# Bakery contracts signed online

> E-signature for bakeries. Send a cake contract or wholesale agreement, the customer signs on their phone, and the sealed PDF is filed to their order. Every plan.

## E-sign

A wedding cake booked fourteen months out needs more than a deposit. It needs
the customer's signature on what happens if the date moves, the venue changes
or they cancel. ibakepro lets you send that contract for signature online: the
customer signs on their phone, and the signed copy comes back sealed and filed
against them and their order. E-sign is on every plan, with no fee per
document.

### What the contract protects

A custom cake contract needs six clauses:

- the deposit, what part is non-refundable, and when the balance is due
  (usually 7 to 14 days before the event)
- cancellation and postponement, and what is kept at each stage of notice
- allergens, and what the customer must tell you in writing
- design changes after a set date, and what an inspiration photo means
- delivery, set-up and when responsibility passes at handover
- hire items such as stands, and the deposit on them

[Terms to get signed for custom cake orders](/blog/terms-to-get-signed-for-custom-cake-orders)
has wording you can adapt. Once the terms are signed, the deposit and balance
can run on the same order through
[payment schedules](/features/payment-schedules-and-deposits).

### Wholesale agreements and catering terms

The same flow works beyond custom cakes. A cafe taking your sourdough three
mornings a week can sign your wholesale agreement (price list, minimum order,
cut-off times, payment terms and what happens to an unsold or damaged
delivery) before its first order. A corporate client booking cookie boxes or
gingerbread for the end of year can sign your catering terms the same way.
How trade accounts and net terms work is in
[wholesale ordering](/features/wholesale-ordering).

### Sending a contract

Start from any PDF in the [Vault](/features/business-vault-document-storage)
and choose who signs: you, the customer, or both of you, in the order you pick.
A document can run to 50 pages.
Place signature, initials, date and text fields on the page, and save the layout
as a template so a contract you send every week is set up once.

The customer opens the link, confirms their email with a code we send them, agrees
to sign electronically and signs by drawing, typing or uploading their
signature, on any device. You can see where each request is up to and resend a
link that has gone astray.

### What you get back

The finished PDF carries a certificate of completion showing who signed, when,
how they were verified and the consent wording they agreed to. Every party is
emailed a copy, and it is filed back into the Vault and onto the customer's
timeline. Anyone holding a copy can check it has not been altered on the
ibakepro verify page.

### Is an electronic signature valid for a bakery contract?

For everyday business contracts like a custom order or a wholesale agreement,
generally yes. ibakepro
provides a simple electronic signature: it identifies the signer by a code sent
to their email and records their agreement to sign electronically.

- **Australia.** Under the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (and the matching
  state acts), an electronic signature works if the method identifies the
  signer and shows their intention, and is as reliable as appropriate for the
  purpose.
- **New Zealand.** Part 4 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 accepts
  an electronic signature that adequately identifies the signer and their
  approval, and is as reliable as appropriate.
- **United Kingdom.** An electronic signature can be used to execute a document
  where the signer intends to authenticate it and any formalities are met; the
  Law Commission concluded the existing law already allows this.
- **United States.** The federal ESIGN Act of 2000 means a contract cannot be
  denied legal effect just because it was signed electronically.
- **Canada.** Each province has its own electronic commerce legislation along
  the same lines.

Witnessed deeds and similar formal documents have their own rules. For anything
beyond an ordinary business contract, check with a lawyer.