Sign

Odoo Sign allows you to send, sign and approve documents online.

You can upload any PDF file and add drag-and-dropping fields on it. These fields are automatically filled out with the user’s detail if they are logged in.

Validity of electronic signatures

The legal validity of electronic signatures generated by Odoo depends on the legislation of your country. Companies doing business abroad should consider electronic signature laws of other countries as well.

In the European Union

The eIDAS regulation establishes the framework for electronic signatures in all 27 member states of the European Union.

It distinguishes three types of electronic signatures:

1. Electronic signatures

2. Advanced electronic signatures

3. Qualified electronic signatures

Odoo generates the first type, regular electronic signatures, and these signatures can produce legal effects in the EU, as the regulation states that “an electronic signature shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in an electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements for qualified electronic signatures.”

Note that electronic signatures may not be automatically recognized as valid. You may need to bring supporting evidence of a signature’s validity.

In the United States of America

The ESIGN Act (Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act), at the interstate and international levels, and the UETA (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act), at the state level, provide the legal framework for electronic signatures. Note that Illinois and New York have not adopted the UETA, but similar acts instead.

Overall, to be recognized as valid, electronic signatures have to meet five criteria:

1. A signer must show a clear intent to sign. For example, using a mouse to draw a signature can show intent. The signer must also have the option to opt-out of electronically signing a document.

2. A signer must first express or imply their consent to conduct business electronically.

3. The signature must be clearly attributed. In Odoo, metadata, such as the signer’s IP address, is added to the signature, which can be used as supporting evidence.

4. The signature must be associated with the document being signed, for example, by keeping a record detailing how the signature was captured.

5. Electronically signed documents need to be retained and available for later reference by all parties involved, for example, by providing the signer either a fully-executed copy or the option to download a copy.

Field Types

By configuring your own Field Types, also known as Signature Item Types, you can make the signing process even faster for your customers, partners, and employees.

To create and customize fields, activate the developer mode. Then head to Documents ‣ Configuration ‣ Field Types and click on Create.

After giving your new field a name, select one of the six Types available:

• Signature: users are prompted to enter their signature either by drawing it, automatically generating one based on their name, or uploading a local file (usually an image). Each subsequent Signature field then reuses the data entered in the first field.

• Initial: users are prompted to enter their initials, in a similar way to the Signature field.

• Text: users enter text on a single line.

• Multiline Text: users enter text on multiple lines.

• Checkbox: users can tick a box (e.g.,to mark their approval or consent).

• Selection: users choose a single option from a variety of options.

Next, you have the option to auto-complete fields for users based on their Odoo profile information by using Automatic Partner Field. To this end, the Name, Email, Phone, and Company fields are preconfigured in your database.

You can then change the size of the field by editing the Default Width and Default Height. Both sizes are defined as a percentage of the full-page expressed as a decimal, with 1 equalling the full-page’s width or height. By default, the width of new fields you create is set to 15% (0.150) of a full-page’s width, while their height is set to 1.5% (0.015) of a full-page’s height.

Next, write a Tip. Tips are displayed inside arrows on the left-hand side of the user’s screen during the signing process. You can also use a Placeholder text to be displayed inside the field before it is completed.