Signed before you set foot on site.
Set your terms of engagement template once. After that, the terms go out with the booking — one tick — your client signs on any device that evening, and if they stall, HomeSign chases them so you never have to. The signed PDF files itself against the job.
How it works
Five steps from booking to signed and filed.
Getting terms of engagement signed shouldn't mean exporting a PDF, drafting a covering email and diarising a reminder to chase. You do step one once and step two takes a tick. The other three happen to you.
Upload your terms once
Bring the terms of engagement your firm already uses — or PI documentation, scope letters, anything you send repeatedly. Place the signature and date fields on the document once, save it as a reusable template, and set it as your firm's default. That's the whole setup; you never attach the file again.
Send with the booking — one tick
When a job is confirmed in the Bookings CRM, the confirmation screen carries a send-terms checkbox, and every job's task list has a Send T&Cs step — so the envelope goes out as part of booking the job, not as a separate chore you have to remember later. The covering email writes itself from your template: the client's name, the document name and the expiry are filled in automatically.
Your client signs on any device
The email carries a secure link that opens straight to the document — phone, tablet or desktop, no account, no app, no password. The client reads, consents, and signs by drawing with a finger or typing their name in a signature style. Halfway through and the kettle boils? They can save progress and finish later on a different device. You can also require a one-off access code for sensitive documents.
The stragglers get chased — not by you
Most clients sign the same evening. For the ones who don't, HomeSign sends a first reminder once the envelope is two days old and a second at five days — picked up by a daily 9am run, never more than one nudge in 24 hours, stopping instantly the moment they sign or decline. Nobody in your office drafts a "just checking you saw this" email again.
A daily 9am run picks up anything unsigned — never more than one nudge in 24 hours, never after a decline.
Signed, sealed, filed on the job
The moment the envelope completes, the signed PDF is rendered with a certificate of completion appended — signer details, a document fingerprint and the full timestamped timeline. It's stored against the booking for good, the job in your CRM shows signed, your client gets a download link by email, and their copy waits in the customer portal. Nobody files anything.
The life of one envelope
Watch a set of terms come back signed.
You ticked one box on Tuesday morning. Here's everything that happened afterwards — none of it done by you.
Terms of engagement
RICS Home Survey — Level 2
Signed by the client
Friday · 18:52 · drawn on her phone
You ticked one box at booking. The sending, the chasing, the evidence and the filing all happened on their own — and it's on the job before you've packed the ladder.
Tracked & evidenced
If it's ever questioned, you have the receipts.
A signed piece of paper proves a signature exists. A HomeSign envelope proves when it was sent, when it was opened, what the signer consented to, and that nobody has touched the record since.
IP address and device recorded on every event
An audit trail nobody can edit
Every event — the send, each automatic reminder, each view, the consent, the signature — is recorded with a timestamp, IP address and device, in an append-only log that can't be amended by anyone, including us. When the envelope completes, a certificate of completion carrying the signer table, a document fingerprint and the full timeline is generated and attached to the signed PDF itself.
One dashboard, every envelope
HomeSign lives inside the same firm dashboard as everything else — your template library and every sent envelope a click away, each tracked from sent through viewed to signed, with per-signer status underneath. The same status also sits on the job itself in the Bookings CRM, so "have they signed yet?" is a glance, not a search.
What actually changes
The paperwork stops being part of the visit.
When the terms come back signed before the inspection date, three small moments in the week quietly improve.
1 · The evening it's booked
Your client signs from the sofa
The link is in her inbox before the kettle's boiled. Two minutes on her phone — read, consent, draw, done. No printer, no scanner, no "I'll do it at the weekend".
2 · Inspection day
The doorstep is a handshake
Terms agreed days ago, so the visit starts with the house — not with a clipboard, a biro and an awkward "before we start, I need you to sign this".
3 · Months later
Filed without a filing afternoon
A query about a job from March? The signed terms are on the booking, certificate attached, audit trail intact. Nobody rummages a drawer — this one's just for show.
The other side of the envelope
What your client actually sees.
Half the reason terms come back unsigned is that signing them is a chore. This is the whole of your client's job — most do it the evening the booking lands.
1
Open the link
One email, one button. The document opens in the browser on whatever's in their hand — phone on the bus, tablet on the sofa, desktop at work.
2
Read & consent
They read your terms and tick a clear consent statement. The exact wording and version they agreed to is stored against their signature — not assumed later.
3
Sign — draw or type
A finger-drawn signature or a typed name in a signature style — whichever feels natural. Interrupted halfway? Progress saves, and they finish later on another device.
4
Keep a copy
The moment it completes they get a download link by email, and their copy lives in the customer portal — so they never ring you asking for it.
Security without friction: links are tokenised and expire after 30 days, and you can require a one-off access code for sensitive documents.
Built for surveying firms
Around the documents you actually send.
Terms of engagement, PI documentation, scope letters — an e-signature tool shaped to a surveying firm's paperwork, not a generic envelope builder bolted on afterwards.
Template library
Upload your documents, place the signature fields once, and reuse them forever. Set firm defaults so the right template is offered on every booking — and the covering email fills in the recipient, document name and expiry itself.
Draw or type
Clients sign the way that suits them — a drawn signature with finger or stylus, or a typed name in a signature style. Save-and-finish-later means a signature started on the bus can be completed on the laptop at home.
Certificate of completion
Every completed envelope gets a certificate appended to the signed PDF — signer details, consent wording, a document fingerprint and the full timestamped timeline. The evidence travels with the document itself.
Self-sign
Need to countersign a form or initial a PDF yourself? Stamp your signature in the browser and download it instantly. The file is processed on your own machine — it's never uploaded to our servers at all.
How it compares
HomeSign vs the way it's usually done.
Most firms either pay a standalone e-signature subscription that knows nothing about their jobs, or fall back on print-sign-scan and hope.
| Capability | HomeSign | Print, sign & scan |
|---|---|---|
| Sending the terms | One tick at booking | Attach a PDF, write the email |
| Client needs an account | Never | Needs a printer instead |
| Chasing the unsigned | Automatic — day 2 & day 5 | You, by phone |
| Status on the job | In your Bookings CRM | Nowhere |
| Audit trail | Append-only + certificate | The signature alone |
| Client's own copy | Portal + emailed download | A photocopy, if remembered |
| Cost to your firm | Included free | Paper, ink and patience |
Standalone-tool capabilities vary by provider and plan — the point isn't that they can't do these things, it's that you're paying separately for a tool that doesn't know which job the document belongs to.
Under the hood
Eight details that make it dependable.
One tick at booking
The send-terms checkbox sits on the booking confirmation itself, and a Send T&Cs task on every job catches the ones you skip. The envelope belongs to the job from the moment it exists — no copy-pasting client details into a separate tool.
Chasers on a real schedule
First reminder at two days, second at five, dispatched by a daily 9am run. A signer is never nudged more than once in 24 hours, and the chasing stops the instant they sign or decline. You write none of it.
Per-signer tracking
Each signer moves through pending, viewed and signed individually — so on a group envelope you can see exactly who is holding things up, and on a booking you can see the moment your client opened the terms.
An audit log that only grows
Every event is appended with a timestamp, IP address and device — and no entry can ever be edited or deleted, by anyone. Months later, the record is exactly what it was on the day.
A fingerprinted document
The completed PDF carries a certificate of completion with a cryptographic fingerprint of the document and a unique reference per signature field — so what was signed, and what you hold now, are provably the same file.
Links that expire
Signing links are secure, tokenised and die after 30 days — a forwarded email months later opens nothing. Sensitive document? Add a one-off access code the signer must enter first.
Stored where you'll look
The signed PDF files itself against the booking, next to the payment status and the report. Your client keeps a copy in the customer portal and gets an emailed download link the moment it completes.
Declines you hear about
If a client declines to sign, the envelope closes, its links are revoked and the job shows it immediately — so the conversation happens on the phone this week, not on the doorstep on inspection morning.
Part of the free platform
Cancel the e-sign tool you're paying for.
Most document-signing tools charge a monthly seat fee, a per-envelope fee, or both — on top of whatever practice software you already pay for, and without knowing anything about your jobs. Documents & e-sign is built into your Home.co.uk account instead: no separate contract to sign up for, and no separate one to cancel later.
Because it lives inside the platform, the envelope knows its booking. Payment status from Payments, the signed terms, the diary slot and the report all point at the same job — one screen shows whether a job is paid, signed, both or neither.
Bookings CRM
Where the envelope status lives — every job shows none, pending or signed at a glance.
Payments
Paid at booking, terms signed by the weekend — the two "will they, won't they"s both settled early.
Customer portal
Your client's copy of everything they've signed, under your firm's branding — no inbox archaeology.
The firm inbox that files threads against the same jobs your envelopes belong to.
Getting started
Signing terms by your next booking.
There's one real setup step, and it's uploading a document you already have.
Step 1
Claim your firm
Most RICS-regulated firms are already listed — search by name or postcode and claim yours, free. HomeSign switches on with the rest of the platform once your firm is verified.
Step 2
Upload your terms
Bring the terms of engagement you already use, drop the signature and date fields onto it, and save it as your firm's default template. Ten minutes, once, ever.
Step 3
Tick the box
On your next booking, tick send-terms on the confirmation. The envelope goes out, the chasers stand by, and the signed PDF files itself against the job.
FAQ
Common questions about Documents & e-sign
Sending & signing
Does the envelope really go out with the booking?
Once your firm's default terms template is set, sending is one tick. The booking confirmation screen has a send-terms checkbox, and every job's task list carries a Send T&Cs step — so the terms go out as part of confirming the job in the Bookings CRM, not as a separate chore afterwards. There's no file to attach and no covering email to write: the email builds itself from your template with the recipient's name, the document name and the expiry filled in.
Do clients need an account to sign?
No. The client receives a secure link by email, opens it on any device — phone, tablet or desktop — and signs directly in the browser. There's nothing to download, register for or remember a password for. For extra security you can require a one-off access code, which the signer enters before the document opens.
Can the client draw their signature, or type it?
Both. Signers can draw their signature with a finger or stylus, or type their name and pick a signature style. Either way the signature is stamped onto the PDF with a timestamp and a unique field reference. Clients can also save their progress part-way through and come back to finish later on another device.
Can more than one person sign the same document?
Yes — HomeSign supports group envelopes with several signers, each tracked individually through pending, viewed and signed. Terms sent with a survey booking go to your client as a single signer, which keeps the pre-inspection flow simple.
Chasers & tracking
When do the automatic chasers go out?
If an envelope is still unsigned, HomeSign sends a first reminder once it's two days old and a second at five days. A daily 9am run picks up anything outstanding, a signer is never nudged more than once in 24 hours, and the chasing stops instantly when they sign or decline. You draft none of the reminder emails.
What if the client never signs?
The envelope's status stays visible on the job in the Bookings CRM, so you can see it's still pending before the inspection date and resend or follow up personally. For security, each signing link expires after 30 days — if a client resurfaces later, you can issue a fresh envelope in a click.
Can the client decline to sign?
Yes. A signer can decline, and the decline is recorded in the audit trail with the envelope closed and its signing links revoked. You see the declined status on the job straight away — so the conversation happens before the visit, not on the doorstep.
Evidence, storage & legality
What's recorded in the audit trail?
Every event in the envelope's life — sent, each automatic reminder, each view, the signer's consent, the signature and completion — is recorded with a timestamp, the IP address and the device it came from. The log is append-only: entries can never be edited or deleted, by anyone. When the envelope completes, a certificate of completion is generated with the signer table, a document fingerprint and the full timeline, and appended to the signed PDF.
Where is the signed document stored?
The completed, signed PDF is stored against the booking it belongs to, so it sits in the job's documents alongside the payment status and the report — for good. Your client gets a download link by email the moment it completes, and their copy also lives in the customer portal.
Is it legally binding?
Electronic signatures are legally recognised in England and Wales for documents like terms of engagement, under the Electronic Communications Act 2000 and the UK eIDAS regulation. Before signing, every signer is shown a consent statement — the exact wording and version they saw is stored against their signature — and the envelope keeps a timestamped, append-only audit trail plus a certificate of completion. This is general information, not legal advice — for anything you're unsure about, take your own advice.
Templates, self-sign & cost
Can I use my own templates?
Yes. Upload your firm's existing terms of engagement, PI documentation or any other document you already use, place the signature fields once and save it as a reusable template. Set it as your firm's default and it's offered on every booking. The covering email that carries it personalises itself automatically — recipient, document name and expiry — so you're not locked into wording we wrote.
Can I send documents that aren't terms of engagement?
Yes. Any PDF can go out for signature, and a booking can carry more than one envelope — terms of engagement plus a scope variation, for example. Anything your firm sends repeatedly is worth saving as a template so the fields are already placed.
What is self-sign?
Self-sign is for documents your firm signs directly — countersigning a form, initialling a PDF. You stamp your signature onto the document in the browser and download the result instantly. The file is processed entirely on your own machine and is never uploaded to our servers.
What does it cost?
Nothing extra. Documents & e-sign is part of the free Home.co.uk platform every RICS-verified firm gets — no per-envelope fee, no monthly seat licence, and no separate e-signature subscription to keep paying for.
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