Free DocuSign alternative for simple contracts
A free way to get a simple contract signed online: what QuoteBill E-Contracts does, what it does not, and when you need an advanced e-signature service.
Is there a free DocuSign alternative for simple contracts?
For a plain business agreement, yes, within limits. QuoteBill E-Contracts lets a free member write a contract, sign it first and send each signer a link. It makes a simple electronic signature with an audit trail. DocuSign is a long-established e-signature service that offers advanced signature options, identity checks, integrations and paid plans. Check its current pricing and plans on its own site.
This guide says what QuoteBill does and does not do, so you can judge whether a simple signature is enough. It is not legal advice.
What QuoteBill E-Contracts does
It is free for members, within fair-use daily limits that the E-Contracts page lists. The sender needs a free account; the people who sign do not.
- Start from one of 35 sample contracts, from a quotation or invoice you already made, or from a blank page, and edit every clause.
- When you send, the text is frozen with a SHA-256 fingerprint, so a later change can be detected. You sign first, as party A.
- Each signer gets a link and, by default, an 8-character access code. They read and sign on a phone or computer by drawing or typing a name or using a seal image, on screens in 33 languages.
- Every step goes into an audit trail. A signed contract comes with a signature certificate and an evidence file that anyone can check on a public verification page.
- After everyone has signed, print or save the contract as a PDF with its certificate, or make the invoice from it.
How sending works: an example
QuoteBill sends no email to signers. After you send, it shows each signer’s link and access code once. You deliver the link yourself, by email or messenger, and the code by another route, such as a phone call or text message.
Example: a freelance designer agrees a website job with a client. She starts from the Freelance or consulting agreement, enters the client and the fee, replaces every [[…]] blank, signs, and emails the link. She texts the code. The client signs on his phone that afternoon, and she makes a deposit invoice from it.
What QuoteBill leaves out
It is not an advanced or qualified electronic signature, and QuoteBill does not verify who signs. It records the use of the link and code you delivered, so anyone holding both can sign, and anyone holding the link if you switch the code off. The certificate is QuoteBill’s own record, not one from a trust service provider.
- No identity check: a signer’s name is what the signer types or draws.
- No email delivery: you send each link and code yourself.
- No bulk sending, no connection to your other business software, and at most three signers a contract.
- No Word file: a contract is printed or saved as a PDF through your browser, not exported to Word.
When you should use something else
Choose a service built for the job when any of these applies:
- A law, a regulator or the other side requires an advanced or qualified electronic signature.
- You need the signer’s identity checked, not only the use of a link and a code.
- The document is one the law keeps for another form: a will, a guarantee given as a private person, a notarised deed or a land transfer.
- You send one agreement to many people at once, or need contracts tied to a CRM, storage or payment tool.
- The other side is a consumer, and you have not checked the consumer rules.
Is a simple signature enough? A checklist
Whether a signature is enough depends on the contract and the country. Before you send, ask:
- Does a law prescribe a form for this kind of document where you are? If so, follow it.
- Do you know who will receive the link and the code?
- Is the value low enough that a record of the text, link, code and times is reasonable evidence?
- Is every [[…]] blank replaced? The editor refuses to send while one is left.
- Will you keep your own copy of the signed contract, certificate and evidence file?
Where to start
Read the sample contracts on the E-Contracts template list, each with its full text, or open the E-Contracts page to see what your client sees. The guides on how e-signatures work and on simple, advanced and qualified signatures cover the legal side.
Sources
225 Free Invoice, Quote & Receipt Templates
Free quotation generator
Download the quotation as Excel or Word with the formulas working, or edit it online and turn an accepted quote into an invoice. Free with a QuoteBill account.
Free invoice generator
Download the invoice as Excel or Word with the formulas working, or edit it online with your logo and tax settings and save a PDF. Free with a QuoteBill account.
Consultant invoice template
Create a consulting invoice for hourly or project work, research and report delivery. Add payment terms, review the total and export PDF.
Use QuoteBill in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini
Connect QuoteBill to ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini in about three minutes, then ask for quotations and invoices in plain words. Setup steps, example requests and privacy.
Quote to invoice: convert an accepted quote
Turn an accepted quote into a separate invoice draft in QuoteBill. Keep the original quotation, review dates and amounts, save, and prepare a PDF.
Quotation vs invoice: differences and timing
Compare a quotation and an invoice by purpose, dates, amounts, and next steps. Follow a practical project example and the matching QuoteBill workflow.
How to write a quotation: fields and checklist
Write a clear quotation with customer details, scope, quantities, prices, dates, and terms. Use a worked example and check the QuoteBill PDF before sharing.
Invoice payment terms: Net 15, Net 30, due dates
Write clear invoice payment terms with Net 15 and Net 30 examples, an explicit due date, deposit checks, and a practical follow-up checklist.
Freelance invoice checklist: hours and fees
Prepare a freelance invoice with a worked hourly-plus-fixed-fee example, scope and expense checks, billing details, and a PDF checklist before sending.
International invoice currency: rates and fees
Clarify invoice currency, settlement currency, exchange-rate examples, and bank fees. Review cross-border tax and QuoteBill country-setting limits.
Invoice numbering: sequences and corrections
Plan a traceable invoice numbering system with year and sequence examples, checks across devices, correction records, and QuoteBill numbering limits.
Proforma vs invoice: payment and export use
Compare a proforma, payment invoice, and commercial export invoice with a worked goods-order example and a checklist for choosing the right document.
German invoice requirements: the mandatory details
What a German invoice must contain under § 14 UStG, what a small-amount invoice up to EUR 250 may leave out, and how the small-business and reverse-charge notes work.
Japan qualified invoice: the required entries
The six entries a Japanese qualified invoice must carry, how the registration number is written, how amounts are split by tax rate and rounded, and when a simplified invoice is allowed.
Korean tax invoice: required entries and the electronic form
The four mandatory entries on a Korean tax invoice, the optional ones, when an electronic tax invoice must be issued and transmitted, and how it differs from an exempt-supply invoice.
Quote, proforma, invoice, receipt, credit note: which to use
Which document belongs to which stage of a sale: when each is issued, who issues it, what it shows and its tax effect, with one order traced end to end.
Credit note vs invoice (and credit memo): how to issue one
When to issue a credit note instead of editing an invoice, what it must show, a worked return example, and how it differs from a credit memo and a debit note.
What a receipt must show (and receipt vs invoice)
What to put on a payment receipt, how it differs from an invoice, how to handle deposits and part payments, and a worked example: two receipts, one invoice.
Estimate vs quote: what binds you, with a remodeling example
Estimate or quote: the practical difference, splitting labor, materials and equipment, clauses for hidden damage and changes, and a worked remodeling example.
How QuoteBill e-signatures work, and are they legally binding?
What a QuoteBill e-signature records, how EU, US, Korean, Japanese and German law treat simple electronic signatures, and which documents need another form.
Simple, advanced or qualified e-signature?
The three eIDAS levels in plain words, where QuoteBill's simple signature fits, when it is enough, and how Korea, Japan and Germany draw the line.
Electronic contracts and Japan’s stamp duty: is a stamp needed?
Why an electronic contract needs no Japanese revenue stamp, when a printout or paper original becomes taxable, and which paper contracts still need one.
Japan: keeping an electronic contract as a tax record
Keeping a contract made by email or e-signing service as data under Japan's electronic transaction rules: retention period, requirements, 2024 grace measure.
Japan's Freelance Act: the terms a client must state in writing
What a Japanese client must state when commissioning a freelancer: the eight items, email and chat as valid means, the 60-day payment rule and where to turn.
Free DocuSign alternative for simple contracts
A free way to get a simple contract signed online: what QuoteBill E-Contracts does, what it does not, and when you need an advanced e-signature service.
Free invoice template in Excel, Word or PDF
Which format suits an invoice: Excel with live formulas, editable Word or PDF. Fill it in online, no download needed, with a worked example and a checklist.
Free quotation template in Excel, Word or PDF
Excel, Word or PDF for a quotation: live formulas while the price moves, editable wording, a final PDF. With a painting example and a pre-send checklist.
35 English contract templates to edit and save as PDF
Thirty-five sample contracts with English clauses: read each in full, edit online, save as PDF. Why there is no Word file, and what to check before use.
Compare free invoice generators: ten checks
Ten product-neutral checks for a free invoice generator: formats, account, tax, numbering, data and price. Where QuoteBill meets each, and where it does not.
Unpaid invoice: follow up, record part payments, send a statement
What a customer still owes after part payments and credit notes, how to follow up before and after the due date, and when to send a statement of account.