E-signatures

Signed where the work lives.
Not in another tool.

The Send for signature editor with a signature box placed on a contract of sale for the signer David Bennett

Send any matter document for signature without leaving MatterFirst. Clients sign from the portal or an emailed link, on any device, and the executed copy comes back stamped, certified and filed to the matter.

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Encrypted at rest and in transit Australian data residency Hosted on AWS No lock-in contracts Guided setup available Your data exportable on request

Last reviewed

How does electronic signing work in MatterFirst?

Open a PDF on the matter, choose Send for signature, add signers and drag signature, initials, name, date or text boxes onto the page. Each signer is emailed a link and signs from the portal or their inbox, drawn or typed. MatterFirst stamps every mark into the PDF and appends a signing certificate.

The Send for signature editor: two signers listed, a field palette, and signature boxes placed on a contract of sale
Placing fields on a contract. Each signer has a colour, and every box you drag belongs to whoever is selected: signature and initials are drawn, the rest are typed.

How it works

From matter document to executed copy

1

Pick a document

2

Place fields

3

Send

4

Client signs

5

Executed copy

No signer account needed

Signatures can be drawn or typed

Every signature is stamped into the page

Each signature is saved the moment it is given. The stamp is a render at the end, so nothing a client signed is ever lost to a hiccup.
The client signing view: a drawn signature in its box, progress for each signer, and a Submit my signature button
The same contract from the signer's side. Their own boxes are live, everyone else's are locked and named, and the drawn signature is submitted in one step.

Send for signature

Place the fields where the document expects them

Choose a PDF on the matter, add the signers, and drag boxes straight onto the page. Every box belongs to a specific signer, colour coded so a two-party contract stays legible, and the layout locks the moment the request goes out.

  • Signers can be portal clients, matter contacts, or anyone named by email
  • Five field types: signature and initials are drawn, full name, date and text are typed
  • Boxes are dragged onto the page and colour coded per signer
  • Optional signing order: everyone at once, or gated one after another

Capability 1 of 4

Fields on the page, each one owned by a signer.

Signing

Clients sign from the portal or straight from the email

Each signer gets an email with their own secure link. Portal clients can also sign from their documents list. The page shows them exactly which boxes are theirs, and a half-drawn signature survives a lost connection.

  • No account needed: the emailed link is the credential
  • Draw on a phone, tablet or trackpad, with an in-progress signature restored after a reload
  • Type instead of draw: a typed name is rendered and stamped identically
  • Date fields arrive pre-filled with the day of signing

Capability 2 of 4

Their boxes live, everyone else's locked.

Evidence & control

One request per document, one signer per field

The server, not the page, decides who may sign what and when. Every submission records the evidence a dispute would ask for, and a signer who wants out can decline with a reason rather than going quiet.

  • Each signer can only complete their own fields, enforced server side
  • Consent, timestamp, IP address and device recorded on every signature
  • Signing burns the emailed link, so a signed link cannot be reused
  • Simultaneous submissions cannot collide, and a signer can decline with the reason recorded

Capability 3 of 4

Who signed what, when, from where.

The executed copy

A stamped PDF with its certificate attached

When the last signer finishes, every signature is burned into the pages of the PDF and a signing certificate is appended: who was asked, when they opened it, when they signed, from what IP, and whether each mark was drawn or typed. One file, filed to the matter.

  • Every signature is stamped into the page it was placed on
  • The certificate travels with the document, not as a separate file that can go missing
  • The source document is marked signed and the executed copy is filed beside it
  • A failed render retries automatically and never loses a captured signature

Capability 4 of 4

The document and its proof leave as one file.

MatterFirst is a legal practice management platform for Australian law firms, built by NorthCape Technology, covering matters, documents, trust accounting, billing and a client portal, with data hosted in the AWS region the firm chooses.

This suits firms that send contracts, deeds of release, authorities and cost agreements out for signature every week and are paying for a separate e-signing tool to do it. It is built into the matter, so it is worth less to a firm that rarely needs documents executed, and it does not change the rules for instruments that must still be signed on paper or witnessed in person: those keep their own process.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Are electronic signatures legally valid in Australia?
Electronic signing is recognised under the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth) and its state equivalents, which ask that the method identify the signer, indicate their intention, and be as reliable as appropriate. MatterFirst records that trail: who was asked and at what address, when they opened and signed, from what IP, and what they consented to, and appends it to the executed copy. Some instruments carry special execution requirements, so check the rules for the document in question.
Do signers need a MatterFirst or portal account?
No. A signer can be a portal client, a contact on the matter, or anyone you name and give an email address. Signers without an account receive a secure link that works for fourteen days. Resending issues a fresh link, and the superseded one keeps working for a short grace period so a resend never kills a signature in progress.
What if a signer cannot draw a signature?
They type their name instead. The typed name is rendered into a signature image and travels the identical path: same validation, same stamp, same position on the page. The certificate records that the signature was typed rather than drawn, because that is a fact about how it was made, not a lesser form of it. This is also what makes signing workable with a keyboard or a screen reader.
Can we control the order people sign in?
Yes. With multiple signers you can leave it open, everyone is emailed at once and signs in any order, or switch on Sign in order, in which case the next signer is only emailed when the person before them finishes, and anyone ahead of their turn is told to wait rather than allowed to submit. Either way, each signer can only complete their own fields.
Where is my data stored?
In the AWS region your firm chooses. Sydney (ap-southeast-2) is the default for Australian firms. Matter data, documents, extraction and matter questions all stay in that region. The one exception is the first step of Document AI, reading the document itself, which runs on Azure AI Document Intelligence in Azure's Australia East region. Both regions are in Australia.
How much does MatterFirst cost?
Pricing is per workspace rather than per seat, starting at $199 per month for Solo. Each plan includes a set number of users, a monthly AI balance in Australian dollars, the client portal and automations. Extra users are billed only past the included seats. Full plan inclusions are on the pricing page.
Can I get my data out if I leave?
Yes. Your matters, contacts, documents and time records are exportable on request, and there is no lock-in contract. We would rather you were able to leave and chose not to.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, a 14 day guided trial on Solo, Practice or Firm. It is guided rather than self-serve because a practice management system tells you very little until it has your real matters in it, and we would rather help you load them than leave you looking at an empty workspace.
Who builds MatterFirst?
NorthCape Technology, a Melbourne-based software company. MatterFirst is built in Australia for Australian legal practice, which is why trust accounting and Xero are first-class rather than regional add-ons, and why PEXA and InfoTrack are on the roadmap rather than absent from it.
Is MatterFirst suitable for a firm of my size?
It is designed for solo practitioners up to firms of roughly twenty seats. Below that, Solo carries the full platform for one user. Above it, the platform works but you should expect to talk to us about migration and rollout rather than signing up online.

Reviewed by Nick Hallam

Co-founder and Operations Director, NorthCape Technology

Aerospace engineer by background, and the one who talks to firms about how they actually run. Reviews the pages that describe how a practice works day to day.

Last reviewed

Ready to stop chasing wet signatures?

Book a demo and we will send a document round the full loop while you watch, from placing the first field to opening the executed copy.

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