eSignatures — firm guide

Quick answer

Enable the eSignatures app in Settings & Apps, then open any non-recurring task to add signing documents (PDF or Word) and assign signers from your team or the Client Portal. Signers receive tasks in their queue, draw or type a signature, click Adopt and sign, and Uku produces a signed ASiC-E container you can download.

Who can do this

• Plan: Elite only.
• Enable the app: Company Owners and Company Admins.
• Set up signing on a task: any team member with access to the task.
• Sign: internal members and Client Portal contacts added as signers.

What eSignatures produces

E-signing lets you collect legally binding electronic signatures on documents directly inside Uku — no third-party tool required. The entire process stays within your workflow: you attach a document to a task, assign the signers, and track who has signed and who is still pending.

When all parties have signed, Uku generates a signed container file in ASiC-E format (Associated Signature Container Extended). This is a standards-compliant archive that bundles the original document together with each signer’s signature, timestamps, and optionally their IP address, preserving long-term legal validity.

E-signing works on any regular (non-recurring) task. Templates and recurring tasks do not support e-signing.

Enabling the eSignatures app

1. Go to Settings & Apps in your company settings.
2. Find eSignatures in the app list and open it.
3. Read the overview, then activate the app.
4. Switch to the Settings tab to configure signature placement:

• Position — where signatures appear on the document: Bottom right, Bottom left, Top right, or Top left.
• Placement — which pages carry the signature block: Last page, First page, or All pages.
• Include timestamp — optionally stamp the signing date and time next to each signature.
• Include IP address — optionally record the signer’s IP address for audit purposes.

1. Click Save.

Setting up a task for signing

Once the app is active, any non-recurring task shows a Signature (pen icon) button in the task toolbar.

1. Open the task you want to send for signing.
2. Click the Signature button in the task action bar. A signing section appears at the bottom of the task.
3. In edit mode, click Select file (PDF, DOC) or Add file to attach the document to be signed. Only PDF, DOC, and DOCX files are accepted — other file types are filtered out automatically while signing mode is active.
4. You can attach multiple documents if the signing requires more than one file.
5. Optionally set a Sign due date — the deadline by which all signers should complete the signing. Uku will adjust the task due date if the sign deadline falls outside the current task date range.
6. Add at least one signer (see below), then click Save.

Adding signers

The signing section has two separate signer pickers:

Add contact — adds signers from the Client Portal contacts linked to this client. This requires:

• The Client Portal app to be active for your company.
• Client Portal enabled for this specific client.
• At least one portal contact invited for this client. If the Client Portal is not set up, clicking Add contact shows a checklist of what still needs to be configured.

Add member — adds internal team members as signers. Any person-type member visible on the task can be added here.

Both signers and assignees stay in sync. When you add a signer, Uku automatically adds them as a task assignee so the task appears in their queue. If you later remove an assignee who is also a signer, Uku confirms that removing the assignee will also remove their signer entry.

The signing flow

Once the signing is saved, each signer sees a Sign button on the task. Clicking it opens the signature panel, which offers three methods:

• Name letters — the signer types their name (pre-filled from their profile) and Uku renders it in a cursive font as the signature. The most common option for quick signing.
• Draw — the signer draws their signature on a touch or mouse canvas. A Clear button resets the canvas.
• Upload — the signer uploads a PNG or JPEG image of their signature.

After choosing a method, the signer reviews this statement: “By selecting Adopt and Sign, I agree that this mark will be the electronic representation of my signature.”

Clicking Adopt and sign submits the signature. The button is disabled until a valid signature is present.

Tracking signing status

The signing section of a task always shows the current status for each signer:

• Pending — signer has not yet opened the signing panel.
• Viewed — signer has opened the panel (with timestamp on hover).
• Signed — signer has completed Adopt and sign (with timestamp on hover).

Status updates immediately when a signer acts — no page refresh needed.

Downloading the signed container (ASiC-E)

Once documents are attached, the action menu in the signing section shows a Download (or Download all if multiple documents are attached) option. This downloads the ASiC-E container — the tamper-evident archive containing the original documents and all collected signatures.

The signed container file is also listed in the task’s file section highlighted in the signature color, making it easy to distinguish from other task attachments.

When every signer has signed, the Regenerate option becomes available in the action menu. Use this if you need to produce a fresh container after the last signature.

Removing signing from a task

To remove signing entirely from a task, open the action menu and choose Delete. Uku asks for confirmation, then removes the signing section and its associated signed container from the task files.

Tips

• Recurring tasks cannot use e-signing. If you need repeating signed documents, create a new non-recurring task for each signing cycle.
• Changing the document after signing resets all signatures. Uku warns you before saving if this will happen.
• The sign due date and the task due date are separate. If the sign deadline would fall outside the task date range, Uku updates the task dates automatically (with a confirmation prompt).
• Signature placement is a global setting. The position and page options in Settings & Apps apply to all documents signed through Uku.

Troubleshooting

The Signature button is not visible on the task

The eSignatures app must be activated in Settings & Apps. Also confirm the task is not a recurring task — e-signing is only available on non-recurring tasks.

Cannot add a client contact as a signer

Adding a contact requires: (1) Client Portal app active for your company, (2) Client Portal enabled for this specific client, and (3) at least one portal contact with an active invitation for this client. Uku shows which condition is missing when you click Add contact.

Signer says they cannot find the Sign button

Confirm the signer is listed in the signing section of the task. For Client Portal contacts, confirm they are logged into the correct company’s portal. For internal members, confirm they have access to the task.

Download button produces an incomplete file

If not all signers have signed yet, the downloaded container contains only the signatures collected so far. Wait until all signers have signed (all show Signed status), then use Regenerate from the action menu and download again.