Use case
eSignature for plumbers: agree the call-out price in minutes
A burst pipe at 2am leaves no time for paperwork, and the call-out fee agreed over the phone is the one disputed later. Plumbers can send a call-out authorisation by SMS, have it signed on the customer's phone before the first tool comes out, and take the fee in the same step.
Free to start, no card needed. See pricing
- documents a month on the free plan
- 3
- documents a month on the free plan
- accounts or apps a signer needs
- 0
- accounts or apps a signer needs
- ways to send: email, WhatsApp or SMS
- 3
- ways to send: email, WhatsApp or SMS
- ways to pay while signing: card or mobile money
- 2
- ways to pay while signing: card or mobile money
Why use it
The call-out price is agreed before work starts
Send the authorisation by WhatsApp or SMS while you drive. The customer signs one field at a time in their phone browser, with no account or app, so the fee is accepted in writing within minutes of arriving.
The call-out fee is paid at the door
On the Business plan, Sign & Pay collects the fee during signing, by card through Stripe or by card and mobile money through Paystack. You start the job knowing the call-out has been paid.
A record that settles the argument later
Each finished document is a sealed PDF with an audit certificate and a verification code. When a landlord or customer queries a bill weeks later, you can show who signed which price, and when.
The documents, and how each is signed
Service quotes
Send the quote for a boiler replacement or refit by email or WhatsApp, and the customer signs it on their phone. On the Business plan they pay the deposit in the same step, and the sealed PDF shows the accepted price, the signature time and the payment.
Emergency call-out authorisations
Send the authorisation by SMS on the way to the job; the customer signs the call-out fee and hourly rate before you start, and on the Business plan pays the fee at signing. For rentals, the landlord or agent approves first and the tenant signs second, and the audit certificate records both.
Change orders
When you find more work behind a wall or under a floor, send a change order with the extra cost from site. The customer signs before the extra work begins, and the record shows the revised price was accepted, by whom and when.
Completion sign-offs
Before you leave, the customer signs a sheet listing the work done and the parts fitted. The finished document is a sealed PDF with an audit certificate and verification code, ready if the job is queried later.
A plumber's paperwork is usually signed in a hallway with the stopcock off. The customer is stressed, is sometimes a tenant rather than the owner, and has to agree a call-out fee and an hourly rate before you start, because once a floor is up nobody can walk away. Most of the money on a plumbing job is fixed in two moments: the authorisation or quote at the door, and the sign-off when the water is back on. The general approach for builders and trades is on the contractors page; this page covers what is different when the work is urgent, small and done inside someone's home.
How plumbing documents move
- Emergency call-out. You or whoever answers the phone sends the call-out authorisation as a PDF by SMS or WhatsApp while you are on the way. The customer signs on their phone before you start, and on the Business plan pays the call-out fee in the same step.
- Rented property. The tenant reports the leak, but the landlord or letting agent pays. Set a signing order: the agent approves the cost first, then the tenant signs to confirm the work and access. The guide to signing order explains when one-after-another matters.
- Planned work. A boiler swap, a bathroom refit or a full repipe starts with a service quote, signed with a deposit before parts are ordered.
- Surprises mid-job. Corroded pipework behind a wall or a failed valve you could not see on the call becomes a change order, signed on the customer's phone before you carry on.
- Before you leave. A completion sign-off records what was done and which parts were fitted, signed by the customer while you are still there.
What goes wrong today, and what fixes it
- The midnight price is disputed by morning. A fee agreed on the phone is easy to deny. A signed authorisation states the fee and rate before work starts, and the audit certificate shows who signed and when.
- Call-outs go unpaid. Customers who were grateful at 2am are slower to pay an invoice a week later. Sign & Pay collects the fee during signing, by card through Stripe or by card and mobile money through Paystack.
- Customers do not check email in an emergency. Send the link by WhatsApp or SMS. It opens in any phone browser, with no account or app.
- Landlords refuse bills for work a tenant asked for. The approver role puts the person who pays in the chain before the tenant signs, so the cost is agreed by the right person.
- Extra work becomes an argument. A change order signed before the extra hour starts replaces a verbal yes with a dated signature.
- Paper sheets get wet, smudged or lost in the van. Every finished document is a sealed PDF with an audit certificate and a verification code that anyone can check at verify.
Where the law or the industry asks for more
Most plumbing paperwork, from quotes to sign-offs, is the kind of document an electronic signature normally covers. A few things sit outside it:
- Gas and regulated installations. Safety certificates, commissioning records and notifications made through a registration scheme usually have their own format and must be issued by a registered engineer. Your customer's signature on a quote does not replace them.
- Insurance work. When an insurer is paying, it often has its own claim forms and approval steps. Get its authorisation before going beyond making the property safe.
- Work agreed in the customer's home. In many countries a contract made at the customer's home carries a cancellation period, with separate rules when the customer asks for urgent work to start straight away. Say in the authorisation that the customer asked you to begin immediately, and check the rules where you work on the e-signature law pages.
A setup that suits a plumbing business
The Business plan, at $19 a month or $190 a year, fits emergency work best: it adds Sign & Pay, signing order, the approver role and the sealed PDF with an audit certificate and verification code. Keep four PDFs on your phone: a one-page call-out authorisation with the fee and hourly rate, a service quote, a change order and a completion sheet. Upload whichever the job needs and send it from the van.
If you never take payment at signing, the Personal plan at $9 a month sends unlimited documents for one sender. The free plan sends 3 documents a month, enough to try it on a few jobs. There are no team seats today, so a firm with several engineers should decide who sends; if you run job management software, the API can send documents and webhooks report every event. Compare plans on the pricing page.
Try it on your own document
Upload any PDF and send it for signature. Signers need no account, and the free plan needs no card.
Templates to start from
Each opens in the editor with its signature fields already in place.
Quotes and estimates
Landscaping quote template
Quote a garden or landscaping job line by line, materials, labour and waste removal, with the deposit, the schedule, what happens if the ground hides a surprise, and how long new plants are guaranteed.
Quotes and estimates
Quote template
A quote the client can accept by signing: itemised prices, what is and is not included, how long the price holds, and the terms that apply once they say yes.
Invoices and payments
Deposit invoice template
Request a deposit before you start: this invoice shows the project total, the deposit due now, when the balance is due, and whether the deposit can be refunded, so the client agrees to all of it at once.
Invoices and payments
Invoice template
A clean, complete invoice for freelancers and small businesses: who it is from and to, what was delivered, what is owed, by when, and how to pay. Everything an accountant expects to see on one page.
Invoices and payments
Late payment reminder letter template
Chase an overdue invoice firmly and politely: the invoice and amount, how late it is, how to pay, the interest the law allows, and an offer to agree a payment plan, with space for the customer to sign and commit to a date.
Invoices and payments
Payment receipt template
A signed receipt for money received, especially cash, deposits and part-payments: what was paid, how, for what, and what is still owed, confirmed by the person who took the money.
Frequently asked questions
Can a customer sign a call-out authorisation without email?
Yes. You can send the signing link by WhatsApp or SMS as well as email. The customer opens it in their phone browser, needs no account or app, and signs one field at a time.
Can I take the call-out fee when the customer signs?
On the Business plan, Sign & Pay collects payment as part of signing. Customers pay by card through Stripe, or by card and mobile money through Paystack, and the document is not complete until both the signature and payment are done.
The tenant called me but the landlord pays. How do I handle that?
Use the approver role and signing order on the Business plan. Send the authorisation to the landlord or letting agent to approve the cost first, then to the tenant to confirm the work and access, and the audit certificate shows both steps.
Does an e-signature replace gas or compliance certificates?
No. Certificates and notifications required by a registration scheme or regulator usually have their own format and rules. Use e-signatures for your quotes, authorisations, change orders and sign-offs, and issue regulated certificates the way your scheme requires.
Is the free plan enough for an emergency plumbing business?
The free plan sends 3 documents a month, which is enough to try the process on a few jobs. A business taking call-outs every week will need a paid plan, which sends unlimited documents.
Keep exploring
- ContractorsE-signatures for builders and contractors: quotes, construction contracts, change orders and work orders signed on site from a phone, deposits paid at signing.
- Sign and payCollect a deposit or fee in the same step as the signature: card payments through Stripe, card and mobile money through Paystack, paid straight to your account.
- How to send documents for signature on WhatsAppHow to send a document for signature on WhatsApp or by SMS: sharing a signing link, what the signer sees, keeping it secure, and when email is still better.
- Audit trailWhat an e-signature audit trail records: every view, signature and payment, with time, IP and device, plus a sealed PDF and a verification code.
- PricingFree, Personal and Business plans, with no envelope counting on paid plans.
More industries and roles
- eSignature for professional services: from proposal to engagement in one sittingE-signatures for consultancies, agencies and service firms: proposals, engagement letters, SOWs and retainers signed on a phone, with fees collected at signing.
- eSignature for marketing teams: the paperwork behind every campaignE-signatures for in-house marketing teams: photo releases, sponsorship deals, agency contracts, influencer and supplier agreements signed on a phone.
- eSignature for real estate: leases signed and deposits paid, from a phoneE-signatures for landlords, letting agents and real estate professionals: sign leases and offers on a phone, collect the deposit at signing, keep the record.
- eSignature for manufacturing: supply terms and orders signed without the faxE-signatures for manufacturers and distributors: supplier agreements, purchase orders, NDAs and equipment rentals signed by suppliers on their phones.
Send your first document for signature
A free account sends 3 documents a month for signature. Signers need no account, and every step is recorded in an audit trail.