Adobe Acrobat XI has full support for signing documents. Adobe EchoSign is an easy to use online service that allows you to instantly send, eSign, track and file documents securely. Recipients can sign right in their browser on virtually any connected device without downloading a plug-in or having to create an EchoSign account. Using these two products together gives you the ability to complete the entire process of signing documents electronically, and the final signed document can be viewed reliably by anyone with the free Adobe Reader.

It’s simple too!

You can apply your signature with your mouse, text, image or even a digital certificate by opening your PDF document in both Acrobat and Adobe Reader XI and clicking on the I Need to Sign pane. Sign by clicking Place Signature, then click Send Signed Document to send your document to others securely via EchoSign.

But what if you need others to sign and approve your document, and track the results?  Simply click the Get Others to Sign pane in Acrobat XI, then the Send for Signature.  This will securely upload your document to EchoSign and prompt you to enter the addresses for the additional signers.  If needed, you can drag and drop fields on the document for e-signatures, initials, contact information, company, title, or any other customized form field.  Click Send and your document is on its way.

The document recipient will receive an email from you (via the EchoSign service) with a link to the document and simple instructions on signing. Recipients don’t need anything but their browser to sign the document then send it back to you. They can review the document and sign instantly with a mouse, stylus, or by typing their name, even from their mobile device. Talk about easy!

Acrobat XI and EchoSign used together also makes it easy to route, complete and eSign forms. When creating a form in Acrobat XI, you can use the Convert to EchoSign Form option in the Form Editing panel to convert all of your fields to EchoSign aware fields. This means the form recipients will be able to fill your form and electronically sign it using EchoSign in their browser, saving additional steps and time.

Additionally, making these fields EchoSign-aware allows recipients to pre-fill saved information automatically from EchoSign, like their name and title. The EchoSign form fields in Acrobat have special field properties to determine the signers information that should be prefilled. Simply upload your form for distribution through EchoSign and recipients can easily and securely fill and sign forms, all electronically. Adobe Acrobat XI not only gives you a full array of signing capabilities, it now helps you get signatures and approvals much faster with full exposure into the signing process using EchoSign. Watch this video to see how you can sign documents in Acrobat and then upload to EchoSign for signing by others.

Here’s where you come in. From now until December 6, you can submit a nomination for Adobe EchoSign in the “Best Mobile App” category each day. All it takes is a single click, and you can do it once per day.

Hosted by GigaOm, VentureBeat and TechCrunch, the 2012 Crunchies Awards recognize the top apps, companies, innovations and innovators of the year. There’s only a few weeks left to vote, so help support your favorite mobile app for changing the game for contract deals in the cloud by voting for EchoSign today.

If you haven’t tried the EchoSign App for iOS, you can check it out here and start streamlining your business processes today!

My recent article in Marketing Tech highlights several ways eSignatures benefit both the business and the customer.

For the business, eSignatures remove the contract process from the multiple steps needed to secure signatures offering a digital option that automates the many back-and-forth conversations between a sales rep and a client. Digital contracts also offer a way to collaboratively work on documents and provide an easy way to track, store and access contracts.

For the customer, eSignatures offer convenience as prospects can access contracts on the Web from their laptop, desktop and even mobile device essentially giving them 24/7 access. Most eSignature solutions don’t require software downloads, making it even more attractive for customers to sign this way. All eSignatures are backed by the federal ESIGN Act, ensuring the legality of the contract, which should put the customer at ease.

Read the full post in Marketing Tech to see how eSignatures can help increase ROI and customer loyalty.

Loretta Jones, head of marketing, Adobe EchoSign

Non-profit organizations like yellobric are already experiencing the many benefits of e-signatures. yellobric is a charity that enables sustainable, long-term economic growth in the developing world through education and mass distribution of literature. The charity focuses on distributing e-readers as a low-cost and effective way of supplying children who live in the developing world with educational material, Web access and other learning tools. In order to license e-readers to secondary schools, yellobric must obtain signatures from its participants. In an effort to save time and money, yellobric turned to Adobe EchoSign to complete the necessary paperwork. With Adobe EchoSign, yellobric is able to send a contract to Kenya instantaneously, when previously that contract would take at least one week to reach Kenya and another week to be returned.

This scenario rings true for many charities that work internationally. Adopting e-signatures helps ensure that the contracting process does not interfere with the important missions of non-profit organizations.

Jason Lemkin, vice president of web business services at Adobe