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KeepSolid

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It's cute the way some businesses are still clinging to fax machines. Ever heard of email?

Granted, for purposes of capturing document signatures from afar, faxing might seem like the most efficient method -- or at least the most affordable.

It's not. The ol' facsimile machine is rife with inefficiencies, and it's not exactly secure (what with signed pages just sitting there in an output tray).

The solution, of course, is switching to an e-signature solution, of which Adobe Sign is probably the best-known. But it's also a pricey one, with team plans starting at $24.99 per seat per month.

Enter KeepSolid Sign, a newcomer to the space. If the name sounds familiar, you're probably thinking of the company's popular VPN Unlimited. With Sign, launched this week, you can get most of the same core features offered by Adobe Sign, but for a lower price.

For example, the Small Team subscription costs $39.99 per month, but for five users. And if you prepay annually, you save 30 percent.

But, wait, there's more: BBH readers can save an additional 20 percent on any KeepSolid Sign subscription plan by applying bonus code SIGNLOVESZDNET (what can I say, we're lovable) at checkout. (Make sure to click the "Bonus Code" button on the Payment Method page.)

Signed, sealed, e-livered

As noted, KeepSolid Sign shares a lot of e-signature DNA with Adobe Sign. It can import documents from the likes of Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive and, of course, your own storage.

You can manage signing order, specify access rights, add comments and annotations and so on. The software automatically notifies you of any changes made along the way.

Perhaps best of all, everything is protected by AES+RSA encryption. More on that from KeepSolid: "The encrypted users' data is not stored in one place, but distributed over several servers without the possibility of its partial or full interpretation. This means that even when some parties intercept your data, they will not be able to restore, decrypt, and aggregate it."

Good stuff, no? If nothing else, take advantage of the free 14-day trial. With or without the discount, KeepSolid Sign offers a more affordable alternative to Adobe's service.