9 Reasons Why You Should Start Using Electronic Signatures Today
Signatures are a form of identification that is meant to be unique to an individual. As the world is becoming more digitised, so do the art and science of verification and security. You’ve probably used an electronic signature (e-signature) before, whether it’s for employment, NDAs, contracts or more.
E-signatures continue to become a common way to verify and seal documents in a post-pandemic work environment. What are the benefits of using digital signatures? How can it improve productivity, increase customer satisfaction and make your work much easier in general?
There are a number of reasons and benefits of using electronic signatures. Let’s take a look at some of them:
- Fits into Many Working Arrangements
Previously, if you have to get something signed, you and the other party have to be physically present. This has been proven to be a challenge during the pandemic, where movement is restricted and lockdowns are in place.
Electronic signatures break that geographical barrier to fit into many current working environments, particularly remote working and working from home (WFH). Even now when many businesses are starting to operate and people are moving about again, e-signatures remain useful. Users love to be given the choice of using digital or wet signatures, thus solidifying e-signatures' role in a post-pandemic society.
- Allows for Better Work Process
E-signing makes it more accessible for clients and teams to get more things done no matter where they are located. It’s already very common for an entire signing process to be online, from document creation, transfer to verifying.
Using the right platform that is secure and compliant, documents can be securely sent online and signed with an electronic signature in an instant. No more waiting or delaying for days or weeks on end for a document to be hand-delivered, examined, and signed. As a result of using e-signatures, your teams, clients, and partners can sign documents digitally, resulting in more efficient transactions.
- Encourages Paperless Transactions
Through the digital transformation, more documents are digitised and less are physically printed. It might not be a lot, but it’s one small step towards more sustainable business practices. But more than that, managing and storing physical documents necessitates costs, space and resources.
A paperless transaction eliminates the need for logistics, physical storage space and being physically present. With e-signatures, you can easily create, sign, and store documents online. All of your data, records, transactions, and documents will be saved online and can be accessed in minutes.
- Lets You Focus on Other Resources
Using electronic signatures saves costs by eliminating operational and overhead costs that traditional paperwork may demand. This then lets you focus your resources for other ventures.
Going digital with document signing (and perhaps transfer) also saves you with other resources such as time and human capital, allowing you to divert them into better and more needed operations and tasks. Physical documents risk logistical problems, especially for time-sensitive documents that need to be signed in time.
- Allows for Better Document Control
Using an e-signature platform like Dedoco allows for better control of your important documents. You can control who can access your documents, who it is shared with and set better security and privacy using various mechanisms. In addition, you also can easily keep track of who has opened, signed, or approved a document, as well as who is causing delays.
In an age of data leaks where even famed companies are found guilty of security breaches, being in control of who can access your data is an impertinent part of today’s document management.
- Electronic Signatures are Generally More Secure
The technology that powers e-signing and digital document transfers has improved greatly to involve multiple layers of security. Platforms such as Dedoco especially, use a novel mechanism to ensure documents are tamper-proof.
A blockchain-powered document signing system, for example, can give a great advantage towards better security. Ultimately, you can be confident that your documents will be delivered to the correct people.
- Provides Detailed Legal Evidence
E-signatures are legal in the majority of countries, including the United States under the UETA and E-Sign Act, Europe under the eIDAS regulation, India under the Information Technology Act, Singapore, Malaysia and many more.
E-signatures are becoming more legally recognised, approved, and accepted as more documents are digitised. The audit trail log, which is associated with the e-signature, makes it more acceptable in the event of a legal dispute.
When a document is signed with an e-signature, it provides a more detailed and legal binding with a log of events that occurred on that document. These logs provide more evidence of the signature and better verify the signatory than any traditional handwritten signature.
- Increases Client Satisfaction
Quicker and more efficient transactions can increase customer experience and improve their satisfaction. Their signing process is greatly simplified, made smoother and more streamlined with the use of e-signatures.
As previously mentioned, users appreciate being given the extra option of signing digitally as it fits into their current lifestyle. In fact, 72% of leading businesses say that using e-signatures has increased customer renewal rates. Evidently, e-signatures have been adapted well into many groups of people today.
- Helps Gain a Competitive Advantage
With better workflow, digitised transactions, faster and more efficient process and increased collaboration, e-signatures might as well give you a competitive edge in the market. As more businesses and organisations are adapting to digital work processes, setting yourself apart has become more and more crucial to survive. As such, it’s important to give clients the best service with minimal friction, empower your team and streamline your process. E-signatures can give that small but needed boost on your way to going digital.
Ready to Start Digitising?
We can see that electronic signatures are one of the most significant technological advancements that can help your organisation work more efficiently. The benefits of going paperless, being more cost-efficient and user-friendly, among other things, make e-signatures the new norm for many individuals in the 21st century.
