Adobe Acrobat Sign

Overview

Adobe Acrobat Sign is an e-signature solution that enables organizations to digitize and automate document signing processes. The platform is built to support a range of use cases, from simple document approvals to complex, multi-party workflows requiring audit trails and compliance with industry regulations. It is particularly suited for environments that already utilize other Adobe products, offering native integrations that streamline document creation, editing, and signing within a unified ecosystem.

For individuals and small teams, Acrobat Sign provides tools for basic document preparation and e-signing. For larger organizations and enterprises, the service scales to accommodate high transaction volumes and offers advanced features such as customizable branding, bulk sending, and comprehensive API access for integration into existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Security and compliance are central to the platform's design, with features supporting standards like SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and GDPR to meet regulatory requirements across various industries.

Developers can integrate e-signature capabilities directly into custom applications using Adobe Acrobat Sign's REST APIs. The platform provides SDKs for common programming languages, including JavaScript, Java, Python, and C#, facilitating the embedding of signature workflows. This allows businesses to create seamless user experiences where documents can be signed without leaving the native application, improving efficiency and reducing friction in digital processes. The service also supports various authentication methods, including email, password, and knowledge-based authentication, to verify signer identity securely.

Adobe Acrobat Sign emphasizes auditability, maintaining detailed records of every step in the signing process. Each signed document includes a comprehensive audit trail that captures timestamps, IP addresses, and actions taken by each party, providing verifiable evidence of the transaction. This audit trail is crucial for legal enforceability and regulatory compliance, ensuring that signed agreements meet legal requirements for electronic signatures.

Key features

• E-Signature Capabilities: Legally binding electronic signatures compliant with global regulations like ESIGN Act and eIDAS. Users can sign documents from any device.
• Document Workflow Automation: Define and automate multi-step approval and signing processes, including sequential, parallel, and hybrid routing.
• Bulk Sending: Send a single document to multiple recipients for individual signatures, useful for HR forms, policy acknowledgements, or contracts.
• API and SDKs: REST APIs with SDKs for JavaScript, Java, Python, and C# to integrate e-signature functionality into custom applications and enterprise systems. Detailed developer documentation is available for building custom integrations, enabling features like generating agreements, managing recipients, and tracking their status programmatically via the Adobe Sign API documentation.
• Security and Compliance: Adherence to standards such as SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, FERPA, GLBA, eIDAS, FedRAMP Tailored, and GDPR, ensuring data protection and regulatory compliance.
• Audit Trails: Comprehensive audit reports for every transaction, detailing signer identity, timestamps, and actions for legal enforceability.
• Customizable Branding: Tailor the signing experience with company logos, colors, and custom messages to maintain brand consistency.
• Mobile E-Signatures: Sign and send documents securely from mobile devices using dedicated applications or web browsers.
• Integrations: Pre-built connectors for popular business applications including Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday, and other Adobe products. For example, integration with Salesforce allows users to send contracts for signature directly from CRM records, streamlining the sales process.
• Templates: Create reusable document templates for frequently used forms and agreements, standardizing processes and reducing preparation time.

Pricing

Adobe Acrobat Sign offers tiered pricing based on user count and required features, with specific plans for individuals, small businesses, and enterprises.

Detailed pricing information, including annual subscription options and feature breakdowns for each tier, is available on the Adobe Acrobat Sign pricing page.

Common integrations

• Microsoft 365: Integrate with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and SharePoint to send documents for signature directly from Microsoft applications. Learn more about Adobe Sign Microsoft integrations.
• Salesforce: Embed e-signature workflows into Salesforce Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, enabling users to send and track contracts directly from CRM records.
• Workday: Automate HR document signing for onboarding, benefits enrollment, and policy acknowledgements within Workday. Further details are available on Workday's Adobe Sign integration guide.
• ServiceNow: Streamline service management and IT workflows by incorporating e-signatures into forms and approvals.
• SAP: Integrate with SAP solutions for contract management, procurement, and other business processes requiring secure signatures.
• Box, Dropbox, Google Drive: Connect with cloud storage providers to send documents stored in these services for signature and save signed copies automatically.
• Adobe Experience Platform: Leverage e-signatures within broader customer experience management workflows.

Alternatives

• DocuSign: A widely used e-signature platform offering extensive integrations and features for various business sizes.
• PandaDoc: Provides document management and e-signature capabilities with a focus on proposals, quotes, and contracts.
• HelloSign: A Dropbox company, offering a user-friendly e-signature solution with integrated document storage and strong API capabilities. Developers might compare the DocuSign eSignature API capabilities against Adobe Sign's to determine the best fit for specific integration requirements.

Getting started

To begin integrating Adobe Acrobat Sign into a JavaScript application, you can use the Adobe Sign API to create an agreement, specify recipients, and send it for signature. This example demonstrates a basic flow for sending a document.

const axios = require('axios');

// Replace with your actual Adobe Sign access token and API base URL
const accessToken = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'; 
const apiBaseUrl = 'https://api.na1.echosign.com/api/rest/v6'; // Example base URL

async function sendAgreementForSignature() {
  try {
    // 1. Upload a transient document (e.g., a PDF file)
    const uploadResponse = await axios.post(
      `${apiBaseUrl}/transientDocuments`,
      {
        file: 'base64_encoded_pdf_content', // Replace with actual base64 encoded PDF
        fileName: 'example_contract.pdf',
        mimeType: 'application/pdf',
      },
      {
        headers: {
          'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
          'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        },
      }
    );
    const transientDocumentId = uploadResponse.data.transientDocumentId;
    console.log(`Transient Document ID: ${transientDocumentId}`);

    // 2. Create and send an agreement
    const agreementPayload = {
      fileInfos: [
        {
          transientDocumentId: transientDocumentId,
        },
      ],
      name: 'Sales Agreement Q2',
      participantSetsInfo: [
        {
          memberInfos: [
            {
              email: '[email protected]', // Recipient's email
            },
          ],
          order: 1,
          role: 'SIGNER',
        },
      ],
      signatureType: 'ESIGN',
      state: 'IN_PROCESS', // Send the agreement immediately
    };

    const agreementResponse = await axios.post(
      `${apiBaseUrl}/agreements`,
      agreementPayload,
      {
        headers: {
          'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
          'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        },
      }
    );

    console.log('Agreement sent successfully!');
    console.log('Agreement ID:', agreementResponse.data.id);
    console.log('Agreement Status:', agreementResponse.data.status);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error sending agreement:', error.response ? error.response.data : error.message);
  }
}

sendAgreementForSignature();

This JavaScript example uses the axios library to make HTTP requests to the Adobe Sign API. First, a document is uploaded as a transient document, which is a temporary file stored on the Adobe Sign servers. The ID of this transient document is then used to create a new agreement, specifying the document, agreement name, and the recipient's email address. The state: 'IN_PROCESS' parameter immediately sends the agreement for signature upon creation. Before running this code, ensure you have obtained an access token by following the Adobe Sign Getting Started guide for authentication and API key setup.