How do I request documents from a client?

Send them one link. In Loop you choose a name, a note, who may send, a closing day and a size limit, press Create Request, and paste the link into your email. Your client types a name and an email, drops the files and presses Send.

Does my client need an account to send files?

Not with Loop, Dropbox file requests or Content Snare. ShareFile request links can be set to Anyone, and we could not confirm it for SmartVault.

Can I set a due date, and will Loop remind clients?

Yes to the date. A Loop request closes at the end of the day you pick, in UTC time, and the page tells your client it has closed. Dropbox has a deadline on Standard and other business plans. Loop does not remind clients, because it never sends email itself.

Can several people sign, one after another?

Yes for a PDF or a picture. Add up to 10 signatories in order, and each signs in their turn and sees the signatures before theirs. If someone presses Decline to Sign, Loop shows their reason if they gave one, and Ask Again lets them sign.

Will Loop remind a signer?

After 1, 3 or 7 days, as you choose, Loop shows a notification naming a signer who has not signed. Click it and a ready email opens in your mail app, and you press send. This works for signers you have named.

Where do the files my clients send end up?

In your own Cloudflare storage, listed in Loop under the request with who sent each one. You can open them in Finder under Loop, Requests, or save one anywhere with Save.

Can I see who has not sent anything yet?

No. Loop lists the files that arrived and who sent them, not who is missing.

Is a typed name a real signature?

It is a simple electronic signature: the signer types a name, and the email they type is not checked. The signed copy ends with a record page saying so. A tool with ID checks, such as DocuSign's paid add-on, fits documents that need more.

Where do the prices and facts on this page come from?

From each vendor's own pages, read on 23 October 2026: Dropbox , ShareFile , SmartVault, Content Snare and DocuSign . Loop's own facts come from the app and its reader page. Dropbox's prices are from archived US copies of 16 and 23 October, and SmartVault's help centre blocks automated tools. All prices are before tax.

Document Collection Software: Request and Get Signed

Q: How much does document collection software cost?

For one person billed yearly: Loop $49 once, Dropbox free or $180, Content Snare $420, DocuSign $120 to $300 to sign or $480 with attachment requests, ShareFile $936 and SmartVault $2,340 because they start at 3 users.

Know Who Has Sent What

Document collection is asking clients or staff for files, such as IDs, contracts or signed forms, and getting them back in one place. Done by email, the files arrive as attachments across many threads, and you chase the missing ones one message at a time.

One link where people drop their files, and where the document to sign sits next to it, keeps the job in one place. The tools below differ in what they ask for, what they remind people about and what they cost. Several are built for firms with a client portal, and most charge per person.

Loop

Loop is a Mac app that turns a file into your own branded link, and it can also make a link that asks people for files. You send one link. Your client opens it in any browser, with no account, types a name and an email, drops the files and presses Send. For a document that needs signing, you place the signature spots and name who signs, in order.

Asking for files

Create a request. Name it, add a note, choose who may send, set a closing day and a size limit, and press Create Request. The link is copied.
Send the link in your own email.
Your client sends. They type their name and email, choose files of any type and press Send. They can come back before it closes and add more.
You receive. A notification names the sender and the request. The files are listed in Loop with who sent each one, and you can open them, save one anywhere or delete it.

A request closes at the end of the day you set, in UTC time, and the page then tells your client it has closed. You can also close and reopen it yourself.

Signing

The recording below shows the signing side, from the first signer's view.

A real recording of Loop's reader page. Press play, or jump to a step.

The same steps in words:

Open. The signer opens the agreement on a page in your logo and colours.
Turn the Page. They move to page 2, where the signature spots are.
Sign Here. They press their spot, and the next signer's spot is greyed until their turn.
Type a Name. They type their full name and press Sign.
Signed. The spot fills with their name and the top button changes to Signed.
Record. A card shows who signed, when and where.

Name up to 10 signers and each signs in turn, seeing the signatures before theirs. Anyone can press Decline to Sign, with an optional reason, and Ask Again lets them sign after all.

Highlights

No account for your client. They open the link in any browser.
A due date that closes the request. After the closing day the page says it has closed.
Signing in order. Up to 10 signers, in up to 12 spots, with a signed copy and a record page.
A signing reminder for you. After 1, 3 or 7 days Loop shows a notification naming a signer who has not signed. Click it and a ready email opens in your own mail app.
Templates. Keep the document you send every time, with blanks for the client's name.
Pay once. $49 for one person, yours forever, with a 14-day free trial.

Try Loop free for 14 days

Your own branded link, with notes on the exact second. $49 once.

Download for Mac

Options

ShareFile and SmartVault ask for at least 3 users, so their figure is the smallest plan with request lists (ShareFile Premium) or the smallest general plan (SmartVault Business Pro).

Tool	Does	Cost, one person
Loop	Request, receive, sign in order	$49 once
Dropbox	Free file requests	Free, or $180 a year
ShareFile	Request lists on Premium	$936 a year, 3 users
SmartVault	Request Docs, branded portal	$2,340 a year, 3 users
Content Snare	Checklists with auto reminders	$420 a year
DocuSign	Signing; uploads on Business Pro	$120 to $480 a year

US dollars, billed yearly, before tax, read from each vendor's own pages on 23 October 2026. Vendors show local currency to some visitors, so the Dropbox figure comes from archived US copies of its plans page. Dropbox Standard is the cheapest plan with a deadline on requests. ShareFile Premium is the plan with request lists. Content Snare Basic lists no custom branding (Plus is $852 with it). DocuSign Business Pro is the plan with the attachment-request line, while Personal is $120 for 5 sends a month and Standard is $300, and both only sign.

Dropbox

Dropbox file requests are free on every plan. A person can send you files without a Dropbox account, and you get an email on each upload (Dropbox help). Basic, Plus and Family accounts take files up to 2 GB, and Standard and other business plans take 250 GB. Collected files count against your storage. A deadline needs Standard or another business plan, which is $15 a user a month billed yearly, $180 a year. See Dropbox's plans.

ShareFile

ShareFile describes request lists that show clients what to submit, when it is due and where to upload it, with reminders and alerts for outstanding requests. Request lists start on Premium at $26 a user a month billed yearly with a minimum of 3 users, so $936 a year, and e-signature is included from Premium. See ShareFile's pricing.

SmartVault

SmartVault is a document management and client portal product, with Request Docs checklists and automated reminders when a file is missing. Business Pro is $65 a user a month billed annually with a minimum of 3 users, so $2,340 a year. E-signature is an add-on and needs a DocuSign connection. Its page showed $55 in July, so check it before you buy.

Content Snare

Content Snare turns a request into a checklist with instructions, due dates, follow-up schedules and automated reminders, and clients do not need an account. Basic is $35 a month billed annually, $420 a year, for 2 users and 20 active requests. Plus is $71 a month, $852 a year, and adds custom branding. It offers a 14-day free trial with no card. See Content Snare's pricing.

DocuSign

DocuSign is the signing specialist. Personal is $10 a month, $120 a year, for 5 sends a month. Standard is $25 a user a month billed annually, $300 a year, and signers need no account. Business Pro is $40 a month, $480 a year, and lists "Streamline attachment requests for signers". See DocuSign's e-signature page.

Limits

Loop is built for asking for files and getting a document signed from your Mac. It is not a client portal or a workflow tool, and these gaps matter for some offices:

No client portal or accounts. Clients open a link and have no place to log in to see their history.
No reminders to clients. A request has none. Loop never sends an email itself, and the signing reminder only opens a draft in your mail app.
No checklists. A request is a name, a note, a closing day, who may send and a size limit, so it cannot list passport, proof of address and so on.
No view of who has not sent. Loop lists the files that arrived and who sent them, not who is missing.
No automatic filing. Files keep the name the sender gave. Loop does not read, rename or sort them.
A typed name and email. A signature is a simple electronic signature, and the email is not checked. It is not identity-verified.
Size limits. Only the total can be raised or removed. A request takes up to 2,000 files, and a single file can be very large, up to the request's total (10 GB unless you raise it).
Mac only on your side, and alerts reach your Mac while Loop is running.

If you need checklists, automatic reminders and a client portal, use Content Snare, ShareFile or SmartVault. If you want to ask for files and get a document signed, with no accounts and a one-time price, use Loop.

Cost

For one person for one year, Loop is $49, paid once. Dropbox file requests are free, or $180 a year on Standard for a deadline. Content Snare is $420, DocuSign $120 to $300 to sign or $480 with attachment requests, ShareFile $936 and SmartVault $2,340, the last two because they start at three users. The yearly prices come back every year, while Loop has no renewal.

Loop includes a 14-day free trial that starts on first run, and Loop asks for no payment to begin it. During the trial a small "Shared with Loop" badge shows on the pages your clients see, and it goes with a licence. Your files are stored in your own Cloudflare account, and Cloudflare may ask for a card when you switch storage on.

Asking for Documents

Five habits get you the right files with fewer chasing emails, whichever tool you use.

List exactly what you need. "Passport photo page, proof of address from the last 3 months" beats "your documents".
Give a due date. A closing day tells people when to send, and a request that closes cannot collect late files by accident.
Use one place to send. One link in one email stops files arriving across threads.
Say what happens next. "We will email you when everything is signed" answers the question people ask.
Ask for the sender's email. Then you know who each file came from.