With its versatility making it a handy solution for businesses, individuals, and families alike, Microsoft 365 is one of the most used office suites. It provides an excellent collection of applications for creating documents, securely sharing and storing files, communicating, and more.
For companies, the apps are convenient for collaboration and managing contracts, translating into productivity increases and cost savings. Another advantage is that Microsoft 365 can be used for electronic signing, speeding up the process of closing deals.
Having said that, Microsoft 365’s e-signature features are rather basic and offer little in terms of cybersecurity, not to mention that there’s no way to track whether third-party signers have signed the contract. As such, integrating a dedicated e-signature platform is a viable alternative thanks to its user-friendliness, security, and complete signing transparency.
Recommended e-Signature Software for Microsoft 365 in 2023
signNow
signNow is among the most user-friendly e-signature platforms. It’s an incredibly straightforward and secure program, offering several contract management tools to edit and sign documents.
The software can be used for signing a document in person with a cell phone. This feature makes it possible to finalize contracts when all signers are present. In other words, a document can be edited with Microsoft 365 on the go and signed on the spot when signNow is integrated into the office suite.
What makes the platform stand out is its vast library of legal forms that makes it a cakewalk to find the necessary document and add a legally-binding signature using Word, Excel, or Dynamics 365.
All signNow accounts start with a 7-day free trial. When the test period ends, choosing annual billing for one of the software’s user-based subscriptions saves up to 60%.
Positives |
|---|
Negatives |
|---|
Adobe Acrobat Sign
The software goes even further with its reusable templates like W-4 and W-9 forms, which are fully editable. Considering Acrobat Sign’s e-signatures are legally binding, a contract can go straight to its third-party signers after editing with Microsoft 365.
As a means of cybersecurity, Acrobat Sign secures each document individually with passwords and military-grade encryption. Together with Microsoft 365’s already robust security tools, the e-signature platform ensures the total safety of sensitive data.
The software’s pricing is also noteworthy, offering up to 44% discount for annual billing and a 30-day free trial.
Positives |
|---|
Negatives |
|---|
DocuSign
DocuSign has been in business for more than two decades, and it supports numerous companies with its electronic signatures, contract management tools, and robust security.
Besides letting you add advanced signature placeholders (like payment collection), integrating DocuSign into a Microsoft 365 app allows you to customize documents with your brand. Even better, accept and decline buttons can be inserted into documents to finalize agreements with a click.
Regarding cybersecurity, DocuSign has more than one trick up its sleeve. In addition to enforcing the use of complex passwords, the software lets users set personalized passcodes for each third-party signer.
To top it all off, DocuSign offers unlimited self-signing at zero cost. The platform’s paid subscriptions are also affordable, especially when choosing annual billing, which provides a discount of up to 45%.
Positives |
|---|
Negatives |
|---|
Benefits of Integrating e-Signature Software With Microsoft 365
If integrating with Microsoft 365, e-signature platforms typically have separate add-ins for all apps within the office suite. This has numerous benefits, such as an integration for Word that lets you add advanced signature fields to a document.
Meanwhile, integrating e-signature software with Excel is perfect for setting signing roles for recipients, such as whether they’re accountants, heads of HR, and more. Teams also enjoys integration with electronic signature software, which can be used to track signature requests in real time.
An electronic signature platform also offers specified cybersecurity for each document. Other than encrypting contracts end-to-end, many providers protect files with passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA).
Considering Microsoft 365 can’t authenticate third-party signers, incorporating e-signature software into the signing process is a must-have. Biometric authentication and knowledge-based verification are just a few tools electronic signature platforms are using to verify signers. Pair these methods with Microsoft 365’s robust security, and malicious actors will never get their hands on classified data.
How To e-Sign a Document in Microsoft 365
Integrating e-signature software into Microsoft 365 starts with signing up to the chosen platform and downloading and installing all the necessary add-ins. Fortunately, they’re often similar or entirely identical to use.
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
E-signing in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is straightforward, as you can either upload documents to the chosen platform and sign them there or do the following:
- Find the add-in icon in the ribbon.
- Click on the signing button.
- Type or draw your electronic signature.
- Drag and drop your signature.
Outlook
Integrating e-signature software into Outlook lets you hit two birds with one stone, as you can e-sign attachments and send them back right away. All you have to do are four simple steps:
- Open the email.
- Click on the e-signature platform’s icon in the ribbon.
- Select the attachment that needs e-signing.
- Click the signing button after confirming your name and e-signature.
Dynamics 365
An e-signature add-in for Dynamics 365 lets you track and timestamp agreement status in real time. However, e-signing itself is also possible in the following way:
- Look for the three horizontal dots in the ribbon.
- Find the option that starts with ‘Sign with’ in the dropdown menu.
- Choose the document, sign it, and send it to its intended third-party signers.
Additional Must-Have Integrations for Electronic Signature Software
The best electronic signature software smoothly integrates with various other platforms besides Microsoft 365. Offering an add-on for a CRM platform is essential for streamlining the preparation of contracts, making signing an integral part of business processes.
Businesses that need to receive a payment the moment a contract is signed should go with a platform that integrates with a payment processing platform, such as Braintree or Stripe. These add-ins are usually needed to insert payment collection fields so third-party signers can conduct a financial transaction easily.
Zapier is another handy add-on for integrating natively unsupported apps into an electronic signature platform. For example, if your company is using an online project management platform that the chosen e-signature software doesn’t pair with, Zapier can be the bridge between the two.