Why dealerships and workshops use e-signatures
Every vehicle that is sold, leased or repaired leaves a trail of signatures. A buyer signs a sale agreement, a trade-in declaration and a delivery acknowledgement. A test-drive customer signs a form before taking the keys. A service customer authorises the repair, then authorises the extra work the technician finds. A fleet manager signs a lease or maintenance contract. When any of those waits on a printer, a scanner or a customer’s return visit, the car sits on the forecourt or the ramp instead of going out of the door.
SignPe handles both kinds of signing a dealership needs. For customers in front of you, the SignPe app for iPhone, iPad and Android lets them sign on a tablet at the desk. For customers who are not, they get an email with a Review & Sign Document button and sign in their browser. Either way you receive the signed PDF and an audit trail, and the same account works on the web app in the sales office.
Vehicle sale agreements: close deals in the showroom or remotely
A car sale usually involves a purchase agreement or order form, a trade-in or part-exchange declaration, and a handover acknowledgement — often several pages each, with signatures from the buyer and the dealership. More buyers now agree a deal over the phone or online and do not want to visit just to sign.
- Buyer first, manager second. Use Set signer order so the buyer signs and your sales manager countersigns. The next signer is emailed automatically when it is their turn.
- Vehicle details on the page. Use Text fields for the registration or VIN, mileage, agreed price and handover date, and a Date field in the format your paperwork uses.
- Initials on every page. Place Initials on pages with warranty or cancellation terms, and the buyer can use Apply to all fields of the same type to initial each one in a single step.
- Joint buyers. Add both buyers as signers on one document — there is no limit on signers per document. See multiple signers.
If the deal changes before it is signed — a different trim, a revised trade-in value — void the document: the old signing link stops working, the buyer is told, and you can send the corrected agreement.
Test-drive forms and handover checklists: sign at the desk
Before a customer takes a car out, most dealerships ask them to sign a test-drive agreement confirming their licence details and responsibility for the vehicle. At handover, a checklist confirms the condition of the car and the items supplied with it. Both happen in person, and both used to mean a clipboard.
- In person Signing on a tablet. Open the form, hand the tablet to the customer, and capture their signature on the screen. In the mobile app the option is In-Person Signing.
- Fill the form properly. Add Full Name, Email, Date and Text fields, and Checkmark fields beside each item on a handover checklist. See add text and shapes.
- Scan a copy of their paperwork. The SignPe app’s Scan option captures paper documents with automatic edge detection, up to 20 pages per scan, and several photos can be combined into one PDF.
- A signature that looks like one. The drawing pad is speed-sensitive, so a finger signature on a tablet looks natural rather than jagged.
Drafts for forms you use every day
Prepare your test-drive form once and save it as a draft — drafts do not use a document credit — then open it from the Drafts folder when the next customer arrives.
Fleet, lease and dealer agreements: contracts between businesses
Fleet supply and maintenance contracts, corporate lease agreements, dealer and franchise agreements, and contracts with parts suppliers and body shops are signed between businesses, often by several people at each. They are long, and they are easy to lose track of.
- Signing order across both companies. Use Set signer order so the customer’s fleet manager signs first and your dealer principal countersigns.
- Company details and stamps. Add Company and Designation fields, and apply your company stamp from your saved library where your agreements carry one.
- Copy finance and aftersales. Add colleagues as observers so they receive updates without being asked to sign.
- Contracts from the cloud. Import agreements directly from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or Box — see cloud storage integration.
The Waiting for Others filter in your Documents list shows every contract still out for signature, and if the dealer principal is away, delegation lets them hand their signing to a colleague in the same organisation, who can sign on their behalf. For supplier paperwork, read how to sign vendor agreements online.
A typical automotive signing workflow
Prepare the document
Upload the sale agreement, repair order or contract, import it from cloud storage, or scan a paper form with the SignPe app.
Place and assign fields
Drag Signature, Initials, Full Name, Date, Text and Checkmark fields onto the page and assign each to the buyer, customer or your own signatory.
Choose how it is signed
Use In person Signing when the customer is at the desk, or Set signer order to send it by email. Add observers for colleagues who need updates.
Track and follow up
Follow Sent, Received, Opened and Signed in the Activity timeline on the web or the Document History page on mobile, and use Remind if anyone stalls.
Keep the record
When everyone has signed, all parties receive the signed copy. Download the audit trail PDF to keep with the deal or job file.
Compliance considerations for automotive documents
Electronic signatures are recognised for most commercial agreements under laws such as the US ESIGN Act and UETA, the EU’s eIDAS regulation and India’s Information Technology Act 2000. Vehicle paperwork carries extra rules, though: registration and title transfers, odometer disclosures, consumer-credit and finance agreements, and consumer-protection requirements for distance sales can each have their own requirements, and these vary by country and state. Confirm with your legal adviser or finance provider which documents can be signed electronically. The legality guide covers India in detail.
- An audit trail per document. The audit trail PDF shows the document ID, sent and completed dates, and when each signer was emailed, viewed and signed.
- Only participants can open a document. Customer and deal details are visible only to the sender, signers and observers on that document.
- Encryption in transit and at rest. Documents travel over HTTPS/TLS and are stored in encrypted cloud storage — see eSignature security.
- Aadhaar eSign in India. For Indian buyers and businesses, Aadhaar eSign adds OTP verification through eMudhra and a PKI-signed PDF with an evidence certificate.
Sale and service documents include customers’ personal details. Apply your own data-protection and retention policies to the signed copies you download.
