Commission Agreement Electronic Signature: Sign a Sales Commission Contract Online
SignSend sends the commission agreement to your sales rep, captures a legally binding signature, and returns one executed PDF with a dated audit certificate. That certificate doubles as the signed receipt some states expect an employer to keep.
Free plan available. No credit card required.
Upload a document to sign
PDF, DOCX, PNG, JPG · up to 50MB
1. Upload
2. Place fields
3. Send
No credit card required. Free plan available.
$12/mo
Flat Pro plan, no per-seat fees
Unlimited
Commission agreements and signers per month
One envelope
Agreement plus a dated signed receipt
ESIGN
Legally binding in all 50 states
A commission agreement is the contract that spells out how a salesperson earns commission: the rate, what counts as a sale, when a commission is earned versus merely accrued, how and when it gets paid, and what happens to open commissions after the rep leaves. It is the document a sales organization signs with every commissioned rep, whether that rep is a W-2 employee or an independent (1099) contractor. Handled well, it is boring. Handled with a handshake, it becomes the single most common source of pay disputes in a sales team.
There is also a compliance angle that a verbal deal misses entirely. A few states require a commission agreement to be in writing and signed, and California goes further: it wants the employer to give the rep a signed copy and to keep a signed receipt proving the rep got it. SignSend covers both jobs in one step. Send the agreement, the rep signs from a laptop or phone, and you get one executed copy plus a dated audit certificate that records who signed and when. That certificate is exactly the kind of signed, dated receipt an employer wants on file. This page covers signing a commission agreement online, what belongs in one, which states require a signature, and the questions sales leaders ask before they send it.
Can a commission agreement be signed electronically?
Yes. A commission agreement is a contract between an employer or sales organization and a rep, so an electronic signature on it is valid and enforceable under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA laws, the same as ink, with no notary required. That holds whether the rep is a W-2 employee or an independent contractor.
The electronic route also solves a problem the states create. Where the law wants a signed, dated record that the rep received and agreed to the terms, an e-signature flow captures the signature and stamps the date and identity in one pass. You are not signing on paper, then separately logging a receipt, then hoping you can find both years later during a wage claim. The executed PDF and its audit certificate are one artifact, one date, one source of truth. For a sales manager, that means every rep on the team can be shown to have signed the current plan before their first deal closed.
Which states require a written, signed commission agreement
Most of the country lets a commission arrangement live on a verbal deal, which is legal and also a bad idea. A handful of states are stricter and require the agreement to be in writing and signed. California is the clearest example, and it adds a receipt requirement that an e-signature flow handles cleanly. This is general information, not legal advice, so check your own state's rules before you rely on it.
| State | What the law requires |
|---|---|
| California | Labor Code section 2751 requires commissions to be set in a written contract that explains how commissions are calculated and paid. The employer must give the employee a signed copy and obtain a signed receipt for the contract from the employee. |
| New York | Labor Law section 191(1)(c) requires the terms of employment for a commission salesperson to be in writing and signed by both the employer and the salesperson. |
| Many other states | Separate sales-representative statutes do not always mandate a signature, but they penalize an employer who fails to pay a rep's earned commission on time, sometimes with multiplied damages. Check your state. |
The takeaway for a sales organization: even in states with no signature mandate, a signed agreement is your best defense in a commission dispute, and in states like California and New York it is the law. A signing flow that captures the signature and the dated receipt at once covers both.
What belongs in a commission agreement
Most commission disputes trace back to a term that was never written down. The rate is the easy part. The fights happen over when a commission is earned, what happens to a deal that closes after the rep leaves, and whether the company can claw back a commission on a refund or a chargeback. Put each of these in the agreement the rep signs, in plain language, before the first sale.
| Clause | What it settles |
|---|---|
| Commission rate and structure | The percentage or flat amount, tiers or accelerators, and the base the rate applies to. |
| Earned versus accrued | The exact event that earns a commission: a signed order, a shipped product, or cash collected from the customer. |
| Payment timing | When commissions are paid out and on what schedule after they are earned. |
| Chargebacks and clawbacks | When a paid commission is reversed, such as a refund, cancellation, or non-payment by the customer. |
| Post-termination commissions | What happens to open and pipeline deals when the rep leaves, voluntarily or not. |
| Draws and advances | Whether the rep receives a recoverable draw against future commissions and how it is repaid. |
Spell these out and the plan reads the same to the rep, the manager, and payroll. That shared understanding, signed and dated, is what keeps a commission question from turning into a wage claim.
What SignSend does for commission agreements
Built for the sales leader, founder, or ops manager who needs every rep on a signed commission plan before they start selling.
Signed before the first sale
Send the commission agreement the moment a rep is hired, get it signed the same day, and start the relationship on written terms instead of a verbal promise you will argue about at payout.
A dated receipt in the same step
Every executed agreement carries an audit certificate showing who signed, when, and from where. That dated record works as the signed receipt some states expect an employer to keep on file.
No account for the rep
Your salesperson signs from an email link on any device, with no login to create and nothing to install. You are not adding friction on day one.
Reusable commission plan template
Save your standard commission agreement with the fields already placed, then send the next hire in under a minute by swapping in the name, rate, and territory.
Flat pricing, no per-seat fees
Onboard five reps or five hundred for one flat price. No per-signer charge and no envelope cap that punishes a hiring push.
One executed copy for the file
When the rep signs, you download one clean executed PDF with its certificate. Keep it with the personnel record for payroll, disputes, and any wage claim down the road.
How to sign a commission agreement online
From a new hire to one executed commission contract with a dated receipt.
Upload the commission agreement
Drag and drop the agreement as a PDF or Word file, up to 50MB, with the rate, the earned versus accrued terms, and the post-termination rules already in the document.
Add the rep and place fields
Place signature, printed-name, date, and any acknowledgment fields, assign the rep's signature block, and add your countersignature so both parties sign.
Send, sign, and file
The rep signs from any device, it routes back to you to countersign, and when the last signature lands you download the executed agreement with its audit certificate for the file.
How commission agreement signing compares
Most e-signature vendors bill by the seat and cap your documents. A sales org that hires and re-papers reps every quarter should not pay per signer to send a commission plan.
| Feature | SignSend Pro | Typical vendor |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $12/mo flat | $25/user/mo+ |
| Per-signer fees | None | Per seat |
| Agreements per month | Unlimited | Envelope caps |
| Rep needs an account | No | Sometimes |
| Dated audit certificate | Included | Higher tiers |
| Custom signing order | Included | Higher tiers on some plans |
| Reusable templates | Included | Higher tiers |
Who signs commission agreements on SignSend
Sales leaders and VPs
Put every rep on a signed commission plan before day one, and re-paper the whole team in one batch when the plan changes for the new year.
Founders and small business owners
Sign up your first commissioned salesperson on clear written terms, so a growing pay dispute never comes down to what each of you remembers.
HR and people ops
Keep an executed commission agreement and a dated signed receipt in every rep's file, ready for a wage claim, an audit, or a state that requires it.
Sales orgs hiring 1099 reps
Send independent sales reps a commission agreement they sign remotely, with an audit trail proving they agreed to the rate and the payout terms.
Finance and RevOps
Tie every commission payout to a signed plan that defines earned versus accrued, so accruals and clawbacks match a document, not a hallway conversation.
Commission agreement e-signature questions
Can a commission agreement be signed electronically?
Yes. A commission agreement is a contract between a sales organization and a rep, so electronic signatures on it are valid and enforceable under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA laws, the same as ink, with no notary required. The executed copy and its dated audit certificate also serve as the signed receipt some states expect the employer to keep.
What is a commission agreement?
A commission agreement is a written contract that sets out how a salesperson earns commission: the rate, what counts as a sale, when a commission is earned, how and when it is paid, and what happens to open commissions after the rep leaves. It applies to both employees and independent (1099) sales reps and is signed by the company and the rep.
Does a commission agreement have to be in writing?
In most states no, but a handful require it. California Labor Code section 2751 requires a signed written commission contract, and New York Labor Law section 191(1)(c) requires the terms to be in writing and signed by both parties. Even where it is optional, a signed agreement is your best defense in a commission dispute, so check your state.
What should a sales commission agreement include?
It should state the commission rate and structure, the base it applies to, when a commission is earned versus merely accrued, the payment timing, any draws or advances, chargeback and clawback rules, and what happens to open and pipeline commissions after termination. Naming the exact event that earns a commission prevents most disputes.
When is a commission considered earned?
Whenever the agreement says it is. Common triggers are a signed order, a shipped product, or cash collected from the customer, and the choice matters because an earned commission is generally owed even after the rep leaves. Define the earning event clearly in the written agreement so accrued and earned commissions are never in question.
Do independent sales reps need a commission agreement?
Yes. A 1099 sales rep should sign a commission agreement just like an employee, covering the rate, the earned versus accrued terms, and post-termination commissions. Many states also have sales-representative statutes that penalize a company that fails to pay a rep's earned commission on time, so a signed agreement protects both sides.
Related pages
Employment Contract Electronic Signature
Sign the employment agreement alongside the commission plan.
Independent Contractor Agreement Electronic Signature
Sign 1099 sales reps on clear written terms.
Offer Letter Signing
Send the offer and commission plan together at hire.
Does a commission agreement need to be in writing?
Which states require it and what to put in the contract.
Get your next rep on a signed commission plan today
Send the commission agreement, capture a signature and a dated receipt, and start free. No credit card required.
Start Signing for Free