Things Small Businesses Need To Know About Electronic Signatures

Even in today’s digitized world, 80% of business documents are still produced, signed, scanned, and faxed manually.

Such paper-based procedures severely hamper the effectiveness of your company’s workflow. Additionally, it may cause problems for your customers’ experiences.

According to recent research, over 37% of small business executives have problems with agreements that are either incomplete or signed by the wrong parties.

SMBs may easily address these problems using electronic signatures.

However, the majority of small firms find it difficult to obtain the solutions they require during the early phases of study into electronic signatures. 

The legal value of an electronic signature is the same as that of a handwritten signature. As a result, small firms can use it to transmit estimates, pay stubs, employment contracts, and purchase orders (PO).

However, several erroneous assumptions about electronic signatures often mislead prospective users.

1. Digital signatures differ from electronic signatures in several ways.

It’s true that the terms “digital signature” and “electronic signature” are frequently used synonymously. However, they are two quite distinct things. The computerized equivalent of a handwritten signature is an electronic signature. Businesses use it to indicate their acceptance of the contents of an electronic document.

Advanced electronic signatures are within the topic of digital signatures. They use algorithms to create a digital fingerprint, commonly referred to as a digital certificate’s “hash.” Each document has a different set of these fingerprints.

Small firms can sign electronic documents using either electronic or digital signatures. Before selecting between the two approaches, it is crucial to be aware of local laws.

2. Electronic signatures are legally equivalent to wet ink signatures.

Federal law recognizes electronic signatures as a legitimate type of signature. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN Act) in the United States and the eIDAS Regulation (Electronic Identification and Authentication and Trust Services) in the European Union (EU) forbid the denial of the legal effect, validity, or enforceability of a document that has been electronically signed simply because it is in an electronic format.

Today, more than 60 nations on the planet have their own set of rules and regulations. So long as the signing procedure is planned and carried out in accordance with the law, electronic signatures are valid and enforceable in a court of law.

3. The majority of document types across many industries can be signed electronically.

Almost any type of contract, including proposals, leases, sales contracts, and others, can be signed online. However, the majority of electronic signature regulations around the world list a few significant exclusions.

For instance, the electronic signing of wills, property transfers, and other legal notices is not recognized by the ESIGN Act or UETA.

Additionally, the IT Act (The Information Technology Act) of India does not accept wills, real estate transactions, or powers of attorney that have been electronically signed.

4. The use of electronic signatures does not require technical expertise:

It’s simple to include electronic signature technology into your process. These days, built-in integration features are being offered by the majority of electronic signature solutions.

According to a recent study, 45% of small business owners believe that electronic signatures can boost worker productivity.

Employees may now electronically sign using their preferred business tools, on DOQFY. 
Additionally, pay attention to a user-friendly interface while selecting an electronic signature software, or let DOQFY help you with your digital documentation work. By doing this, you can register & use the e-signature facility for agreements & contracts digitally.