Still Signing Your Name on Paper? It’s Time to Utilize the Exploding E-Signature Market
As e-signature usage continues to rise, companies need to adopt the process in a hurry to increase efficiency and remain competitive.The biggest threat to any company’s long-term viability is inefficiency. As the documents, contracts, and invoices pile up, it can get increasingly difficult to climb out from underneath the wreckage.The real danger here is redundancy, as the amount of time and energy wasted on tracking down lost documents or re-entering data into digital systems can be staggering. Automating business processes wherever possible will give you a big leg-up when it comes to edging out the competition.One of the fastest-growing business process automation tools is the e-signature. E-signatures aren’t just for contracts and paying the bills; they can be applied to any step in an organization’s workflow that requires someone’s approval in order to move forward.
E-Signatures in Action
Sign-offs for things like project plans and contracts can now be executed remotely and immediately stored in the cloud. This removes any possibility for a mix-up or lost document, preventing hiccups in the workflow that could jeopardize your revenue streams and reputation.Some industries are already enjoying the major benefits this technology has to offer. Many law firms have implemented e-signatures in order to avoid the time-consuming, costly process of printing and scanning documents for every signature required.Less clutter leaves less room for mistakes and redundancy, and the resulting faster turnaround times have produced happier clients and more victories in the courtroom.On the other end of the spectrum, those waiting for a signature for an important court document or budget approval before getting started on a project can easily check up on its status from anywhere in the world.E-signatures make businesses more cost- and time-efficient, according to Docusign, eliminating the waiting period, postage costs, and incidence of human error that go hand-in-hand with physical documents traveling around to various destinations throughout an office or even around the globe.
What Can E-Signatures Do for My Business?
A recent study by ARX suggested that when you factor in associated costs such as paper, printing, postage, storage, and recovery of lost or missing documents, every handwritten signature can cost a company upwards of $30 — and that adds up quickly.I can vouch for this on a personal level; as I told Docusign, by eliminating paper and implementing digital solutions to manage our contracts and documents, Centric Digital saved approximately $200,000 just last year. I don’t care who you are: that’s a significant amount of lost revenue finding its way back into your pocket.Adopting e-signatures via the proper channels will optimize your workflow process, ultimately increasing efficiency, accountability, and productivity across the board. With so much to gain, I can’t help but ask: what are you waiting for?