Initiate the signature
In the data room, you submit the document for electronic signature, specify the signatories and decide where in the document they sign and whether the signature is advanced or qualified.
Module · 5F Sign
Electronic signatures, integrated directly into 5F
Sign contracts, audit opinions and client documents with an advanced or qualified electronic signature. No additional software, no card reader, no switching between paper and screen.
Data stored in Germany · Built for professionals bound by confidentiality · No charge for external parties · Developed in-house in Regensburg · Free trial after the demo
The status quo
Print, sign, scan, re-upload
Audit opinions, powers of attorney and client documents often require a legally valid signature. Without a digital signature, that means printing, signing, scanning and emailing back. Every document moves from screen to paper and back again.
5F replaces this process with a signature created directly in the document.
Four steps
How electronic signatures work with 5F
Confirm the signature with a TAN
For qualified signatures, you confirm each request with an SMS TAN. Your identity is verified only once, when the account is set up, via VideoIdent or the eID function of your ID card, not for every individual signature.
Complete the signature
Once you start the signing process, the document is signed (for a qualified signature, once you have entered the TAN). This works on any internet-enabled device, without a card reader.
Verify authenticity
A verification report documents the authenticity and integrity of the signed document.
Want to see e-signatures in your own use cases?
In 45 minutes, we show you the module in action. You can then start the trial straight away if you wish.
Benefits at a glance
What you gain with 5F Sign
- Two security levels, one moduleAdvanced signatures for correspondence, qualified signatures for audit opinions and for contracts subject to a written-form requirement. Each user licence includes unlimited advanced signatures; qualified signatures are charged per signature.
- Only signature levels with evidential weight5F deliberately does not offer the simple electronic signature. In a firm's day-to-day work, what counts is evidential value, not merely a typed name.
- No additional hardwareYou need neither a card reader nor a signature card. The signature is created by remote signing on any internet-enabled device.
- Identity verified once, not for every signatureFor qualified signatures, sign-me from D-Trust verifies your identity once via VideoIdent or the eID function of your ID card. After that, you only need an SMS TAN to confirm each further signature.
- Data stays in GermanySigning takes place in Germany. Your documents and signature data do not leave the country.
- Also works in DATEV DMSWith a combined licence, you use the same account to sign in both 5F and DATEV DMS.
What is an electronic signature?
An electronic signature is a digital method by which a person signs a document on screen instead of signing it by hand. In legal terms, a distinction is drawn between simple, advanced and qualified electronic signatures. The main difference lies in how reliably the identity of the signatory is verified. 5F Sign provides advanced and qualified signatures.
Paper or digital: the difference
| Merkmal | Paper | Digital with 5F Sign |
|---|---|---|
| Signing | Print, sign, scan | Directly on screen, no printing |
| Hardware | Printer and scanner required | No card reader, no signature card |
| Identity verification | Visual comparison, no automatic verification | Once via VideoIdent or eID, then an SMS TAN for each signature |
| Traceability | No automatic documentation | Verification report for each signed document |
| Storage | Physical filing | Directly in the data room, data stored in Germany |
| Availability | Dependent on post or courier | Signed in minutes, from anywhere |
FAQ
Häufige Fragen
For an advanced signature, the recipient does not need an account and signs via the link in the email. For a qualified signature, the signatory creates an account with the signature service once and verifies their identity in the process. After that, they authorise each further qualified signature via app or TAN.
The account with our partner FP Sign is free of charge. What you pay for is the Signature user licence per employee, which includes unlimited advanced signatures. Qualified signatures are charged per signature on top.
Signatures created with 5F Sign are legally valid under the EU eIDAS Regulation of 2014, which has applied since 2016 and governs the requirements for electronic signatures in all Member States. With advanced and qualified signatures, 5F Sign offers the two levels that the regulation links to identity verification and evidential value.
Documents are signed as PDF files. If you upload a Word or Excel document, 5F automatically converts it to PDF before signing. PDFs that are password-protected or write-protected, for example in PDF/A format, and PDFs above version 1.5 cannot be signed. Before uploading, save such files without protection and in a compatible version.
Yes. In a signing workflow, a document can be signed by several people in sequence, and you define where each person signs. If a recipient declines to sign, they give a reason, and you can see the rejection in the workflow.
The verification report is stored with the signed document in the data room and confirms the authenticity and integrity of the signature.
Get started
See 5F Sign in action
In a short online demo, we show you the module in action and discuss your requirements.
- After the online demo, you can try 5F free of charge for 30 days.