As companies and nonprofits are increasingly moving towards paperless business processes, application builders are offering solutions to aid in this endeavor. One of the more recent developments has been the e-signature option for completing contracts, invoices, and agreements. While there are many options available to Salesforce and Congamerge users, here is a quick comparison of two of the top competitors: DocuSign and Sertifi.
As mentioned, both integrate with Salesforce and Congamerge; both require users to maintain a portal in a 3rd party website (www.docusign.com and www.sertifi.net, respectively); both allow for users to modify an individual document before sending; and both offer the option of pre-scheduling reminders to recipients if they delay in responding. From a configuration standpoint, both easily integrate with Opportunity objects in Salesforce, and with some tweaking, can be integrated with other objects, including custom objects. This customized configuration can become involved and technical for both apps. Both also create a related list within the connected Salesforce object that tracks sent documents, attaches the most recent version (signed or not), and easily shows the unsigned, in progress, or completed statuses of each document.
But let’s leave the similarities: it’s the differences that potential users will want to weigh.
DocuSign currently has a tighter integration with Congamerge, a popular app that allows for complex template and email merging (www.congamerge.com). This is evidenced by the mere availability of Congamerge parameters that dictate actions to the app: 26 parameters for DocuSign, 4 parameters for Sertifi. However, within probably months of publishing this blog, Sertifi will release an additional 15-20 parameters. At the moment, it is possible to create a one-click solution from Congamerge to DocuSign only, but the upcoming parameters from Sertifi should support this feature for Sertifi as well.
For readers who have never explored Sertifi, the most unique feature is its collaboration space. Users and their clients can leave messages, feedback, and suggestions for each other on this social-media-style private forum. It will also post when a document is signed or a payment submitted.
Additionally, Sertifi offers signers the ability to easily view and print their signed document immediately after signing, and through a confirmation email. Viewing and retrieving signed documents is a little more complicated through DocuSign. While both apps support the abilityto submit payments, if for example you want to have your invoice both signed and paid for electronically, there is a difference in how the payment submissions function. DocuSign uses PayPal for all monetary transactions, while Sertifi provides a gateway that works with an organization’s current credit card processing system. Sertifi’s processing is secure (PCI compliant), and no personal or financial information is stored in Sertifi at all.
Both applications have their strengths and weaknesses, and every business has its own priorities. If efficiency and flexibility are top for your organization, DocuSign may be the right choice. However, if customer collaboration and cooperation are most important, Sertifi could be the better fit. Of course, a major consideration for all is price– you should call a sales representative to get the most accurate quotes and promotions. But according to their websites, Sertifi starts at $20 per user per month with at least 5 users, while DocuSign requests interested customers call for pricing (the next lowest price is $30 per user per month).
Regardless of your needs, there is a paperless solution for every aspect of your business processes.