Compare E-Signature Software
Buying Considerations in E-Signature Software
- Regulatory compliance
- Signature compliance varies from industry to industry. Make sure to familiarize yourself with restrictions and guidelines for using e-signatures in your industry. E-signature products can help you comply with regulations by providing the ability to securely store documents for a set time and track the signing process for auditing purposes.
- Industry customization
- In addition to industry specific compliance concerns, functionality needs differ across industries. E-Signature vendors typically provide contract templates for businesses in industries such as insurance, real estate, financial services, government, and healthcare.
- Mobile
- Depending on the nature of your business, signing and tracking contracts on the go can be a convenience or a necessity. More e-signature vendors are adding mobile functionality to their products either in the form of native iOS/Android applications or through a mobile browser. Mobile functionality differs greatly between products and if mobile is a factor in your decision, make sure to compare features across applications.
- Integration
- Many e-signature products offer out-of-the-box integration with popular CRM or document management tools. Integrating an e-signature product with your CRM or document management platform can make the contract signing process more efficient and easier to manage.
- Cloud vs. on premise
- Cloud e-signature tools offer a Software as a Service (SaaS) pricing model and work inside a browser. On-premise e-signature tools are installed on hardware owned and maintained by the customer.
- Cloud
- Most of the new e-signature tools were born in the cloud. The cloud pricing model is typically a set price per user per month. Cloud tools are easy to implement, don’t require hardware investments, and allow you to pay overtime based on usage.
- On premise
- Most customers who use on-premise tools purchase a perpetual license based on the number of users and pay an annual maintenance fee. On-premise tools might be client-server tools that require a software to be installed in each user’s PC or might be browser based. On-premise tools require IT support to install and maintain, and also require investments in hardware.
Key Benefits of E-Signature Software
- Paperless - Eliminate the paper trail of contracts, which reduces printing and physical file storage needs
- Efficiency - A fully digital process allows contracts to be sent, edited and signed over email much faster than through the postal system.
- Audit Trail and Compliance - Set workflows and automatically store document history seamlessly
- Improved productivity - Less time spent on signing and processing contracts across your company saves money and allows employees to spend more time on their work.
Common Features
These are the common features of E-Signature Software
Signature Process
- Document Signing
- Allows signor to easily and intuitively sign documents
- Reminders and Expirations
- Reminds signors of documents that are waiting to be signed and document expiration dates
- Sign in process
- Process of authenticating is secure and seemless
- Mobile
- User can easy send and sign documents on mobile devices
- Signature Workflow
- Sendor/Adminstrators can easily set up and track documents through multiple signature steps
- Mass Signatures
- Send documents requiring signature to 1000's of signers at once
- Reporting
- Provides standard reports and easy creation of custom reports to manage signature process
- Signature Document Creation
- Easy to create signature blocks on all required electronic document types/formats
Security and Scalability
- Regulatory Compliance
- Meets required regulartory compliances
- Signature History and Audit
- Tracks all document signing history to comply with required regulations
- Enterprise Scalability
- Provides features to allow scaling for large organizations
Platform
- Custom Branding
- Custom branding can be applied through signature process
Business Problems Solved with E-Signature Software
Since the enactment of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN) in 1999 and 2000, respectively, electronic signature software has become ubiquitous across business operations. These laws established general rules and guidelines for electronic signature tools in global commerce, paving the way for their usage across a variety of industries.
E-signature software provides users with the ability to securely collect signatures on electronic records such as sales contracts, proposals, and employment paperwork. Due to the sensitivity of records exchanged and signed with e-signature software, most products adhere to strict industry standards for security and encryption.
E-signature software can be used to solve a variety of problems frequently encountered by business professionals. In their reviews, users said decreasing document turnaround time and ensuring secure and compliant business records are two of the most significant business problems solved with e-signature software.
Decreasing Document Turnaround Time
Prior to the advent of e-signature software, transactions involving multiple parties required physical documentation and signatures to be viewed as legally compliant. Often this meant that documents needed to be physically mailed to the other party, and copies would be kept as a record of receipt. This decreased the overall efficiency of transactions and longer sales cycles. In cases when parties made amendments or disagreed with a contract, the time required for approvals could balloon exponentially.
E-signature software streamlines the flow of documents with multiple features designed to simplify document creation, establish workflows, and remind parties to submit signed documents. Many industries, including those of banking and real estate, depend on these technologies to support their day-to-day business operations.
Sales teams can use e-signature software to distribute and collect signed contracts and proposals. The use of e-signature software to design sales workflows can reduce friction between sales teams and their customers by automating sales processes. E-signature products frequently integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, allowing professionals to simplify sales workflows and connect signed documents to customer accounts. This enables sales teams to better service their customers with faster sales operations.
HR departments frequently use e-signature software to support their onboarding processes, allowing employees to sign new hire paperwork such as tax, benefits, and compensation forms. This simplifies onboarding for onsite, remote, and contract workers, as they no longer need to print, sign, scan, and then email signed documents back to the organization. Some e-signature products integrate with onboarding products to further support HR workflows.
As was highlighted in our buyer’s guide for e-signature software, the e-signature functionality needed across various industries is a key factor to consider when selecting an e-signature product. Nonetheless, reviewers of e-signature software agree that regardless of which product is chosen, both time and cost savings can be realized in the form of shortened document turnaround times.
Ensuring Secure and Compliant Business Records
Prior to the enactment of UETA and E-SIGN, companies could legally refuse electronically-signed documents, regardless of whether the document was otherwise secure and met contract requirements. Since the enforcement of those laws, however, the use of e-signatures to facilitate transactions has become the norm.
To promote acceptance of e-signature technology, many vendors strive to meet or exceed industry security standards such as the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), a Federal Information Processing Standard for digital signatures adopted in 1993. Standards such as this ensure guidelines are in place for the secure transferral and signature of contracts using modern encryption technologies.
Companies using e-signature software are subject to a variety of compliancy requirements. In accordance with the E-SIGN act, financial institutions are required to maintain accessible electronic records of documents for a period of time. HR departments also must take care that their use of e-signature software for employee onboarding is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.
Most e-signature products offer detailed information about their security standards and technology. If security features are your primary concern when choosing an e-signature product, you should select a product that offers advanced document encryption capabilities, secure access and authentication features, and non-repudiation. By comparing the offerings of each e-signature solution, you can ensure that you select the product with the optimal blend of security features for your business.
Other Business Problems Solved with E-Signature Software
Some of the other business problems solved with sales intelligence software include:
- Preparing vertical-specific documents
- Managing employee non-disclosure agreements (NDA’s)
- Reducing operational costs by maintaining a paperless office
E-Signature Software for Small Business
Small teams and companies can often manage contracts and official documents physically with paper and files, eventually scanning them for digital storage. In today’s day and age, there are affordable options to do just about everything digitally, including the management of official documents. There’s no point in keeping paper copies floating around and piling up when searchable, secure databases and document sharing tools exist.
One of the most common digital document storage uses for small businesses is during the hiring and onboarding processes. New hire documentation is a necessary burden for every employee at every company. E-signature tools create legally binding documents and often help users navigate through the process. Many come with pre-generated forms for things like taxes and insurance. Many also provide tools to create and customize documents to display insurance options, company visions, or non-compete agreements.
There are tons of uses for e-signature tools in terms of finances. Many businesses use these products to manage sales contracts, corporate documents, and expense reports. These capabilities become exponentially more valuable when attempting to exchange documents remotely. It eases worries about paper lost in the mail or having to run and find a fax machine. Not only do e-signature tools make the documents easier to deliver and transfer, but they also allow users to create digital records of company documents that are easy to organize and navigate.
The need to access documents on the go is constantly growing. Some industries benefit more than others, but mobile compatibility is an important capability of e-signature tools. Some circumstances may require users to display documents when they are not near a computer. For example, the paperwork required for a realtor closing a deal, is significantly easier when completed via phone or tablet.
A key to successfully adopting e-signature software is integrating the tool with existing software solutions. Sales professionals can often integrate e-signature products with CRM tools to both sign and store documents. Healthcare professionals can often directly submit and store documents within eDiscovery platforms. Other common integrations include configure, price, quote (CPQ), contract lifecycle management, tax filing, database,and accounting solutions.
Small businesses in today’s granulized, globalized world will benefit from efficient documentation, organization, and integration. Every company has to deal with contracts and documents of some sort, and e-signature software can greatly diminish the stress of document management and storage. Small and growing companies should consider an e-signature solution to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness across multiple company departments.
Latest E-Signature Blog Articles
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