Signing a document

When your accountant needs your signature, you get a link. You can sign from a phone, a tablet, or a computer.

Signing

Open the link and the document loads. Read it, then add your signature where indicated.

Draw your signature above with your finger, a stylus, or a mouse. It doesn't have to be neat — it has to be yours.

Where several signatures or initials are needed, you'll be walked to each one in turn. You can't accidentally skip one.

Verifying your identity

Some documents — particularly IRS e-file authorizations — require you to prove who you are before signing. This is a legal requirement, not something your accountant chose.

You'll Confirm your details: Legal name, Date of birth, and Social Security Number. Then you'll answer a few multiple-choice questions drawn from public records — old addresses, a former lender, a car you once financed.

Some honest advice about those questions:

• They can be genuinely hard. They're drawn from records going back years.
• None of the above is often the correct answer. Choose it when nothing looks right rather than guessing at the closest option.
• You get three attempts.

If you've moved recently, have a thin credit history, or are young, failing is common and it doesn't mean anything is wrong.

Signing by hand instead

You don't have to sign electronically. There's an option to Sign it by hand instead.

Download and print the document, sign it, and upload a photo or scan. This is a legitimate route, not a fallback for people who did something wrong. Some clients prefer it and some documents feel like they warrant it.

Declining

If you don't want to sign, you can decline. You'll be asked to confirm.

Declining isn't rude and it isn't final. It tells your accountant to talk to you, which is usually what's needed when something doesn't look right.

If the link has expired

You'll see Link expired or This link is no longer available. Ask your accountant to send a new one. It takes them a moment.

Notes

• You get a copy of what you signed.
• A signed document is stored with your accountant and appears in your documents.
• If you share an email address with a spouse, each of you still signs separately.