Capturing digital signatures and saving them to quotes, agreements, non-disclosures, and opportunities, is an effective method of ensuring compliance, mitigating risk, and streamlining your relationship with your customers.

A common scenario is to use Microsoft Dynamics 365 to help you move through the negotiating process to the point where some form of documentation will form an agreement.

Another common scenario is the need for a signed Non-Disclosure agreement that you want to link to your customers record.

These types of agreements usually need signatures. Saving these documents against the customer’s record in your Microsoft database allows you to recall them quickly and easily. Traditionally, to achieve this, you would print the paperwork and sign them by hand. Then you would scan, upload and save the document.

Alternatively, you can make the agreement available to the Signer/s on-line, ask them to electronically sign the document, and save it to the clients record in your database.

This second digital process is faster and much more efficient than saving documents manually.

There are several commercially available tools that can help you with the electronic process. Many of them integrate with the Microsoft Power Platform (Dynamics and Power Apps). One of the most popular solutions for Microsoft Dynamics 365 users is DocuSign which we will cover in this review.

DocuSign eSignature is the world’s number one way to sign documents electronically. It allows users to apply legally binding electronic signatures to various types of documents, such as non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), master service agreements (MSAs), purchase orders, vendor agreements, employment offer letters, and more.

These electronic signatures are admissible in court for most businesses and transactions. DocuSign helps organizations comply with relevant acts like the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act in the United States and the eIDAS act in the UK and European Union.

DocuSign has many features such as Contract Life Cycle Management, Document Generation, Contract Analytics, Payments and Clingwraps. In this review we will only cover the eSignature functionality.

The DocuSign Power Apps Connector is available in the Power Platform (which includes Dynamics 365). This allows you to create Power Automate Flows and connect to DocuSign from Power Apps applications.

DocuSign also have a comprehensive API that allows you to connect to DocuSign through an http action in a Power Automate flow, or to create a standalone application and connect to DocuSign through code.

DocuSign has three methods of integrating with Microsoft Dynamics and Power Platform applications. For all of these options, you will need a paid DocuSign account (pricing below), or a free DocuSign trial account with to connect with the DocuSign system.

Integration Options are:

1. The DocuSign application installed in your Microsoft Environment.
2. A Connector in the Power Platform to link Power Apps and Flows with DocuSign.
3. Connect Microsoft Power Platform with DocuSign through the DocuSign Rest API.

In this review we will look at each method so you can evaluate which option will be best for your organisation.

1. DocuSign Application

The installation of DocuSign into your Dynamics/Power Platform is straightforward. This installs the application, some tables, processes, forms and views. It is possible to install a free trial version.

The process of sending a document, and receiving it back signed, is relatively straightforward but does require some training. We always recommend documenting the process in a procedure to help users with the process.

The process adds DocuSign transactions to the record that is related to. This can be with one of the core Dynamics 365 records such as Account, Contact, Opportuniy, Quote etc. The transactions can then be accessed from the record that you initiated the process from.  The status of transactions are updated periodically to display if a document has been signed. This means it is easy to the view the status of DocuSign transactions that relate to a particular record.

Pros

1. Easy to setup the default instance.
2. The Sending user experience is straightforward.
3. The signer experience is relatively simple with plenty of default instructions when the Signer opens the email to guide them.
4. Templates can pre-populate merge fields to reduce manual input and make the process even easier.

Cons

1. The signed document is delivered back to the Inbox of the sender. If you want to link the signed document back to the originating record, this is done manually.
2. When sending the document from a Dynamics record that is not a Contact, you are sometimes prompted to find and select the relevant contact/contacts. This can be tedious.
3. By default, there is not a section created in Dynamics that lists all the DocuSign transactions for all records so you can easily identify documents not yet signed.
4. The application doesn’t work with Custom entities that you may create for a specific need.
5. The DocuSign application only works in a Model Driven App – not a Canvas app or Power Pages.

Comments

Points 1,2 and 3 in Cons can be overcome with Custom Pages, Forms, Views and Processes. This would require knowledge and experience that most users won’t have. Orby can help you with this.

2. Power Automate Flows

DocuSign have worked with Microsoft to create a Connector that provides excellent integration between Power Platform and DocuSign and allows high levels of automation through the implementation of Power Automate Flows.

The automation achieved reduces the amount of Sender and Signer involvement significantly.

From the Sender’s point of view, the total effort can be reduced to just selecting a record in a Power App or Dynamics 365 and clicking on a button.

From the Signer’s point of view, the only data entry would be manually adding their digital signature.

The result of this minimal input would be a electronically signed document stored against the Dynamics record it originated from.

Pros

1. A high level of automation change be achieved by significantly improving productivity. The user acceptance and adoption helps achieve organisational goals such as compliance and risk mitigation.
2. Power Automate flows can be used by Microsoft Canvas apps, Model-Driven Apps and Power Pages.
3. Flows can integrate with Custom Tables.

Cons

1. Although Power Automate flows seldom need any programming skills, creating a flow can be a challenge to anyone without experience in this type of automation. You would need to budget for some initial help from an organisation like Orby to create and implement complex flows.
2. Making changes to a Power Automate Flow is simpler than creating one, but you may still need to invest in some experienced help if a Flow needs to be modified.
3. By default, there is not a section created in Dynamics that lists all the DocuSign transactions for all records. Additional Pages, Forms and Views would need to be created to view and analyse DocuSign transactions.

Comments

The combination of Power Automate Flows and custom buttons in your applications is probably the best long-term solution.

Power Automate Flows can be used to enhance the processes implemented by the DocuSign application (Opton1 above) so you can have 2 options for your eSignature needs.

3. DocuSign API

The DocuSign API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of tools and protocols that allow developers to integrate DocuSign’s electronic signature functionality into their own applications, websites, or services. With the DocuSign API, developers can programmatically send documents for signature, track the status of documents, manage users and permissions, and perform various other tasks related to electronic document signing and management.

Using the DocuSign API, developers can create customized workflows, automate document processes, and leverage the power of electronic signatures to streamline business operations. The API supports various programming languages and platforms, making it accessible for developers working in different environments. Additionally, DocuSign provides comprehensive documentation, code samples, and developer resources to assist in the integration process.

For Microsoft Power Platform/Dynamics 365 users, custom applications can be created to connect to the DocuSign through the API to automate processes in a similar way to the options above.

Integration with the DocuSign API can also be added to Power Automate flows to achieve similar results to those we we can achieve with the DocuSign Power Platform connector.

In the background, the Power Platform Connector actually accesses the DocuSign system through the DocuSign API. The advantage of using the Power Automate Connector is that it can wrap many DocuSign API calls into a single Power Automate action. Using Power Automate flows instead of programmatically using an API, makes the process of creating a solution much simpler and manageable.

Pros

Can achieve the DocuSign read/write functions of Options 1 and 2.

Cons

Requires advanced skills and experience to achieve a useful solution.

Because of the additional effort required, the cost to develop and maintain a solution is higher.

Summary

The choice of which option you implement will depend on a number of factors including:

Profile of users:

• Attitude to change.
• Acceptance of new ways to achieve existing outcomes.
• Technical expertise of internal staff.
• Expertise of internal Technical Support.
• Expertise of, and relationship with, external Technical Support.

Urgency – Time Frame to get some form of system working because:

• You are incurring financial costs because you don’t have an effective system.
• You are losing Revenue by because you don’t have an effective system.
• You are exposed to risks caused by non-compliance because you don’t have an effective system.

Conclusion

If you want/need to get a solution implemented quickly, and you have confidence in the staff that will use the system, Option 1 will get you going quickly. You can assess the viability of implementing one of the other options in the future.

If time is not an issue and your budget allows it, the investment in Option 2 would provide the most rewarding long-term benefits.

Option 3 would apply if:

• Development time is not an issue.
• You have extremely technical internal staff.
• Financial cost is not an issue.
• You have specific and unique needs.

 Pricing

DocuSign offers several eSignature plans to cater to different needs and budgets as follows:

Personal Plan (For individuals and sole proprietors with basic e-signature needs):

• Monthly: $15
• Annually (billed annually): $120

Core features include document signing, real-time audit trails, and basic fields.

Standard Plan (For small to medium teams that need to send, sign, and collaborate):

• Monthly per user: $25
• Annually (billed annually) per user: $300

Includes all features from the Personal Plan, plus shared templates, collaborative commenting, and customized branding.

Business Pro Plan (For automating and optimizing agreements with advanced features):

Monthly per user: $40

Annually (billed annually) per user: $480

Includes all features from the Standard Plan, plus additional benefits like enhanced team management, streamlined workflows, and more.