Electronic signature in Odoo: Smart-ID for work acts and contracts
If your company signs dozens of work acceptance acts, contracts or handover documents every month, printing, scanning and waiting for the client to email a signed PDF back costs more than it looks. LONGRUN (UAB VM Robotika) integrates the Baltic qualified electronic signature directly into Odoo, so a document can be signed with Smart-ID or Mobile-ID without leaving the system.
An electronic signature is not one single thing. Under EU law there are three levels of legal weight, and most international signing tools only offer the weakest one. For a document that releases a payment or records the acceptance of work, that difference matters.
| Signature level | What it is | Legal weight | Typical example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple (SES) | A name drawn with a mouse or typed onto a PDF, or a confirmation click in an email. | Limited evidential value. Proving the signer's identity in a dispute is hard. | International signing tools with a „draw“ or „type“ option. |
| Advanced (AES) | A signature uniquely linked to the signer that makes later changes to the document detectable. | Stronger than simple, but not equivalent to a handwritten signature. | Internal approval flows inside a company system. |
| Qualified (QES) | A signature based on a qualified certificate issued by a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP). | Under the eIDAS Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 it is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature across the entire European Union. | Smart-ID, Mobile-ID, national ID card. |
For work acts, contracts and handover documents only the qualified level makes real sense, and that is exactly what the Baltic eID methods provide.
Which signing methods work in Lithuania
Several methods can create a qualified signature in Lithuania. When integrating Odoo it is worth supporting the main ones, because clients and employees rarely use the same method.
| Method | How signing works | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|
| Smart-ID | A phone app. The signer enters a personal identity code, sees a verification number on screen and confirms with a PIN2 code. | The most widely used method. Needs no card reader and no special SIM card. |
| Mobile-ID | A special SIM card. The confirmation appears directly on the phone screen. | People who already have a mobile signature SIM from their operator. |
| National ID card | An ID card with a reader, or a USB token holding the certificates. | Office workstations where a reader is already in place. |
| Latvian and Estonian methods | eParaksts mobile, Estonian e-Residency card. | Companies signing with partners across the Baltic states. |
Why work acceptance acts are the strongest use case
In Lithuania an invoice does not legally require a signature, so signing invoices is mostly decorative. A work acceptance act is the opposite: it is the document in which the client confirms that the work has been accepted, and in practice it releases the payment for that contract stage.
When there are many acts and signing happens on paper, a familiar chain forms. The PDF goes out by email, the client prints it, signs it, scans it and returns it days later, and accounting then has to work out which project it belongs to. Every day between finishing the work and holding a signed act is a day the money does not arrive.
A qualified signature compresses that chain into minutes. The act is generated in Odoo, the client receives a link, signs on a phone with Smart-ID, and the signed document returns to the same Odoo record.
How it works inside Odoo
- The document originates in Odoo: the act, contract or annex is generated from real system data, so amounts, stages and company details always match the project.
- Signing starts from the record: a signing action appears on the document, where the signer and their email address are set.
- The client signs with their own method: Smart-ID, Mobile-ID or an ID card. No registration is needed, only what the person already has on their phone.
- The result comes back automatically: the signed document, with signature data and a qualified timestamp, is attached to the same Odoo record.
- Status is visible to everyone: the system shows which acts were sent, viewed and already signed, so nobody has to dig through email threads.
- Multiple signers: when both parties or several representatives must sign, the signatures accumulate on the same document.
Formats: ADOC, ASiC-E and PAdES
A signed document is not simply a PDF with a picture on it. The signature is stored in a specific format, and that format determines whether public institutions will accept the document and whether it can still be verified ten years later.
| Format | What it is | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| ADOC | The electronic document container used in Lithuania. | When the document goes to public institutions, or when the client's internal rules require it. |
| ASiC-E | A European standard container recognised across the EU. | For cross-border documents and where long-term verification matters. |
| PAdES | The signature is embedded into the PDF file itself. | When the document should stay an ordinary PDF that anyone can open. |
It is worth planning for long-term validation from the start. That means the validity of a signature can still be proven after the original certificate or timestamp has expired.
What you need for this to work
Only a Qualified Trust Service Provider can create a qualified signature, so the integration requires an account with one. In the Baltic states Dokobit is the usual choice, while the Smart-ID credentials themselves are issued by SK ID Solutions.
We recommend that the account is held by your own company rather than through an intermediary. That keeps the legal chain directly between your company and the provider, and personal data, including national identity codes, does not flow through third-party systems. In this setup LONGRUN connects your Odoo to your own account.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Smart-ID signature equivalent to a handwritten one?
Yes, when the qualified version of Smart-ID is used. It is issued by SK ID Solutions, a Qualified Trust Service Provider, so under the eIDAS Regulation the signature is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature throughout the European Union.
Does the client need to register anywhere?
No. The client receives a link and signs with the method they already use, most often the Smart-ID app on their phone. No separate account is required.
Can invoices be signed as well?
Technically yes, but it is usually unnecessary. An invoice does not legally require a signature in Lithuania, so for most companies it makes more sense to sign work acts, contracts and annexes, where the signature carries real legal weight.
Does it work for clients abroad?
A qualified signature is valid across the European Union, but the available identification methods differ by country. Smart-ID and Mobile-ID cover Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, while clients elsewhere are handled case by case depending on the methods they use.
Where is the signed document stored?
The signed document is attached to the same Odoo record it was sent from, so the act always stays with its project or contract instead of living in a separate system or an email thread.
How long does such an integration take?
The scope depends on how many document types need signing and which formats your clients require. We define the exact scope and price after a conversation about your document flow.
Want to sign work acts straight from Odoo?
Get a free consultation – we will discuss your document flow and the best-fit solution.