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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.