* Additional functionality subject to charge
How to sign a contract electronically
For a contract to be signed electronically, both the supplier and the buyer need to be authenticated by using either online banking credentials, a mobile certificate (mobile ID) or a Citizen Certificate (FINeID), which is embedded in a Finnish ID card.
- Online banking credentials
- One way to authenticate yourself online is by using personal online banking access codes that are issued by your bank. For more information about how online banking access codes are used as a means of electronic identification, please contact your bank or visit the www.suomi.fi service from the Finnish Population Register Centre.
- Mobile certificate (mobile ID)
- A mobile ID is an electronic identity card within the SIM card of your phone that can be used to securely prove your identity online. Your mobile ID is on the SIM card of your mobile phone, and it needs to be activated before you can start using it. Please contact your mobile operator for further instructions on how to activate your mobile ID. Read more about the mobile ID on the official website www.mobiilivarmenne.fi or the www.suomi.fi service from the Finnish Population Register Centre.
- Citizen Certificate (FINeID)
- The Citizen Certificate is embedded in your Finnish ID card and it is issued by the Population Register Centre of Finland. For the Citizen Certificate to be used as a means of identification for electronic signatures it needs to be activated first. Please read more about the Citizen Certificate on the website of the Population Register Centre of Finland.
The process of signing the contract electronically proceeds as follows:
1. The person in charge of the contract initiates the signing process
The person in charge of the contract specifies the contracting parties (‘Basic information’) and chooses electronic signature as the method of signing (‘Status and signature’). The information about the contracting parties, as well as the documents to be signed, are added to the ‘Status and signature’ page. The electronic signature process gets underway once it has been confirmed by the person in charge of the contract.
2. Each party signs the contract electronically
The contracting parties receive an e-mail (from allekirjoitus@cloudia.fi) with a link to the electronic signature service. An e-mail address is entered to identify a signer, after which the person receives a text message containing a passcode with which they are able to log in to the e-signature service. The contract is signed using either online banking access codes, a mobile certificate (mobile ID) or a Citizen Certificate (FINeID) which is embedded in an ID card.
3. The contract has been signed
The contracting parties receive an e-mail confirmation that the contract has been signed. The e-mail contains the signed contract and a signature summary.
The person in charge of the contract initiates the signing process
The contracting parties are specified in the ‘Basic information’ section of the contract
- Add contract party information (Please read: ‘Create contract’ -> ‘Basic information’)
The signature type is selected in the ‘Signature’ section
- Select ‘E-signature’ as the signature type.
Next, select the signature service:
- DocuSign - Possible to purchase
- SignHero - Coming soon
- Avaintec - Visma signature service (instructions in this article)
IMAGE: Select the signature service from the drop-down menu (Visma, Dogusing, or SignHero), and below that add items to the signer information for the unit as well as the signer's title.
Specify the contracting parties and signers
- The maximum number of signers is 10
- Add the signers’ details by selecting ‘Add contract party B - Counterparty’ and ‘Add contract party A - Creator/Importer’
- It is possible to add several organisations/companies as contracting parties
- Select ‘Edit’ to include additional information about the contracting party
- Select the organisation/company from the drop-down menu. The names are listed in the same format that they have been saved in the ‘Basic information’ section.
- Add a signer by clicking on :
- The plus (+) sign
- Specify the signer’s name, e-mail address and phone number. Please note: These fields need to filled completely and accurately for the signing process to be successful.
- Where applicable, use the plus (+) sign to add the number of signers within the organisation/company in question. Please note: The maximum number of signers in one signing process is 10.
- From the drop-down menu
- If the organization / company information has been used in the previous electronic signature, the personal information can be found in the drop-down menu. Personal information is added to the drop-down menu when it is first used as an organization/company signatory
- The plus (+) sign
Select the documents to be signed
- The contract document will be automatically added as a document to be signed. Please note! The contract document needs to be in PDF -format
- The contract attachments will be listed on the screen. Select the attachments you would like the contracting parties to sign (it is possible to preview them before selecting).
Please note! In addition to the contact document, there may be 24 attachments to the contract. Each attachment has a maximum size of 50 Mb and a maximum total size of 250 Mb
If you would like to specify the order in which the document is signed, click the ‘Signing order enabled’ check box.
- If you enable this setting, the signing process takes place alternately so that once the supplier’s first signer has signed the document and completed the electronic signing process, an invitation to sign will be sent to the next signer on the list. The process will go on in this order until everyone has signed the document.
- If this setting is not enabled, an invitation to sign will be sent to all of the signers at the same time.
It is also possible to set a deadline for the signature process.
- After the deadline, the signature process expires and has to be restarted.
- OBS! An expiration date must be entered for the electronic signature if the expiry date is not set by user. The system will the default value (60 days) as the signature expiration date OBS! the signature link is valid for 60 days.
Select the language to be used in the signature service (FI, ENG, SWE)
You can edit the e-mail sent by the system, if desired
Send documents of the electronic signature signing process to the signatories if needed.
Lock the selection and start the electronic signing process
- A pop-up window will appear on the screen. When you select ‘OK’ the contract will be locked and the electronic signature process begins. The signers will receive an automated e-mail containing a signature request and instructions on how to sign the contract electronically
Once the signature process has been started, the contract is locked. The status of the signature process is updated every 30 minutes. In order to check the current status of the signature process, select ‘Carry out a status check’ and the system will retrieve the most recent data.
Cancelling the electronic signing process
The signing process can also be cancelled using ‘Cancel the electronic signing process and unlock the contract’”. This way the electronic signing process is cancelled and the contract reverts to draft status for further editing.
Remind signatories
The ‘Remind signatories’ function sends a reminder to the next signatory in line, if they have not added their own signature within a day. The reminder is sent once a day until the signature has been received, or the signing process ends or is terminated. In case the original signature link has been lost, the reminder also has a link.
Each party signs the contract electronically
- All of the signers will receive an invitation to sign the contract at the same time (unless the ‘Signing order enabled’ check box has been selected).
- The e-mail contains information about the contract to be signed, a link to the signature service, a signature deadline and a customised message (where applicable).
- When the recipient clicks on the link, they are directed to a sign-in page where they are required to enter their e-mail address and click on the mobile phone symbol.
- The system will send a one-time passcode to the signer's mobile phone. The passcode is entered in the second window.
- The text message is sent to the number specified in Cloudia Contract, under the signer’s information. Once the passcode has been entered, the signer is directed to the signature service.
Accept or reject the electronic signing of the contract
- I accept the terms of the contract (image on the left)
- Select ‘I have read the documents and I accept’
- Select the authentication method
- FINEID: Citizen Certificate within a Finnish ID card
- Online banking credentials: Online banking access codes
- Mobile certificate: Mobile ID
- I do not accept the terms of the contract (image on the right)
- Select ‘I do not accept’
- State the reason behind the cancellation, if applicable, and select ‘Reject’.
- If the terms of the contract are not accepted, the status of the electronic signature process will change to ‘Rejected’
- After the electronic signature has been processed, a window stating ‘Signed!’ is displayed and the signature information is updated in Cloudia Contract (image on the left).
- If the contract is rejected, a window stating ‘Rejected’ is displayed and the status of the signing process will be updated to ‘Rejected’ in Cloudia Contract (image on the right).
The contract has been signed
Once the contract has been signed by all parties, an e-mail containing the contract and a signature summary will be sent to each signatory. The signature summary is added to the contract as a cover page and it contains more detailed information about each signatory. In addition Cloudia Contract will send the contract responsible an email which confirms that the esignature process has been finilized and the contract has been signed by all parties.
The details of the signature process are also updated in Cloudia Contract in the ‘Status and signature’ section of the contract in question:
If it was defined at the beginning of the signing process that the contract attachments are to be sent to the signatory, they will receive an email with a link for downloading them. To download the contract attachments, click “go to the download page”, write your email address in the window and click “Send”. After this, it will be possible to download the contract attachments.
NOTE! You can download the attachments only once and the link is valid only for 5 days after receiving the the email.