Electronic signatures have been around for over two decades. The technology works. The legal frameworks exist. Yet many small businesses are actively looking for alternatives to the tools they adopted years ago. What changed?
The pattern repeats
Software markets tend to follow a predictable arc. A category emerges to solve a real problem. Early players grow dominant. Those players expand their features to chase larger customers. Pricing gets complicated. Smaller customers find themselves paying for capabilities they never use.
E-signature software is no exception. Platforms that started as simple signing tools now offer workflow automation, contract analytics, AI-powered review, and enterprise administration. These features matter to large organisations. For a five-person consultancy or a solo accountant, they are overhead. See our DocuSign vs NomaSign comparison for a practical example of this divide.
What prompts the switch
Switching business software is rarely spontaneous. It takes friction. Based on conversations with businesses that have made the move, a few patterns emerge:
The renewal moment
Annual renewal is when many businesses reconsider their stack. The invoice arrives, often higher than the previous year, and someone asks whether the tool is earning its cost. If the answer is hesitation, the search begins.
Feature creep frustration
When a simple task requires navigating through screens designed for enterprise workflows, people notice. The interface that felt intuitive years ago has accumulated options, menus, and settings that slow down routine work.
Support experience
Businesses expect responsive support when something goes wrong. When support tickets disappear into queues, when chatbots loop endlessly, when phone numbers are hidden behind account tiers, trust erodes. A bad support experience during a time-sensitive deal can be the final straw.
Billing surprises
Usage-based billing sounds fair until you hit a limit you did not know existed. Some platforms count every sending action, including corrections and resends. What looked like a reasonable monthly cost becomes unpredictable. We break down these issues in detail in the hidden costs of e-signature software.
What businesses actually need
When small businesses evaluate e-signature software, the requirements list is usually short:
- ✓Send a document, have someone sign it, get it back
- ✓Know that the signature is legally valid
- ✓Have a record of who signed and when
- ✓Integrate with tools they already use
- ✓Predictable cost
Most businesses do not need conditional routing, parallel signing workflows, or embedded signing experiences. They need the equivalent of handing someone a document and a pen, but remotely.
The simpler alternatives
A new generation of e-signature tools has emerged to serve this underserved segment. These platforms share common characteristics:
Flat, simple pricing
One price, no tiers to compare, no usage limits to monitor. You know what you will pay each month without consulting a calculator.
Core features only
Instead of building for every possible use case, these tools focus on the common path: upload, add signature fields, send, track, store. The interface stays simple because the scope stays focused.
Integration with existing workflows
Rather than trying to become the centre of your document workflow, simpler tools plug into what you already use. Documents come from and return to your existing cloud storage. Emails send through your existing email system.
The storage question
What to consider before switching
If you are evaluating a move, a few questions worth asking:
What features do you actually use?
List the features you use weekly. Compare that to what you pay for. If the overlap is small, you are likely paying for complexity you do not need.
Where should documents live?
Some businesses have compliance requirements about data location. Others simply want their files accessible in their existing systems. Know your preference before evaluating.
How important is your existing signature history?
Your current platform likely has a record of past signatures. Export those before switching. Most platforms allow bulk export, but do it while you still have access.
Will your team actually switch?
A tool only works if people use it. If a simpler interface means people actually send documents for signature instead of falling back to print and scan, that is a win. If switching creates friction that slows adoption, that is a cost.
The market is changing
Enterprise e-signature platforms are not going anywhere. Large organisations need the integrations, compliance certifications, and administrative controls they provide.
But small businesses are increasingly recognising that enterprise tools come with enterprise complexity. The same features that make a platform valuable to a 500-person company can make it cumbersome for a 5-person team.
The result is a market that is splitting. Complex, feature-rich platforms for organisations that need them. Simpler, focused tools for everyone else.
If you have found yourself thinking that signing a document should not require this much overhead, you are not alone.
NomaSign is built for businesses that want e-signatures without complexity. See our pricing or learn how it works.