign any NDAs etc. digitally and send those back via email as well.

There was one situation where we were asked by the client to sign a contract and in that case we had him fax it to our fax to email number, printed it out, signed it, scanned it back in, and faxed it back. I've done the same for rental house agreements, etc.

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Thanks for that Tess. I have looked into digital signatures, however, have only seemed to find a free one for e-mails (not word documents, bum!). the link is https://mams.melcoe.mq.edu.au/zope/m.../all/emailcert I am considering doing the bulk of my contracts via this medium, however if a client doesn't do digital signatures then I will do it the traditional way. If anyone has any links for this then please post them and I will investigate

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Julia Neal ...because we ♥ admin!
http://julianeal.wordpress.com

What about signing in black ink on a white piece of paper, scanning it in and saving it as an image on your computer. Then, if you get a word doc that you need to sign you just add the image of your signature and voila!

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Tess is right, I scanned my Sig and it's there anytime I need it. I have done it for the past 5 years or so at the company I work for, before. I even had my bosses Sig in my computer, so when we did contracts and so on I didn't have to waste paper. He loved it, the older he got the worse his writing looked (LOL). Try it, I bet you'll love. Remember to crop it as close to your Sig as possible.

Plenty advices has been given here, just wanted to add that when a client signs your contract, make sure that they initial each page, this way it shows they have read and understood each individual page within the contract. I usually don't use long contracts unless I see them in person or depending on the complexity of the project, however, I do use it for a bookkeeping clients due to confidential information. I use a one page proposal/agreement where both the client and myself can sign and everything is detailed.

Good luck!


Ingrid
ALCO Consultants, LLC

Honestly, with me, it just depends on the client and if I already have a relationship established with them or not. I always give them a contract, whether I get it back signed or not. I usually get at least part of my money in advance, so payment has not been an issue so far.

If I am working with a client that I have no prior relationship with, then I would require the contract be signed and returned to me with a deposit prior to starting any work.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

thanks for all the advice. I think I shall go with scanning my autograph in and then inserting it into word docs. I don't think there is a need for digital signatures.

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Julia Neal ...because we ♥ admin!
http://julianeal.wordpress.com

The scanning the signature is a great idea! What I did when I needed a digital signature is take a digital pic of my signature then uploaded it for use when necessary!

I wanted to update my reply to this post to state that we have used www.EchoSign.com now for quite a while and LOVE how fast and easy it is to get proposals and contracts signed. The first five signatures (I think per month even?) are free....

One of my favorite virtual resources EVER.

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