A No-Nonsense Review of Docusign: Features, Pricing, Alternatives, and More!

A popular eSignature platform, Docusign aims to replace all paper-based processes in your business’ daily operation. It markets itself as an easy-to-use digital solution for streamlining inspections, checklists, work orders, and more.

But is Docusign the right choice for your field-based workforce?

To help you decide, we’ve taken a deep dive into what the platform offers, looking at its features, user experience, reviews, pricing, and more. 

Let’s dive in.

What Is Docusign?

Docusign is a cloud-based electronic signature platform designed for businesses of all sizes.

It offers tools for converting manual paperwork into customizable digital forms. These include eSignature apps, web forms, payments, and AI tools for agreement management. The app primarily targets companies in the financial services, insurance, real estate, and government sectors, among others.

Docusign Overview

The Docusign platform offers:

• Compliance & Security: Keeps documents in compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, and ISO.
• Mobile Forms: Allows creation and customization of forms with no coding required.
• Workflow Automation: Enables routing of forms, triggering of notifications, and automatic generation of reports.
• Cloud Storage & Access: Stores documents in the cloud for easy access.
• Analytics & Reporting: Offers real-time insights into document success (signatures) rates, turnaround time, etc.
• Offline Mode: Supports form completion without an active internet connection.
• Integrations: Connects with various third-party tools such as Google Sheets, Salesforce, and QuickBooks.

What it’s Like to Get Started With Docusign

Docusign offers a 30-day free trial where you’ll be asked for basics like email, name, and phone number. The platform creates a user account where you can invite up to 4 members for your trial.

You will then be asked about your industry and primary goals (agreement signature, use Docusign’s API, use templates, etc.) You can skip these, however, and go directly to the platform to explore Docusign’s features. 

A four-part onboarding tutorial awaits you once you log in. This can be completed at your convenience.

The Docusign tutorial walks you through actions like sending documents for signature, inviting team members onto the platform, creating a template for frequently used documents, and creating your personal signature. omation, and integrations. 

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The Docusign Web App Experience

The dashboard greets you with a blank template ready for use, as well as a welcome tutorial where you learn how to create eSignature documents.

Docusign’s top menu shows tabs for ‘Home’, ‘Agreements’, ‘Templates’, Reports, and ‘Admin’. A counter on the right side shows how many days you have left in the free trial. Next to this, a purple button allows you to view plans/tiers. Then you have a Help button next to your profile icon on the right side.  

At the bottom of the screen, a widget displays current offers and another ‘View Plans’ button. The dashboard is laid out in shades of purple with small text and buttons. It feels like a Canva or a Publisher layout come to life, and certainly not like your usual construction management dash.  

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The Docusign Mobile Experience

Docusign’s mobile app provides access to your online documents. It also offers controls for requesting signatures as well as signing them. Widgets for unsigned documents or those waiting for others’ signatures help you keep track of incomplete documents, while a mid-screen widget shows the most recent item on your inbox. 

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There are no quick buttons for accessing tabs; these are stored away in the icon at the top right corner. The dropdown menu shows tabs for ‘Home’ or the main dashboard, ‘Agreements’, ‘Library’, and ‘Settings’. 

The ‘Agreements’ tab shows a list of agreements stored in your account for the last 12 months. You can search these via the search icon in the top left corner. 

‘Library’ shows your collection of documents. An ‘Add Document’ on the bottom of the screen allows you to scan a file, upload it from your gallery or phone files, or download it from Google Drive. 

Finally, ‘Settings’ contains controls for customizing signing actions, notifications, document formats, offline mode, and accessing support. You also have access to your account profile via this tab. 

Getting back to the main page is not intuitive; you have to click the icon at the top right corner, access the dropdown menu, and click Home again to get back to the starting page. 

Docusign Key Features

What’s in Docusign’s ‘Home’ Tab?

‘Home’ takes you to the main dashboard where a blank template sits ready for use. Clicking ‘Start’ creates an Envelope where you can upload a document for signature.

You can upload files from your desktop, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. You can also opt to use one of Docusign’s templates. Once your file is uploaded, you can add recipients or select yourself as the only signatory. 

The app allows you to set the signing order and the actions needed. These are labeled as ‘Needs to Sign’, ‘In Person Signer’, ‘Receives a Copy (CC)’, and ‘Needs to View’. Further options for customization are available, including adding access codes for security and adding a private message to the recipient. 

Docusign allows you to send emails directly from the platform, complete with email subject and message fields. Advanced Options include giving recipients privileges to sign on paper or change signing responsibility. You can also choose to turn on auto reminders to nudge recipients toward an action (sign or decline). 

Admins like you can set expiration dates up to 120 days for documents needing signatures. You can also select options for mobile-friendly viewing and comment permissions for your document.

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What’s in Docusign’s ‘Agreements’ Tab?

‘Agreements’ houses your Inbox and displays ‘envelopes’ or eSignature documents by date, status, and sender. You can search these via the search bar or using custom fields for faster access to important documents.

Just like a regular email inbox, Docusign displays separate tabs for received, sent, completed, and unsigned documents. You can also quickly access drafts, deleted files, documents waiting for other recipients’ actions, documents expiring soon, and those with failed authentication.   

An option for sending documents in bulk is also available. You can further organize your files into custom folders as needed.

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Clicking either the ‘Start Now’ button, ‘Create an Envelope’ button, or ‘Continue’ next to a draft takes you back to the Envelope page, where you can create or edit an eSignature document.

This is either good or bad UI, depending on how long you’ve been using Docusign. For a new user, it can be a little distracting and overwhelming to memorize what certain buttons do. Three buttons for doing the exact same thing can feel a little like too much handholding. If you’re a longtime user of Docusign, it’s unclear whether this built-in redundancy in the platform is useful or annoying. 

Down the right-hand menu, Docusign flexes Maestro Workflow and Navigator, its AI tools under its IAM product. Maestro Workflow offers no-code automatic workflow customization for your Docusign processes, while Navigator is an AI repository for signed agreements. To try these out, you need to upgrade to Docusign’s higher-priced IAM Plans. 

At the bottom sits ‘PowerForms’, another invitation to try out Docusign’s specialized products. Powerforms provides direct access to document signing via a link. Again, you need to upgrade your tier to enjoy this feature. 

What’s in Docusign’s ‘Templates’ Tab?

‘Templates’ allows you to streamline the creation of frequently used documents. You can create your own template or use one of Docusign’s starter templates.

Similar to the Inbox layout, you’ll find tabs for viewing your templates, templates shared with you by other users, favorites, deleted, and more. You can also search templates by date, text, template ID, owner name and email, or recipient name and email. 

There are two ‘Create’ buttons on the screen for starting a template, and another one (‘Use’) for editing your template draft / envelope.

Docusign also offers useful starter templates categorized by industry. These include cross-industry templates (New Badge Request, Sales Contract, Purchase Order, etc.) and dedicated industry templates like Field Trip Permission Slip for educators and Joint Credit Application for financial services. 

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What’s more interesting is Docusign’s Workflow Templates, where you can perform actions in conjunction with other apps and systems.

For example, you can send a mutual NDA and then store a signed copy in Google Drive, or send new customer data to Stripe for invoicing. While this feature is still in beta mode, it’s readily available for users.

What’s in Docusign’s ‘Reports’ Tab?

‘Reports’ gives you a high-level view of your eSignature documents’ usage, success rate, and turnaround. You can see reports for specific envelopes / documents, recipients, and usage.

At the bottom of the page, Docusign reinforces its value proposition as a digital replacement for paperwork: a bar graph shows you how much carbon emissions you’ve saved by using its products. You can also see how much water and wood you’ve saved by going paperless, as well as the amount of waste you’ve avoided.

Lastly, Docusign quantifies your impact in certain numbers of trees conserved or cars removed from the road. While this serves as a good reminder for digitizing manual processes, the same can be said for most digital products used by businesses today.

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What’s in Docusign’s ‘Admin’ Tab?

The ‘Admin’ tab contains controls for managing users and documents while doubling as your profile page. You can view and edit your account’s plan and billing information using the top left-hand menu. You can also customize branding for your documents, set permissions for users and groups, configure settings for signing and sending documents, configure integrations, set agreement actions, and view audit logs. 

The main page also displays Docusign’s announcements about new product releases, while the right-hand side shows a list of admin resources.

Honestly, this tab has so much crammed into it and is trying to do a lot of things that the search bar for finding a setting is a necessity. This could have been 3 or 4 separate tabs at the least — profile/account settings, admin settings, resources + product announcements, audit logs, integrations, etc. — for the sake of user-friendliness and organization.

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Integrating Other Business Apps With Docusign

Docusign offers an extensive range of integrations with leading apps like Salesforce, SAP, Stripe, and others. It also offers a developer API and connection to cloud storage. However, at the time of research, we did not find an existing integration with QuickBooks, Sage, and other accounting / payroll apps which might be an issue for businesses using these systems.

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Docusign Might be a Good Fit for You If…

…eSignatures are a big part of your business. 

Docusign is serious about replacing paper-based processes with its sophisticated electronic signature platform. For industries where compliance and turnaround speed are critical (such as HR, legal, and finance), Docusign’s offerings solve a lot of pain points. 

However, if documentation is a basic but not a major part of your workforce’s daily jobs, Docusign’s advanced toolset may be the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. 

You Might Not Want to Use Docusign If…

…your workforce’s day-to-day routine goes beyond eSignatures.

Docusign is a popular tool for managing eSignatures for different industries, and it’s not a consequence that the app boomed during the pandemic’s no-contact restrictions.

However, for everything else — and that includes accurate, verified time-tracking, scheduling,  job costing, live map view, and job tracking — Docusign doesn’t have much to offer. 

Another thing is that Docusign isn’t built for field workers. It’s also unclear how far its AI capabilities extend beyond the web platform, and how it helps streamline day-to-day routines of mobile employees. 

If your business needs include enforcing accurate timekeeping, managing field staff activities, or tracking job progress in real time, Docusign alone will not be sufficient. In such cases, a dedicated workforce or field service management solution would be a better fit.

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Docusign Cost/Pricing

Docusign offers multiple-level tiers for its four products: eSignature, eSignature Real Estate, Developer API, and IAM.

The lowest-priced tier (Personal) belongs to its basic eSignature product, which starts at $15 per month. eSignature Real Estate’s lowest tier also starts at $15 per month, but this is a more specialized product. 

The highest-priced tier (IAM Professional) belongs to its IAM product, which includes AI capabilities for end-to-end agreement management. This product tier is priced at nearly a hundred dollars per user per month, with a minimum of three users required. 

Docusign Reviews

Users love Docusign’s versatility and wide range of functions, but some decried the high price point as well as persistent mobile issues.

This iOS reviewer says the app’s shortcomings prevents him from making updates to a contract on his iPad:

Garbage on mobile, still… ⭐ 

You would think after years and years DocuSign would get its act together and bring forward a fully functional document management platform that works anywhere and everywhere. Yet, DocuSign still fails miserably in doing so. Do you need to update, strike, add to a document? Well, unless you are on an PC (how 90’s) you cannot do any of that. I am on a brand new M1 iPad Pro trying to make updates to a contract, and this app just cannot get it done. Let’s switch to any of the major mobile browsers (Chrome, Safari, or Firefox) on my M1 IPad Pro, nope still just can’t make those changes. I have to wait until I am back at the office and at my desk at my PC (how 90’s, yes I know that’s the second time I have written that) to make any of the needed changes to the document. Here’s the hilarious part, DotLoop has been able to do all of this, out of the box, for years.

DocuSign when will you get it together? Stop messing around with your logo, and make the needed changes in the DNA of your system so it is response on all platforms or just sell the company and go find something else to make a mess of.

This Android user also complained about unneeded redundancies in the app:

⭐⭐ 

I can’t tell you how much I can’t stand the new 5-second pop up green check mark to tell me I’ve signed a document that I know I just signed. A complete waste of my time from an app that is supposed to facilitate more efficient use of my time.

This Capterra reviewer appreciated Docusign’s function for managing multiple documents at a time. However, the price point is an issue:

DocuSign is expensive! ⭐⭐ 

Overall: It was good, but too much money for what it’s being used for.

Pros: I liked how I could send multiple docs at a time

Cons: The least thing I liked about DocuSign is how expensive it is.

How (and Why) We Scored and Rated Docusign

Based on our sign-up and onboarding experience with the free trial, here’s how we scored Docusign:

Top Alternatives to Docusign

Docusign sells itself as a paperless tool for modern businesses, but plenty of competitors offer similar and more well-rounded solutions.

Final Thoughts

Docusign excels in managing digital documents and optimizing document-centric workflows. It has expanded its offerings ambitiously after its success during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when no-contact signatures were necessary.

However, Docusign’s focus is narrow and does not extend to time tracking, scheduling, or job costing. If your business needs more than just digital signatures, Docusign will not cover all your needs.

Workyard is a dedicated workforce management solution offering tools tailored for the field like GPS time tracking, scheduling, and job costing. It also offers advanced operations tools like its smart form builder. Workyard’s smart form builder enables you to create forms from photos or scan of your existing form. You can also import spreadsheets, convert forms from another tool, or download an image of a form you’d like to use—Workyard’s smart for builder will have a usable form for you to use in no time. 

Click the links above to see how it works, or sign up for a free trial of Workyard today to streamline your project management and time-tracking processes.