Signable API: Integrate eSignatures with your system

Published: Thursday 28th January 2021

What is Signable’s API?

An API is a way for different systems to ‘talk’ to each other behind the scenes. A common example of an API is when you’re shopping online and you use Paypal.

This is an API at work. As you’re shopping on a website, you click “pay with Paypal” that triggers a request to the Paypal API. This is then authenticated in a pop-up, so that the API sends a confirmation of the payment back to the actual application. You never have to go into Paypal itself to make your payment. Our Signable API works quite the same.

Signable has an API (i.e. application programming interface) to allow you to access Signable in all of your other internal systems, so you don’t need to go back to our app every time you want to sign something. Our API is an eSignature integration for all your tools.

Simply put, you can sign your documents within your own programmes!

So, our API allows you to develop your own integrations between our software and any other systems you might use. On all of our plans (other than pay-as-you-go), you have the option to integrate our eSign software with your CRM, website, or any of your internal systems at no extra cost.

Our software is tailored for you and the way you work. With the help of a developer or programmer, you can use Signable eSignature softwares however you need.

This is what happens when an action is made with our API. It all happens in fraction of a second.

Signable’s API is REST based which means that it’s simple and easy to use and consume. Our API is also a Web based service, allowing you to receive responses in either XML or JSON. This is to give you maximum flexibility and ease of use.

We have designed it specifically to be very powerful, which means you can integrate nearly every bit of Signable into your own systems. We like to keep our software open to our customers and to not create a walled garden.

What are the benefits of integrating with your CRM?

In fact, by integrating Signable with your CRM application, you will be saving more time and money, as it means instant useability. No time is wasted going to and from the app, which we know can put a spanner in the works!

By adding Signable’s esignature integration to your CRM, anyone on your system can use it. We have no limits on the number of users at no additional cost. There’s no need for hundreds of separate accounts, it creates a simple shortcut for the whole company.

Plus, it’s super quick to integrate, very flexible and scalable to your company size. We have extensive and straightforward API documentation that makes it incredibly easy to set up.

The Signable API is designed by our developers, and built for businesses.

We also have a test mode that acts like a Sandbox where you can experiment with sending documents without it being sent publicly. Our API documentation covers everything you need to know in order to switch between live mode and test mode.

We also provide you access to Webhooks, which you can use to make the process even easier. Webhooks are used to get an instant response or a ‘notification’ to an action performed within Signable. They send real-time information to you. Webhooks are set up either via your API or on your Signable account.

For example, you could set up a webhook to post to your platform whenever a ‘send-envelope’ event occurs within Signable.

What is a walled garden, and why don’t we do it?

A walled garden means that the browsing environment is restricted to certain content on a website, so you’re only allowed to navigate specific areas of the website. It’s usually used to shield users from sensitive information or to keep certain ‘recipes’ secret.

For example, a ‘walled garden’ approach is often used by Internet service providers (ISPs) to stop you from accessing certain websites, like a child-lock. It’s essentially a technical term for a “closed platform” or “closed ecosystem”.

At Signable, we don’t take this approach. We keep our software open and accessible. It’s transparent and given to you to do what you want with it. We like to have an “open platform” with unrestricted access to our applications and content. This is to give you as much flexibility and use of our software, so you can embed your signing integration wherever you need.