Electronic Signature for Accountants and CPA Firm Engagement Letters
SignElectronically is electronic signature software for accountants who send engagement letters, proposals and client consents every season. Add the client, the spouse and the partner in order, and get back a sealed PDF with an audit certificate for the client file.
Encrypted in transit Signers need no account
Try the editor on a sample NDA now. Plans include seats for the whole firm, and clients sign at no charge. See pricing
Busy season
Why engagement letters stall every January
A firm with 400 individual clients sends 400 engagement letters in the same few weeks, and a joint return needs two client signatures on each one. Printed and mailed, a quarter of them come back late, unsigned on page two, or signed by one spouse only. Staff spend February chasing paper instead of preparing returns.
Most firms will not start work without a signed letter, and they are right. The letter fixes the scope, the fee and the responsibilities of each side, and it is the first document anyone asks for when a client disputes a bill or a malpractice claim lands. So the letter has to be signed, signed by the right people, and easy to prove later.
Electronic signature fixes the mechanics. Each client gets a link by email, signs on a phone in under two minutes, and reminders go out on their own until the letter is done. You see in one list who has signed and who has not.
What you get
Built for the documents a firm sends every week
Engagement letter templates
Bulk send to the client list
Spouses first, partner last
Reminders you do not write
Audit certificate per letter
Signer codes by email or SMS
Step by step
How to send an engagement letter for electronic signature
Engagement letter, 2026 Form 1040, Harper household
In progress-
JH
1. Jamie Harper, client
Signed[email protected] · 2026-01-12 19:14 UTC
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MH
2. Morgan Harper, spouse
Viewed[email protected] · 2026-01-13 07:02 UTC
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LS
3. Lee Santos, CPA, partner
Signs last[email protected] · waiting
Reminder every 3 days, expires in 21 days
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1
Open the engagement letter template
Pick the individual, business or bookkeeping letter. Roles and signature fields are already on the pages.
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2
Enter the client details
Names and emails for the client and spouse, plus text fields for the tax year, services and fee.
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3
Set the signing order
Client and spouse in the first step, the engagement partner in the second, the client manager as CC.
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4
Send and let reminders run
Each person gets a personal link that works on a phone. The timeline shows who has opened and who has signed.
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5
File the sealed PDF
When the partner signs, everyone receives the sealed letter and certificate. Download it into the client folder of your document system.
Annual letters
Send every renewal letter in one batch
Renewal letters are the same letter with a different name, entity and fee. Export the client list from your practice management system or a spreadsheet, keep one row per engagement, and map the columns to the template on the upload screen. Rows with a missing email or a broken address are flagged before anything is sent.
A Plus batch holds up to 200 envelopes and Pro up to 1,000. Each client receives their own envelope with their own audit trail, so a client who disputes the scope sees only their letter. The batch view tells you the evening before your kickoff meeting which clients still owe a signature.
More on the file format and limits on the page about how to bulk send documents for signature, and on eSignature templates that the whole firm shares.
Scope
Which accounting documents to send here
| Document | Sign with SignElectronically | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement letters, individual and business | Yes | Client and spouse, then the partner |
| Proposals and fee agreements | Yes | Client signs, partner countersigns |
| Bookkeeping and payroll service agreements | Yes | Template with monthly fee field |
| Client consent to use or disclose tax return information | Yes | Keep the sealed copy with the return file |
| Management representation letters | Yes | Signed by the client officers in order |
| IRS Form 8879 and 8878 e-file authorizations | Use your tax software | Remote signing needs knowledge based authentication |
| Forms 2848 and 8821 | Check IRS rules first | The IRS sets its own submission and verification rules |
The legal background for business documents is in our ESIGN Act and UETA guide, and the evidence each letter carries is described on the electronic signature audit trail page. If your bank feeds still arrive as PDFs, you can convert bank statements to Excel before you start the books.
Cost
What a firm pays for electronic signature
Many signing tools charge per user, so a firm pays again for every preparer, reviewer and admin who sends a letter. Our plans include seats. Starter covers 3 senders and 50 envelopes a month for $24 a month on yearly billing. Plus covers 10 senders, 500 envelopes, bulk send and SMS codes for $74 a month on yearly billing. Pro adds 25 seats, 2,000 envelopes, SSO and retention rules.
One envelope is one sending, however many people sign it, so a joint engagement letter with two spouses and a partner counts once. Clients never need an account or a seat. If you are leaving a per user tool, our DocuSign alternative comparison shows the arithmetic for a ten person firm.
- Seats for the whole firm, not per user
- Clients sign free of charge on any device
- Monthly or yearly billing, cancel at the end of the period
- Sealed PDFs downloadable as a ZIP at any time
Monthly cost for 10 people who send
10 users on a typical per user plan
$888 billed yearly, bulk send included
Public list prices, annual billing, checked 2026-10-10.
Questions
Electronic signature for accountants FAQ
Get every engagement letter signed before busy season
Create a firm account, save your engagement letter as a template and send it to the whole client list.