Zoho Sign: Product Updates - Mid-2022

Hello, everyone!

As we cross the halfway point in 2022, Zoho Sign is about to turn five years old! So, allow us to catch you up on what we have been up to lately.

We mentioned in our last update that much of our recent focus has been on broadening Zoho Sign's legal applicability and it is no different this time. As you will learn in this post, we have been actively identifying suitable regional authorities, trust service providers, and integrating with their services to keep up with evolving regulations.

We are also happy to share that Zoho Sign has once again been named a Gold Medalist and a Leader in the 2022 Electronic Signature Data Quadrant Awards by SoftwareReviews. We have now managed to earn this recognition for the second year running.

Here's an outline of all the additions we have made to Zoho Sign over the past six months, and also a quick peek at what's in our release pipeline for the rest of the year.

What's new?

Aadhaar eSign for India
Qualified Electronic Signatures for the European Union

via EU eID
via InfoCert

Sign with Singpass for Singapore
Payment integration with Zoho Checkout
Send documents for signatures/approval via SMS
Zoho Writer editor integration via Zoho WorkDrive
Bulk sign for documents with identical fields
New third-party integrations

HubSpot
Vtiger
Integrately

Organization activity logs
Export option for signer field data from signed documents in bulk send
Enhanced options for downloading documents
Enhancements to setting up webhooks
Option to unsubscribe from recipient reminders
New fonts for signer field data in documents
Launch of service in the Japan datacenter
Support for migration to other datacenters
Enhancements to the Zoho Writer integration

Aadhaar eSign for India

Organizations subscribed to the Enterprise plan and based in our Indian datacenter can now get documents signed via Aadhaar eSign. This integration allows residents of India and non-residing Indian nationals to digitally sign documents using their Aadhaar. Documents signed this way are legally valid and carry a recognized form of signature under Section 3A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The signed documents also carry an embedded timestamp. This integration can be used by both users of Zoho Sign and external signers. Learn more

Qualified Electronic Signatures for the European Union

Organizations subscribed to the Enterprise plan and based in our EU datacenter now have more options and providers to choose from to sign their documents with Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES). QES carries the legal equivalence of wet signatures or signing documents with pen and paper.

via EU eID
This allows residents of the European Union to digitally sign documents with a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) generated by authenticating themselves through one of the supported European ID or eID procedures. Zoho Sign has integrated with an electronic signature aggregator called eID Easy to offer this service. The signed documents also carry an embedded timestamp. This integration can be used by both users of Zoho Sign and external signers. Learn more

via InfoCert
Zoho Sign has also partnered with InfoCert, an authorized Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) as per the eIDAS regulation 910/2014, and integrated with their services to offer QES. This integration can only be enabled for and used by users who have a Zoho account and are part of a Zoho Sign organization. It requires users to register with InfoCert to obtain the QES. The signed documents also carry an embedded timestamp. Learn more

Sign with Singpass for Singapore

Organizations subscribed to the Enterprise plan and based in our US datacenter can enable the Sign with Singpass service. This integration allows residents of Singapore and overseas users (SFA) to digitally sign documents with their Singpass digital ID, and it uses digital signature certificates issued by the National Certification Authority. Documents signed with Singpass are recognized as carrying secure electronic signatures under Singapore's Electronic Transactions Act. This integration can be used by both users of Zoho Sign and external signers. Learn more

Payment integration with Zoho Checkout

Users can now collect signatures in documents and any associated payments in a single workflow through Zoho Sign's integration with Zoho Checkout. Users can add a Payment field for signers in documents and integrate it with a payment page that they have set up on Zoho Checkout. This enables them to collect payments at the same time as signatures and thus helps organizations do business even more efficiently. This integration is available in our Enterprise plan. Learn more

Send documents for signatures/approval via SMS

Users can now send documents for signatures and approval not just via email but also SMS. Users can choose the option to deliver document signature requests via SMS for each recipient when setting up a sign workflow and enter the recipients' phone number(s). The SMS sent to the recipient(s) will contain a secure link for them to access the document and sign/approve/view it. This is available in all paid plans of Zoho Sign. Learn more

Zoho Writer editor integration via Zoho WorkDrive

Users can now edit documents directly from Zoho Sign while building sign workflows, if the documents have been imported from Zoho WorkDrive and their file format is supported by Zoho Writer. Clicking on the edit option opens the documents in a separate window to make the required changes. Once edited, users can sync the updated files back to the sign workflow using the sync option and send them out for signatures.

Bulk sign for documents with identical fields

Users can now sign multiple documents in bulk when they all have identical fields or just fields that can be auto-filled from the signers' Zoho Sign profile data. This is commonly sought when a user has to sign/approve many documents within an organization, and these documents are typically generated using bulk send, templates, or via integrations with other Zoho apps like Zoho People and Zoho Writer. Users can use this feature only to sign documents internally within their Zoho Sign organization i.e. only when the documents they have to sign originate from their own Zoho Sign organization. This is available in our Enterprise plan. Learn more

New third-party integrations

HubSpot
Users can now create and send documents for signatures using Zoho Sign and track them directly from their sales hub on HubSpot. Users need to install the Zoho Sign app from the HubSpot marketplace to make use of this integration. Learn more
Vtiger
Users can now create e-signature workflows to send documents for signing and track them in real time directly from Vtiger CRM. Users need to enable the eSign add-on in Vtiger and integrate it with Zoho Sign by creating a client on Zoho API console for use. Learn more
Integrately
Users can now connect Zoho Sign with 725+ online applications via Integrately to build advanced and automated workflows that are triggered by e-sign actions. Learn more

Organization activity logs

Administrators can now view a more detailed history of activity across users within a Zoho Sign organization. In addition to sender and recipient activity in documents, many other administrative actions such as addition and removal of users, creation of templates and SignForms, sharing of documents and templates, changes to contacts, folders, and document types, and changes to document signature requests and some general settings and account configurations are now audited within Zoho Sign. These activities can be monitored by administrators by visiting Reports >> Activity log from the Zoho Sign dashboard.

Export option for signer field data from signed documents in bulk send

In the case where documents have been sent to many recipients in bulk, users can now export the document field data entered by signers at the time of signing in a CSV file. Users can access this option by visiting Documents >> Sent >> Bulk send and opening the desired bulk send request.

Enhanced options for downloading documents

Users now have multiple options to choose from when downloading documents from Zoho Sign. Users may choose to download just the documents in a request (in a ZIP file if more than one), or just the completion certificate, or all of them in a ZIP file, or all of them merged into a single PDF file. In the case of the merged PDF file, the file will only contain the common digital signature certificate issued to Zoho Sign and the signatures of the individual signers will be captured merely as visible signatures.

Enhancements to setting up webhooks

Users now have the option to send a sample payload to the callback URL when setting up a webhook. This can be used to test the payload delivery and verify the webhook's configuration and connectivity. Learn more

Option to unsubscribe from recipient reminders

Recipients now have the option to unsubscribe from further reminders for documents awaiting their signatures or approval. This can prevent recipients from receiving too many emails during the paperwork turnaround period and also serves as a minor anti-spam measure. This is available to both users of Zoho Sign and external signers when they receive document signature requests.

New fonts for signer field data in documents

Zoho Sign now supports two new additional fonts—Lato and Poppins—in the Document Viewer screen for signer fields. Senders can set these fonts for text-based fields from the formatting options available when adding them to documents.

Launch of service in the Japan datacenter

Zoho Sign has now launched services from our Japanese data centers. Previously, Japanese customers were served from our US data centers, but now the ability to store and manage their paperwork digitally within Japan will help them comply better with the strict domestic security requirements. The service in the Japanese data center also includes digital document timestamping via SEIKO Cyber Time, an officially certified timestamping authority (TSA) in Japan. Zoho Sign is available in Japan both as a standalone subscription or as a part of the Zoho One bundle. Learn more

Support for migration to other datacenters

Zoho Sign now supports migration of organizations from one data center to another. Typically, when users create a Zoho account, and a Zoho Sign account by extension, all their information is stored in one of our data centers automatically assigned to them, corresponding to their location and based on their IP address. All user data is strictly stored in the assigned datacenter and restricted from being moved to other geographical locations. However, due to evolving regional regulations and geopolitical developments, scenarios may arise where users will want to migrate their accounts and data from one datacenter to another. In these cases, users can write to migrations@zohoaccounts.com and our team will guide them through the process. Learn more

Enhancements to the Zoho Writer integration

Our integration with Zoho Writer now provides users with additional options when setting up Sign templates. In addition to being able to send the documents out for signatures, users can also self-sign them now and track the signing progress for documents sent out by simply clicking on the document status pane. Users also have the options to set the email language, add a private message, and enable authentication for recipients directly from Writer when setting up a sign workflow now. Additionally, users can also have a copy of the signed document automatically emailed to their associates upon completion.

Please give these new updates a try and let us know your thoughts and feedback!

What's coming?

Control measures for FDA Title 21 CFR Part 11 compliance
Recipient authentication for the EU via eID
Integrations with more regional trust service providers

Advanced Electronic Signatures for SouthAfrica
Qualified Electronic Signatures in Switzerland for ZertES compliance
Signing with personal AATL certificates from a US-based certification authority

Knowledge Based Authentication (KBA) for the United States
Options for visible signature in signed documents
Automatic field detection in uploaded documents
Support for multiple organizations/portals
Support for additional languages - Czech, Slovakian, Hungarian (and more)
Enterprise add-ons for popular Zoho bundles

Zoho PeoplePlus
Zoho Contracts

Third-party integrations

Microsoft PowerAutomate
Pipedrive

Some of these upcoming features are already in the release-ready state awaiting confirmation from both internal and external stakeholders for their launch. Several others are in an advanced development stage and we hope to release them before 2022 ends.

Do keep tracking this space and follow us for the official announcements when we introduce these features. If you seek any clarification on the information presented in this announcement, or if you have any other queries or feedback, feel free to comment below. For all other support and assistance, please write to support@zohosign.com.

Happy Zoho Signing!

Cheers.

Sai

Topic Participants
Sai Anand N
Alwin
Saravanakumar V

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