Proposals · Glossary
What is an acceptance certificate?
An acceptance certificate is a record attached to an accepted proposal or quote that shows who accepted it, when, from what device, exactly which version and options they accepted, and the consent wording they agreed to. It turns a click or signature into evidence that can be checked later.
When a client accepts online there is no wet signature to point to later. The certificate is the page that answers the questions a dispute would ask: who, when, what exactly, and has anything changed since.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
What goes on the certificate
The useful fields answer four questions. Who: the name and email of the person who accepted, and any drawn or typed signature. When: the date and time of acceptance, ideally with a time zone. How: the IP address and browser the acceptance came from, which help show it was a real person on a real device. What: the document title, the exact options and totals that were selected, the consent statement shown at the moment of acceptance, and a cryptographic hash of the content so that any later change to the document would be detectable.
Why the content hash matters
A hash is a short fingerprint calculated from the document's content. Change one character and the fingerprint changes completely. Recording it at acceptance means that if anyone later claims the price or terms were different, the stored document can be hashed again and compared. It is the same principle used in digital signature standards, scaled down to a single acceptance. Without it, a certificate shows that someone accepted something, but not provably what.
Certificate of acceptance versus certificate of completion
E-signature platforms issue a certificate of completion for a signing envelope, listing every signer, their verification method and an audit trail. A proposal acceptance certificate is narrower: one acceptance of one priced offer. Construction and engineering contracts also use acceptance certificates in a different sense, issued when a deliverable passes testing. The common thread is that each certificate records a decision so it does not depend on memory.
Common mistakes
Treating an email saying yes as equivalent to a certificate is the usual one, because the email rarely says which version or which options were accepted. Another is keeping the certificate but not the accepted document, which leaves the hash with nothing to check. Some businesses let the client accept a document that is still being edited, so the accepted content differs from what is later delivered. Freeze the document before it is sent, and keep the certificate with the frozen copy.
Where it shows up in the product
When a client accepts a proposal by click, the PDF gains one extra acceptance certificate page. It lists the proposal title, who accepted it by name and email, the time of acceptance, the IP address, the browser, a content hash, the selected items with totals and the consent text. The consent reads: I, followed by the name, accept this proposal or quote on behalf of the party and agree to its terms, and that this electronic acceptance is binding. The sent proposal is frozen as a version, which is what the certificate refers to.
Questions people ask
Is an acceptance certificate the same as a signature?
No. A signature is the act of agreeing; the certificate is the record of that act and its circumstances. A certificate may include the drawn signature image, but its value lies in the surrounding evidence: the time, the device details, the exact version and options, and the consent wording. Together these show intention and identity far better than a signature image alone.
Does an acceptance certificate make a proposal legally binding?
The certificate does not create the contract; acceptance does. What the certificate does is prove the acceptance happened, by whom, and on what terms. Under the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 an electronic method that identifies the person and shows their intention can satisfy a signature requirement, and a good certificate is the evidence that the method was used.
What is a content hash on a certificate?
It is a fingerprint of the accepted document's content, calculated with a hash function such as SHA 256. If the document is later altered in any way, recalculating the hash gives a different result. Recording the hash at acceptance lets either party prove that the document they hold is exactly the one that was accepted.
Should I send the certificate to the client?
Yes. Giving the client the same record you keep avoids any impression that the evidence is one sided, and it gives them a clear confirmation of what they agreed and how much is due. Many businesses send the accepted PDF with the certificate page attached alongside the first invoice.
How long should I keep acceptance certificates?
Keep them at least as long as the contract could be disputed and as long as tax records must be kept. In Australia the ATO generally requires business records to be kept for five years, and limitation periods for contract claims commonly run six years in many states. Store the certificate with the accepted document and the invoices.
Make one with proposals
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
Create a proposal with OneCraftRelated questions
- Is an accepted quote legally binding?Is an accepted quote legally binding? Usually yes, once the offer, acceptance and consideration are present. When it holds, when it does not, and what to keep.
- What are optional line items in a quote?What are optional line items? Extras the client can tick or untick before accepting a quote, with the total updating. When to use them and how many to offer.
- What is offer and acceptance?Offer and acceptance are two of the four elements that form a contract. What counts as an offer, what an invitation to treat is, and when agreement is complete.
Step by step in the builder: Send a proposal and get paid, then Send a document for e-signature.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .