Two different jobs
Receiving: someone emails you a PDF, and you sign it and send it back. Sending: you prepare a document, send it to a customer, and wait for their signature. E-signature platforms focus on sending. This page is mostly about receiving, because that's what fills a small business owner's inbox.
A signed NDA, ready to send back from the phone.
Open your PDF. Add your signature. Send it back.What actually lands in a small business inbox
For a business of one to ten people, most signing requests come from outside. Typical ones are a vendor or supplier agreement, a credit application from a new wholesaler, and insurance renewal paperwork from your broker. You may also get a bank form to add a signer or change an account. A commercial lease addendum may come from your landlord, and W-9 requests from customers who pay you.
Each one arrives as a PDF attachment. You're often on a job site or between customers, not at a desk. The task is the same every time. Open it, fill in the business name and date, and sign. Then send it back so it shows up properly on the other side. If you're a contractor who needs the customer to sign on site, see getting signatures on the job site and the free change order form.
Bank and government forms are often scanned PDFs with no fillable fields. Signing scanned PDFs from banks and government covers those.
Which tool fits which job
| Your situation | What fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You receive a PDF, sign it, and return it | Apple Markup or eSign PDF | No platform or account needed. Flatten so the other side can see it. |
| Multi-page forms with dates, initials, and checkboxes | eSign PDF | Fill and sign in one pass. Flattened export. |
| You send quotes, contracts, or SOWs for customers to sign | DocuSign or a similar sending tool | Signer links, reminders, and a record of who signed when. |
| Several people must sign in order, or you need templates | DocuSign or a similar business plan | Routing and templates are what those platforms are built for. |
DocuSign pricing checked 2026-09-26: DocuSign Personal: $11 a month billed yearly ($132 a year), 5 envelopes a month. Business plans cost more.
What we'd recommend
Choose a sending platform like DocuSign if…
You regularly send your own contracts, estimates, or onboarding packets to customers and need to know when they've signed. That's what those tools are good at, and eSign PDF doesn't do it.
Choose eSign PDF if…
Most of your paperwork comes to you. You need to fill and sign vendor, insurance, and bank forms from your iPhone, and you'd rather keep them off third-party servers. $59.99 once (US), no account.
Stick with Apple Markup if…
You sign a few one-page forms a year and the people you send them to use Apple devices.
A simple setup for a small team
- ✓Decide who may sign for the business, and on which documents.
- ✓Each signer saves their own signature on their own iPhone. Don't share one person's signature image around the office.
- ✓Keep signed copies in one shared place, like a folder in Files or your usual cloud drive. Use a consistent name, such as 2026-09 Vendor – Acme Supply – signed.
- ✓Reply in the original email thread, so the other side can match the signed copy to their request.
- ✓When a bank or insurer asks for their own portal or a wet signature, do it their way. Some institutions have specific rules for account documents.
- ✓If you send contracts out too, use a sending tool for those and keep this workflow for what comes in.
Mistakes that make small businesses look sloppy
- ✕Printing, signing, and sending a phone photo of the page.
- ✕Sending an unflattened Markup file that shows up blank on the vendor's Windows PC.
- ✕Paying for a sending platform when all you ever do is sign what arrives.
- ✕Uploading bank or insurance forms with account numbers to a free website to sign them.
- ✕Signing on behalf of the business without checking that you're an authorized signer.
Cost vs a signing platform
eSign PDF: $59.99 one-time (US) per App Store purchase, no account, works offline. If several people sign on their own phones, each needs the app. For comparison, DocuSign Personal: $11 a month billed yearly ($132 a year), 5 envelopes a month. See the full DocuSign comparison. The App Store shows other plans and local prices.
FAQ
Does a small business need DocuSign?+
Only if you send documents for other people to sign. If you mostly receive PDFs to sign and return, you can do that on your phone without a platform.
Can I sign a vendor agreement on my iPhone?+
Yes. Open the PDF from Mail, fill in your business details, sign, flatten, and reply with the signed file attached.
Can eSign PDF send contracts to my customers to sign?+
No. eSign PDF signs documents you received. For sending, use DocuSign or a similar tool.
Where are the signed documents stored?+
On your iPhone, and wherever you share or save them, like Files, iCloud Drive, or email. There's no eSign PDF account or cloud.
How much does eSign PDF cost?+
$59.99 one-time (US). The App Store shows other plans and local prices.