Category Archives: E-signatures

5 Great Industries That Could Benefit from Electronic Signatures and Why

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5 Industries that use Electronic SignaturesElectronic signatures are a method of signing paperwork and documents without having to be physically present. Documents can be signed right over the computer or even on your smart phone, saving a ton of time and money. Here are 5 great industries that can really benefit from this technology:

1. Real Estate

Real estate agents often need tons of paperwork signed by their clients and sometimes, paperwork must be signed quickly; within 24 hours. A lot of time is spent by real estate agents driving from one place to another trying to catch up with clients and fit into their schedules in order to get paperwork signed. By utilizing electronic signatures, real estate agents can shave time from their day and get things done much more easily.

2. The Financial Industry 

There are many different reasons why electronic signatures can be great for the financial industry. Paperwork must be signed for virtually every transaction, and electronic documents can be just as confidential as physical documents, and sometimes even more so. Rather than spending the money and resources to send faxes or mail documents, financial professionals can simply send electronic documents to their clients have them electronically sign them.

3. The Construction Industry

When a client is having something built, there are often several teams involved, from engineers to various contractors and construction teams. Most of the time, the client must sign to approve actions before they take place. In the traditional manner (delivering the documents in person or mailing/faxing them), the construction project could be delayed until the signature is obtained. With electronic signatures, the project can go forward faster and it’s more convenient for everyone involved. 

4. The Legal Industry

Attorneys often have to file a lot of paperwork on behalf of their clients, no matter what type of legal situation they’re dealing with. This paperwork often takes a while to sign, and the client will usually have to go in to the office when they have time in order to sign those papers. With electronic signatures, clients can easily sign the documents to be filed from the convenience of their own homes and can get it done quickly.

5. The Insurance Industry

Finally, the insurance industry is another thick with paperwork. Clients must sign paperwork to begin coverage as well as maintain their current coverage and insurance professionals can really benefit from electronic signatures. Providing convenience for their customers is something most insurance professionals would like to do, and electronic signatures allow them to accomplish that.

6. Retail

But the post said 5 you’re thinking.  That’s right.  The reality is that there are endless industry where e-signatures make sense and we thought we would give you a bonus one.  Retail clients like an online jewelry boutique or a baby pajama store use e-signatures when working with vendors to streamline their operations.

Electronic signatures work well for any industry in which signatures are often needed and there are a lot of documents and paperwork to sign. Electronic signatures are easy to implement and records can be more easily kept and filed for future reference.

How an Accountant Can Utilize Esignatures to Streamline Their Business

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Esignatures for Accountants

Image: jannoon028 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Esignatures are perfectly legal and an acceptable substitute for a traditional signature. Laws like the ESIGN act of 2000 make esignatures just as legal and binding in a court of law as a traditional signature, so they can be used for anything that would need a signature. Because of this, esignatures can be extremely beneficial to accountants.

What Exactly IS an Esignature?

According to the Electronic Transactions Act, a signature is an electronic sound, symbol or process that is associated with an electronic record, adopted or used by a person with an intent to sign an electronic record. It might be your initials or your typed name, or even a mark that is confirmed as a representation of your signature. Because it’s so easy, many people don’t believe esignatures are completely legal, but in fact, they are just as legal as a traditionally obtained signature.

Forms, Forms and More Forms

Accountants log figures, keep records, and make sure everything is filled out on its own form and tucked away for safekeeping. There is no end to the forms an accountant will need to fill out, or that his or her clients will need to sign. Especially during tax time, an accountant lives and breathes forms that need to be signed by clients in order to proceed. This can take up a lot of time, and can be inconvenient for both the accountant and the clients.

An Accountant’s Biggest Enemy

One of the things that take up so much of an accountant’s time is tracking their clients down for signatures. The accountant typically has to schedule an appointment for the client to come in and sign documents, or has to spend the time to visit the client on his or her schedule to try and obtain signatures. Esignatures alleviate the wasted time and allows accountants to obtain the signatures quickly, without having to worry about conflicting schedules.

How Esignatures Work

When an accountant utilizes esignatures, he or she can send over the documents that need to be signed electronically, so the client can pick it up right from their email. They can then read over the document and sign it electronically, from the comfort of their computer desks, and mail it right back. The whole process doesn’t take more than a few minutes, and each signature is confirmed before the document is sent back to the accountant. This allows clients to sign documents when they have a few extra minutes rather than having to drive over or schedule an appointment with the client.

Whether you’re an accountant, a real estate agent, or any other professional, you can truly benefit from esignatures. You can quickly send documents to clients to have them sign when they have an extra moment, and they can sign them without worrying about scanning and copying or mailing. It’s easy and effective, and perfect for streamlining an accountant’s business.

Electronic Signatures in under two minutes

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In this video we walk you through the process of sending out a document for electronic signatures. It is a quick video and you can send out documents just as quickly.

Video transcript below:

In this video we are going to show you how to send out a document for e-signatures in under two minutes.

Once you have logged into your account, click on the new transaction button near the left-hand side of the screen.

You are presented with two options. You can upload a document or choose from your stored documents. We are going to select upload a document.

Click on the select button near the top right of the window.  Locate the file you want to send out for e-signatures and click open.

Once you are done selecting all of the documents you want to upload for e-signatures, click on the next button.

Your documents are then imported into our system and you are taken to the mapping tool.

The first step is to add the name and email address of a party you would like to e-sign your document.  Then we select their role, which is most cases will be signer. Then click on the add signer button.

The second step is placing the signature and initial locations for the individual we have added to the transaction.  First I am going to click on a signature button and drag it to the location where they are to sign the document. Then I am going to click and drag an initial location next to their name.

Next I am going to repeat this process and add another party to the document.  I am entering their name and email address, selecting their role as a signer and clicking on add signer.

Now drag their signature and initials on to the page in the desired locations.

Once all of the parties have been added to the transaction you click on the I’m done button.

Give the transaction a name that is easy to remember and add a message to the parties you are sending the e-signature transaction out to.  You can also re-arrange the order the parties will receive the transaction if you desire.

Click on confirm and send for signature and you are done.

The Advantages of E Signatures for your business

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Esignature pen

Ever-increasing technological innovations have made business a whole lot more convenient. From online conference calls to online faxes, technology makes business easier, and it saves time and money. One of those technological innovations making a big splash is e-signatures. There are a lot of benefits to using e-signatures for business, and understanding those benefits can help you determine whether they’re right for you or not.

Saving Time

One of the biggest benefits to businesses who utilize e-signatures is time saved. Rather than having to print and mail forms to clients, businesses can have them “sign” it in just a few minutes. This allows the customer and the business to move on to more important things. Because of the time saved, e-signatures can also help increase productivity and in turn, profits. In some companies, this can even eliminate an entire day’s worth of work, allowing them to utilize workers’ talents elsewhere.

Saving Money

E-signatures save money for companies in a number of different ways. Companies can spend from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars each year on paper, printing, and mailing forms for customers to sign. With e-signatures, all of that money is saved, which means it can be put back into another aspect of the company or transferred over to profits. It could even eliminate the need for companies to use a third party to print, organize and mail forms that need to be signed.

Going Green

Companies who are becoming more aware of their responsibility to “green” practices will benefit from e-signatures. Billions of pounds of paper waste are generated each year by companies – both small and large. Not only do e-signatures reduce paper waste, but it allows those companies to advertise as a “green” business. This, in combination with other green practices can help earn the respect of customers and potentially gain new customers who are looking for companies with a green initiative.

Convenience

Offering the option of e-signatures allows companies to offer their customers something more: convenience. In a world where everything is becoming more convenient, customers have come to expect things to be extremely easy. From paying for gas at the gas pump to having groceries delivered straight to the house, convenience is without a doubt a market. Chances are, if they’re considering two companies, they’re going to go with the one that is more convenient. Offering e-signatures allows companies to provide that convenience and be a step ahead of the competition.

Overall, e-signatures are a wonderful and positive business change. It doesn’t take a lot of time or money to integrate e-signatures into a company’s every day processes, and the end result is a whole lot better than the traditional print, mail, and sign method. They provide companies with the opportunity to save money, lots of time, and to operate as a business that is environmentally-friendly. Customers appreciate the convenience of e-signatures and companies can truly benefit from them. It’s a win-win situation.

E-signatures are becoming more popular

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In today’s world, individuals can ask a question of a colleague half a world away and receive an answer in just minutes. Paperwork that once took days and even weeks to transfer from one party to another can now be sent in the time it takes to hit a download button. Technology has made everything more convenient, including business and the way business processes are handled. E-signatures are one method businesses use to streamline processes and speed up productivity. They’re a wonderful way to save time and money, and they make doing business a lot more convenient.

What is an E-Signature?

An E-signature is a type of signature that individuals can give electronically, to prevent the need to have their actual physical signature. There are different sorts of E-signatures, from unique codes that are inserted to signify “signing,” to the simple act of typing one’s name. There are typically some measures used to ensure that the individual signing is actually the person they say they are. E-signatures allow individuals to quickly perform tasks that they might normally need to wait days or weeks for, such as signing a contract.

What are the Benefits of E-Signatures?

Businesses can especially benefit from using E-signatures in a number of ways. First and foremost, they save a lot of time, allowing businesses to get things done more quickly than through the traditional method of obtaining signatures. E-signatures are also a great way to cut costs in a business. Normally, important papers must be printed out or scanned, copied, and mailed out to the recipients. Considering the huge amount of paperwork most companies are burdened with, the cost of moving it around in this manner is relatively expensive. When using electronic forms and e-signatures, costs are cut significantly.

Green Companies

E-signatures are also very beneficial for companies who are going green, or who have made the effort to eliminate paper waste throughout their company. Approximately 30 billion paper documents are either printed or copied by companies in the United States each year. Every company that goes green and utilizes e-signatures on digital documents rather than printed copies reduces that number significantly. This goes a long way toward building a better future and reducing the amount of paper waste generated by businesses in the US.

Are E-Signatures Legal?

E-signatures are legal and can be used for all types of businesses requiring valid signatures. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) ensures that electronically-signed documents and contracts are just as legally binding as a traditional paper-based contract. This law was passed in 2000, so by no means are E-signatures a brand new idea. However, the popularity is spreading and more and more companies are realizing the immense benefits of using E-signatures in everyday business process.

Overall, E-signatures are a type of technology that benefits both the businesses that utilize them and the customers that work with those businesses. From the added convenience to quicker processing and increased productivity, E-signatures are a solution that all businesses should consider.