What is electronic signature software?

Electronic signature software is the system that takes a PDF, collects a legally attributable mark from the right person, and files the result with a trail you can read later. The useful unit of work is an envelope: one document, one set of fields, one or more signing links, and a status that moves from draft to sent to completed — or to declined, voided, or expired.

Inkpacket is that workspace at inkpacket.com. You prepare an envelope on the desk, send a tokenized link, and keep the audit on the same envelope. This pillar explains the pieces, what belongs in a modern desk, and what stays out of scope so the product can stay simple. If you already know the category and just need the click-path, read how to send a document for signature in under five minutes. If a send is already out and something went sideways, use envelope admin: void, correct, resend, and when signers decline.

What an electronic signature actually is

An electronic signature is a record that a named person intended to sign a specific document at a specific time. The mark on the page — a typed name, a drawn signature, or a click that applies a saved mark — is only the visible part. The software has to bind that mark to the file, to the signer identity you invited, and to the events around the click: viewed, signed, completed.

That binding is why a workspace exists. Anyone can drop a PNG of a signature onto a PDF. Software worth running also stores who received the link, whether they opened it, whether they declined, and whether the sender later voided or corrected the envelope. Inkpacket writes those events on the document and scopes them to the organization.

Electronic signatures in this foundation are simple, not qualified. Inkpacket does not ship notary workflows, knowledge-based authentication, or qualified electronic signatures. Those stay out of this pass so the desk can stay a PDF, fields, a link, a signature, an audit, and a download. The FAQ states that limit in the same words the product uses.

How the software works

Every send follows the same loop, whether you start from a one-off upload or a saved template.

The envelope

An envelope is the envelope around one PDF. It has a title, a status, field marks, signer records, and an audit log. You create it by uploading a file on the desk or by starting from a workspace template that already has the marks. Nothing about that envelope leaks across organizations. Roles stay ordinary: owners create the workspace, admins invite, members send.

The fields

Signature, date, and text marks sit on the page as coordinates stored as percentages. That way the same marks land on the completed file after Inkpacket stamps values with pdf-lib. You place them once on a draft — or once on a template and reuse the layout. Fields and routing are locked once the envelope is sent.

The signing link

Each signer gets a tokenized URL. They open it without creating an account, view the PDF, complete required fields, and submit. When Resend is configured, Inkpacket emails the link. When it is not, the desk still shows the URL so you can copy it. You can optionally require an access code before anyone can view or sign, and you can iframe the same signer on a host page you already operate. See signing link and embedded signing on your own site.

The audit trail

Created, sent, viewed, signed, completed, declined, voided, corrected, expired — those are the events a sender actually uses when someone asks “what happened to this agreement?” Inkpacket stores them on the document. Outbound webhooks can POST the same lifecycle to your own systems. The trail is readable on the desk; it is not a mystery export.

What the signer sees

The signer lands on a page that shows the PDF and the fields you placed. If you set an access code, they enter it first — and they should have received that code through a channel other than the invite email. After a handful of wrong guesses the page locks briefly. If the envelope has expired, they cannot complete it. If you voided it, the link simply stops working. If they do not want to sign, they can decline with a reason; the envelope status becomes declined and signing stops.

Embedded signing uses the same token. You iframe /embed/sign/TOKEN or the invite URL at /sign/TOKEN. The iframe posts viewed, signed, and completed to the parent. Desk help has the snippet and the frame-ancestors allowlist. Signers still do not need an Inkpacket account.

Workspace features that belong in the desk

A signing link alone is not a product. The desk has to survive the week after you hit send. These are the features Inkpacket ships today. The features page lists the same set without the essay.

Reusable templates

If you send the same vendor agreement or intake form more than once, save the PDF and its field marks as a template. The next envelope copies that layout. You pick the signer and send. Templates stay inside the workspace. See the templates guide or More on templates.

Bulk send

When the same layout goes to a list, open Bulk send, choose the template, paste or upload names and emails, map the columns, and start the job. Each unique email gets its own envelope. Retries skip rows that already went out. Shared reminder and expiration settings apply to the job. See the bulk send guide.

Reminders and expiration

On send you set a reminder interval and an expiration, or keep the workspace defaults — every 3 days, and 14 days until the link dies. Set the interval to 0 to skip reminders on that envelope. After expiry the desk shows expired status and the signer cannot complete the envelope. A scheduled job emails reminders when Resend is configured; otherwise it logs them the same way as the first invite. See reminders and expiry.

Envelope admin after send

Sends go wrong. The recipient email is a typo. The signer never saw the message. The deal died. Inkpacket lets you void an in-flight envelope, correct the recipient on the same envelope, or resend the existing link without minting a second envelope. Signers can decline with a reason. Completed envelopes cannot be voided. That loop is documented in the envelope admin guide and in More on voiding, correcting and resending.

API and webhooks

Owners and admins mint org-scoped Bearer tokens in Settings and call /api/v1/packets to list, create from a template, fill, send, void, correct, or resend. Retries can send an Idempotency-Key. A workspace or per-packet webhook URL receives a signed JSON body on the same events the audit log records. See the API guide and Public API.

What electronic signature software is not — in this pass

Clarity about the edges saves a wasted evaluation. Inkpacket does not include notary, knowledge-based authentication, or qualified electronic signatures. It can request a payment on send. Checkout is not open. It does not guess PDF fields with a model or sync a CRM. Drive archive and SMS invites stay honest without credentials. Multi-signer routing is in: sequential order or parallel, and one decline still closes the whole envelope.

Billing is published, not charging. Listed prices on Pricing are proposals. Checkout and the customer portal are not open. Workspaces start on Free. You can still run the full desk — upload, template, send, sign, file — without a payment method. See Free vs paid lanes.

How to evaluate a workspace

Use a short checklist against the product you will actually operate, not a feature matrix from a brochure.

• Can more than one company share an install without leaking documents? Inkpacket scopes every envelope, signer, invite, audit event, and template to an organization.
• Can you reuse a PDF instead of placing fields every time? Templates and bulk send exist for that.
• Can you lock a link with a code you share separately? Access codes store only a hash.
• Can you remind, expire, void, correct, or resend without creating a second envelope?
• Can your own systems create envelopes and hear about status changes? Public API plus signed webhooks.
• Can a signer finish without an account? The tokenized URL is the product.
• What happens before mail or card keys exist? Inkpacket logs email and keeps checkout closed so the desk still runs.

If those answers match how you work, open a workspace and send one envelope. The home page states the same loop in fewer words. Existing members sign in; new teams open a workspace on Free.

Start on Inkpacket

Electronic signature software is a desk you can operate on a Tuesday: prepare, send, file, and recover when the recipient list was wrong. Inkpacket is original software at inkpacket.com. No card while Stripe is off. Next: the five-minute send, envelope admin, or the desk after you create a workspace.