Why contracts get lost between tools
The standard setup is three tools deep. The contract is drafted in a word processor, uploaded to a signing service, and the signed copy is downloaded into a drive folder. Each hop is fine on its own. Together they mean the agreement lives nowhere near the client it governs.
You feel it at the awkward moments. A client disputes a revision round, and the clause that settles it is in a PDF three folder levels deep, named after the signing tool's export convention. Or a scope change happens and nobody checks the original terms, because checking means going and finding them.
There is also the drafting problem. When every contract starts from the last contract, your terms drift. One version has the IP clause, one does not, and which one a given client signed is a coin flip. We covered what belongs in the document in what to include in a client agreement.
What Arpixa E-Sign Docs is
E-Sign Docs is a document editor and signing flow inside your agency workspace. Documents are authored, not uploaded, which is what makes the rest possible: templates, reusable clauses, placeholder fill-in, live status, and an audit trail all depend on Arpixa holding the content rather than a flat file.
Each document has a type — Contract, NDA, Proposal, or Brief — and the type sets its visual theme, so a contract, an NDA, and a brief each look like the kind of document they are. There are 41 templates to start from, and the editor saves as you type.
A document also carries the practical metadata you end up needing: the agency name, project budget, payment terms, which template it came from, and whether it requires internal approval before going out.
What you can do with documents
| Capability | What it does |
|---|---|
| Author the document, do not just upload it | Documents are written in a rich text editor inside the workspace, with 41 built-in templates covering contracts, NDAs, proposals, and briefs. Each document type gets its own visual theme, so a contract reads like a contract and a brief reads like a brief. |
| Reusable clauses you stop rewriting | Drop in standard clauses for confidentiality, IP transfer on payment, late payment penalty, standard revisions, and termination for convenience. The terms your agency always needs stop depending on whoever wrote the last agreement. |
| Multiple signatories, each with their own block | Add as many signatories as the agreement needs, each with a name, email, role, and whether their signature is required. Every signatory gets a separate e-signature block on the public link, and the first one auto-fills from the client record. |
| Signed only when everyone has signed | A partial signature is recorded without pretending the document is done. The status flips to Signed only once every listed signatory has signed, so a two-party contract cannot silently look complete with one signature on it. |
| An audit trail with IP and user agent | Each signature stores the signer name, timestamp, and IP address, and a separate event log records the signing with the browser user agent. The editor renders that trail in plain language, including when the client viewed the document. |
| A revocable public link | Sharing generates a long random link with no login required, and you can switch it off at any time. Once disabled, the link stops resolving for everyone, which matters when you send a draft to the wrong address. |
Status moves through Draft, Pending Approval, Sent, Approved, and Signed. In the client portal, drafts are hidden entirely and a document you have sent is labelled “Awaiting Signature”, with a banner telling the client how many documents are waiting on them.
Multi-party signing, step by step
Most agency paperwork has more than one signature on it, and Arpixa treats that as the normal case rather than an upgrade.
You list the signatories. Each one has a name, an email, a role, and a flag for whether their signature is required. Picking the client auto-fills the first signatory from their record, so the common two-party contract takes one click. Every signatory then gets their own signature block on the public page.
Signing needs no account. The client opens the link, types their name, draws their signature, and submits. Arpixa appends that signature to the document and checks the list: if every listed signatory has now signed, the status becomes Signed and the signing date is stamped. If not, the signature is recorded and the document keeps waiting. You get a notification titled with the signer's name each time someone signs.
Your own counter-signature is captured in the editor, so the finished document carries both sides.
A signing service plus a drive, or one workspace
Contracts usually get drafted in one tool, signed in another, and filed in a third, away from the client record they govern. Arpixa keeps the draft, the signatures, and the signed PDF on the same account.
Signatures
Drafting
Storage
Templates
ArpixaAll of it, connectedThe audit trail and the signed PDF
Every signature stores the signatory it belongs to, the typed name, the signature image, the exact signing time, and the IP address the signature came from. Alongside that, Arpixa writes an event log entry for the signing with the browser user agent and a server timestamp, and records view events too.
The document editor renders this history in plain language: “Viewed by client” with the user agent, and “Signed electronically by” with the signer's name. You are not reading raw log lines to answer a question about who agreed to what.
Exporting produces an A4 PDF with placeholders filled in and signature blocks appended: an agency signature block with your image, and a client signature block for each signature with the drawn image, the signer's name, and the date they signed electronically. A signed document is stamped as such at the top, and the footer notes that it was electronically signed via Arpixa.
The share link itself is a long random string with no login required, and it can be turned off. Once disabled, the link returns nothing for anyone, including people who already had it.
How it connects to the rest of Arpixa
- Documents attach to a record in your CRM, and appear on that client's Documents tab with their current status.
- Proposals handle the commercial agreement with packages and pricing; documents handle the legal one.
- Client briefs submitted through the portal arrive here as Brief documents — see Docs & Briefs.
- Clients see and sign their documents in the branded client portal, where drafts stay hidden.
- Automations can react to a contract being signed, for example by drafting an invoice or creating a project.
Get agreements signed where the work lives
Start free in minutes, or log in to your Arpixa workspace. See pricing for plan details.
Arpixa has a real Free plan (not a trial), with Starter at $12/month, Pro at $29/month, and Advanced at $89/month. Free includes 5 documents per month and Starter 10, with Pro and Advanced unlimited. Annual billing lowers the effective monthly cost, and the pricing page is the source of truth for current plan limits.
How to get a contract signed
- Create a document, pick a type of Contract, NDA, Proposal, or Brief, and choose a template.
- Select the client so the first signatory is filled in from their record.
- Write the terms, inserting standard clauses where they apply.
- Add any further signatories with their name, email, and role, and mark who must sign.
- Add your agency counter-signature, then generate the share link and send it.
- Watch the audit trail as the document is viewed and signed, then export the signed PDF.
More on the process in how to send a contract and get it signed online and e-signature software for agencies.
Frequently asked questions
What can I sign with Arpixa E-Sign Docs?
Four document types: Contract, NDA, Proposal, and Brief. Documents are authored in a rich text editor inside the workspace with 41 built-in templates, then shared on a public link where each signatory signs their own block. The signed document can be exported as a PDF with the signature images, signer names, and signing dates included.
What are the document statuses?
Draft, Pending Approval, Sent, Approved, and Signed. Clients never see drafts in their portal, and a document showing as Sent appears to them as "Awaiting Signature". Documents that arrive from a client brief use two extra states, Received and Withdrawn.
Can more than one person sign the same document?
Yes. You add each signatory with a name, email, role, and whether they are required, and every signatory gets their own signature block on the public link. Signatures are recorded as they come in, but the document status only becomes Signed once every listed signatory has signed. Your agency counter-signature is captured separately and appears on the exported PDF.
What audit information does Arpixa keep for a signature?
For each signature it stores the signatory, the typed name, the signature image, the signing timestamp, and the IP address. A separate event log entry records the signing with the browser user agent and a server timestamp. The document editor shows this trail in readable form, including view events with the user agent, so you can see the whole history of who looked and who signed.
How is this different from Proposals?
Proposals are for winning the work: packages, pricing, add-ons the client selects, view tracking per recipient, and an invoice drafted on acceptance. E-Sign Docs is for the paperwork around the work: contracts, NDAs, and agreements with multiple named signatories, reusable clauses, and a signed PDF you keep on file. Many agencies send a proposal to agree the scope and a contract to formalise it.
How many documents can I create on each plan?
The Free plan includes 5 documents per month and Starter includes 10, with Pro and Advanced unlimited. Building your own reusable proposal and contract templates starts at 4 on Starter and is unlimited on Pro and Advanced. The pricing page is the source of truth for current limits.