Signing is the moment a rental agreement stops being a draft and becomes a live hire. It's also the one and only point in the whole rental where a credit is used — everything you do up to that point is free. This article covers what signing produces, how to do it both in person and remotely, how to chase a hirer who hasn't signed, and what happens if your balance is empty.
What signing is for
Like an inspection report, a rental agreement is completely free to build, prepare and preview. You can add the vehicle and hirer, set the dates and pricing, run a driver licence check, capture the handover condition and preview the full document without spending anything.
The credit is used at one moment only: when the agreement is signed. Signing turns the prepared draft into an open agreement — an active hire — and locks in the binding paperwork. From that point the agreement guides you through the rest of the rental lifecycle: handover, return and close.
What it costs
Signing a rental agreement uses one credit (about £1). That's the same single charge whether the hirer signs standing at your counter or taps the signature on their phone at home. Nothing else in the rental costs a credit — not preparing the draft, not the licence check, not sending the signing link, not recording the return or closing the hire later.
New companies start with around 10 free welcome credits, so you can sign your first agreements before buying anything. For pricing and packs, see credits, pricing, top-ups and subscriptions.
Before you can sign
An agreement can only be signed once it's complete. While anything is still outstanding, the agreement shows you exactly what's missing, with a link straight to the section that needs attention. Clear every item and the agreement is ready to sign.
What counts as "complete" is driven by your rental agreement template and your company settings. Depending on how you've set those, the outstanding items can include:
- The core agreement basics (vehicle, hirer, dates, pricing).
- A licence on file for the hirer, if your settings require a hirer licence. You can run the licence check from inside the agreement — it's free.
- A condition record / handover capture, if your template requires a return inspection.
- The required signatures for the agreement. By default both the hirer and you must sign; your template can change which signatures are required.
If you try to sign with items still outstanding, vehReports stops you and tells you exactly what's missing and where to fix it — so you can't accidentally open a hire on incomplete paperwork.
Signing in person
When the hirer is with you and nothing is outstanding:
- Open the agreement and go to sign off.
- The hirer reviews the terms on screen — the clauses, pricing, dates and any attached terms and conditions.
- Capture the hirer's signature, and your own where required.
- Confirm to sign.
At that moment one credit is used, the agreement becomes open (an active hire), the signed PDF is generated, and the paperwork is finalised. The hirer is emailed a copy automatically (see "What signing produces" below).
Signing remotely with a signing link
If the hirer isn't with you, send them a signing link so they can review and sign on their own device. There's no app to install and no account to create — they just open the link, read the agreement and add their signature.
How to send the link
- Open the prepared agreement.
- Choose Send signing link.
- Confirm the hirer's email (it pre-fills from the hirer's details if it's on file). The link is always emailed.
- Optionally add the hirer's mobile to also send the link by SMS / text — handy if you want it to land on their phone directly.
- Send.
You'll see a confirmation that the link has gone out, and the send is recorded in your team activity log as its own entry. The option to send the link is available while the agreement is still being prepared, so you can fire it off as soon as the draft is ready.
What the hirer sees and what happens when they sign
The hirer opens the link, reviews the full agreement and its terms, and adds their signature. The agreement opens the moment they sign — and the credit is used at that point, exactly as it is when signing in person. There's no separate step for you to "accept" it afterwards; signing remotely completes the hire on its own.
Is a remote signature as valid as signing in person?
Yes. The remote signature is captured against the same agreement, the same terms and the same vehicle condition. The only difference is where the hirer was standing when they signed. The signed record stamps when it was completed for your audit trail.
Chasing a hirer who hasn't signed
If a hirer hasn't got round to signing, the simplest way to nudge them is to re-send the link. Open the agreement and choose Send signing link again. You can also correct the email or add a mobile number for SMS on the re-send if the first one went to the wrong place.
A prepared, unsigned agreement stays a draft and costs nothing while it waits. No credit is used until the hirer actually signs.
What signing produces
A signed agreement is the binding hire record, with everything captured together in one document:
- The hirer's details and the agreed terms (clauses such as insurance, admin charges, liabilities and any custom terms from your template).
- The pricing — daily rate, deposit and excess.
- The vehicle's condition at handover.
- Both signatures, with the date and time the agreement was completed.
- Any terms-and-conditions PDF and equipment checklist attached to your template, so the hirer has the full paperwork in one place.
When the agreement signs, vehReports automatically:
- Debits one credit and records what it was spent on against your balance.
- Marks the agreement open and stamps the completion time.
- Generates the signed PDF.
- Emails the signed agreement to the hirer automatically, to the hirer's email on file. If the email can't be sent for any reason, the agreement is still signed and valid — the hirer copy is just a notification.
The signing also appears in your team activity log, so anyone reviewing the account can see who signed it off and when.
If you're out of credits
Running low or empty doesn't stop you preparing rentals. On an empty balance you can still build the agreement, run the free licence check, add the vehicle and hirer, capture condition and preview the document. Only the act of signing is blocked until you top up.
If you try to sign with no credits, you're prompted to top up and the prepared agreement is saved exactly as it is — nothing is lost. Top up, come back to the agreement and sign as normal.
Common questions
Does sending the signing link cost a credit? No. Sending (and re-sending) the link is free. The single credit is only used when the agreement is actually signed.
Can I sign part in person and part remotely? The hirer signs once, in whichever place suits them. If your template requires your signature too, you add yours when you finalise; the hirer's signature is captured either at your counter or via the link.
Can I edit an agreement after it's signed? A signed agreement is the binding record, so its terms are locked. You continue working with it through the rest of the rental lifecycle — recording the vehicle going out, its return, and closing the hire.
The hirer says they didn't get the email — what now? Re-send the signing link from the agreement and double-check the email address; add their mobile to also send it by SMS. If you need a hand, raise a support ticket.
What's next
Once the hire is open, the agreement walks you through the rest: capturing the vehicle going out, recording its return and closing the agreement. See the rental lifecycle: handover, return and close. To find any agreement later — open, due back or closed — see finding agreements.