The request "Sign here please" has looked the same for most of human history. That's because until about a decade or so ago, there was only one way to officially autograph a document: with a physical pen and paper.
Times have changed. Signing a page in the twenty-first century can happen without any paper at all. E-signatures make the process entirely digital, and in doing so, more efficient as well.
Article Shortcuts:
- Key Benefits of Going Digital in Your Business
- Effective Strategies for Adopting Digital Forms and E-Signatures
- Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them
In this article, we'll explore how this digital transformation is reshaping the way entrepreneurs and small business owners handle paperwork.
Source: Freepik
Key Benefits of Going Digital in Your Business
Making the jump from paper to touchscreen by learning ways to create e-signatures comes with many advantages. The technology behind them is now practical enough to deploy at scale.
Software products combine built-in e-signature capability with other thoughtful functionalities to provide next-level gains in efficiency, cost savings, security, and so much more.
See a full overview of the benefits for businesses below.
Legal validity: E-signatures are legally binding in most jurisdictions, holding the same weight as traditional signatures.
Improved tracking and management: Easily monitor the status of documents and send automated reminders for pending signatures.
Enhanced collaboration: Facilitate multi-party signing for contracts and agreements involving multiple stakeholders.
Customizable workflows: Design and implement signature processes that align with your specific business needs and approval chains.
Mobile-friendly: Enable signing on smartphones and tablets, increasing flexibility for on-the-go professionals.
Reduced storage costs: Eliminate the need for physical storage space and associated maintenance expenses for paper documents.
Improved data accuracy: Implement form validation to ensure every required field in a document is completed before submission.
Increased productivity: Reallocate staff time from manual paperwork handling to more value-added, human-worthy tasks.
Enhanced brand image: Project a modern, tech-savvy image to clients and partners through the use of digital processes.
Scalability: Easily adapt to growing business needs without the limitations of physical document management systems.
Effective Strategies for Adopting Digital Forms and E-Signatures
Source: Freepik
E-signatures are making their way into our daily lives in a plethora of ways. In business contexts specifically, virtually every department of an organization has at least one application for them.
Take accounting, for example. Companies of all sizes and industries turn to accounting teams to handle invoicing, expense reports, and financial documentation.
With e-signatures, these processes become streamlined and error-free.
Employees can quickly sign off on expense reports, managers can approve budgets with a click, and vendors can electronically sign invoices, all without the need for printing or scanning.
In the realm of human resources, digital forms and e-signatures revolutionize onboarding and employee management. New hires can complete and sign all necessary paperwork before their first day, saving valuable time during orientation.
Performance reviews, policy acknowledgments, and benefits enrollment forms can all be handled digitally, ensuring compliance and reducing administrative burden.
On-demand grocery delivery service Instacart is reported to have improved its Shopper contractor application completion rate by 270 percent through the use of e-signature software. Crunchyroll, GitLab, The Hershey Company, United Airlines, and Cisco also use these tools for internal applications of all kinds.
Customer-facing sales departments benefit greatly from e-signature technology as well. Entertainment SaaS company Vendini uses it to save an untold amount of time for business development representatives.
A cloud-based system enables them to send, sign, and return contracts in minutes rather than days, accelerating deal closures and improving customer satisfaction.
Sales representatives can even close deals over the phone by issuing contracts to prospects in real time.
Even IT departments find value in digital forms and e-signatures. Change requests, access authorizations, and software license agreements can all be managed more efficiently through digital workflows designed to dually speed up processes and create clear audit trails for compliance and security purposes. That's incredibly important to maintaining the transparency and accountability expected of all businesses today.
E-signature tools effectively level the playing field across the board, allowing smaller operations to appear just as professional and efficient as their larger counterparts.
Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Source: Pexels
Still being relatively new, signatures have their challenges. It's taken years to even get to the point at which we are today, where digital documents are even used in the mainstream.
Much more ground needs to be covered before this form of signature is as trusted and widely used as its traditional counterpart.
One of the primary hurdles is user adoption. Employees - and people in general - are resistant to change. Many are set in their ways, clinging to the comfort of their trusty ballpoint pens like a child to their favorite stuffed animal.
Hands-on training sessions where employees can practice using the new system in a low-pressure environment, easy-to-follow guides, and video tutorials can all go a long way for those who need a little extra help.
When it comes to outlying legal and security concerns, education is key. Businesses must invest time in explaining the legal validity of e-signatures to skeptical clients and partners.
Providing clear, concise information about how digital signatures work, their legal standing, and the robust security protocols in place can help alleviate these concerns.
It's almost always best to start with internal processes before extending to external stakeholders. Doing so allows for a smoother transition and helps iron out any kinks in the system before involving external parties.
Conclusion
Before signing off, we should conclude by reiterating one key point: signatures are making a big difference for businesses across the board, and they're not just a passing trend.
As technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more innovative solutions to emerge, further streamlining business processes and enhancing security measures.
So, the next time you're asked to "sign here," don't be surprised if there's no pen in sight.
Welcome to the future of signatures - it's digital, it's efficient, and it's here to stay. The best thing any business owner can do is embrace the change and watch as their operations transform for the better.
Author Bio
Emily Shaw is the founder of DocFly. As a software developer, she built the service from scratch and is responsible for its operations and continued growth. Previously, she studied engineering at the University of Hong Kong and mathematics at the University of Manchester.
