Not to mention, an electronic signature can help businesses in so many ways. Go through these top electronic signature tips that will help you get the best of the e-signature!
Many advancements of technology continue to reform the way businesses operate. Technology has had a prominent impact on different business operations ranging from marketing and supply chain management to marketing. One of the most noticeable ways in which technology has brought significant changes for modern businesses is the electronic signature.
If you know the right electronic signature tips, you have a better chance of using them for various advantages. Electronic signatures are the new-age solution for signing digital documents and streamlining the business process flow for various enterprises. However, there are many doubts that pop up about different aspects, such as the validity of electronic signatures.
Also Read: Why to Adopt Electronic Signature for Your Business
Top Tips for Using Electronic Signatures
The proper awareness about e-signatures and the ideal tips for using e-signatures without any apprehensions are necessary. These steps can help you in leveraging electronic signatures as a vital tool for boosting your productivity. The following discussion dives into some crucial tips for using electronic signatures. As a matter of fact, the pointers in the following discussion would reflect on the important answers that you must have before using electronic signatures.
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The legality of E-Signature Solutions
The first entry in any discussion on electronic signature tips should always focus on the validity of electronic signatures. Actually, you can find your answers to a lot of questions about the nature of electronic signatures. Any digital form of your signatures such as a scanned image or computer-generated image does not qualify as an electronic signature.
In such cases, it would be difficult to anticipate the integrity of the electronic signature as you could not be sure of the identity of the actual signatory. Therefore, always choose e-signature solutions that use technology based on e-Signature patent enacted legally in 2000 through the ESIGN Act. The patented technology makes sure that an individual electronically signs a document rather than just capturing their intent to sign with the e-signature solution.
Read the full ESIGN Act document here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ229/pdf/PLAW-106publ229.pdf
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Need for Digital Certificates
Another prominent concern that emerges among promising electronic signature tips refers to the facility of digital certificates. The security of transactions using e-signatures is of paramount importance to any organization. Therefore, you should know that an electronic service solution would provide you with digital certificates for every transaction. These certificates are highly crucial for proving the validity of an electronic signature.
Generally, the solution provider would include the cost of digital certificates in the annual licensing costs. As a result, you can have a proven approach for avoiding electronic signature legal issues. In addition, you should also note that digital certificates for e-signatures are generally valid for two years. The solution provider would renew the certificates at an additional charge included in your annual licensing costs.
There are a number of myths associated with the use of electronic signatures. Let’s understand the top 10 Electronic Signature Myths and Facts.
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Concerns of Data Captured with E-Signatures
Readers should note that one of the prominent concerns among e-signature tips is security. One of the important tenets for security with e-signature refers to the data captured with the signature. Furthermore, the data breaches at notable tech giants such as Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn imply the need for additional carefulness.
It is important to note that the e-signature solution provider determines the type of data captured in your electronic signature. Generally, you can find that e-signature solution using the patented e-signature technology capture seven different types of metadata. The metadata is legally binding and can help considerably in proving the validity of e-signature in court.
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Search for Comprehensive Audit Trails
The next critical thing that you should focus on in electronic signature tips is the audit trail. The audit trail or chain of custody is not just a feature of e-signature solutions that you can keep at the sideline. Audit trails help you validate the authenticity of a document with an electronic signature and participants in signing and modifying the document. Therefore, it is advisable for all enterprises and individuals to opt for e-signature solutions having extensive audit trails.
The audit trail is also one of the important aspects of the answer to ‘what makes an electronic signature legal’. Detailed audit trails with the use of Blockchain technology can provide legitimate and clear insights on time and place of changes in a document. In addition, you could be sure of the integrity of audit trails that use Blockchain technology because of the fact that it is immutable.
Also Read: Top Questions You Should Ask Your E-Signature Vendor
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User Verification and Validation
Among the many prominent concerns for users of electronic signatures, the verification and validation of users are also noteworthy. Therefore, electronic signature tips also imply the need for selecting e-signature solutions with additional functionalities for user verification and validation. You can do this just by creating an account and taking a look at various steps for signing a document. If you can sign on an e-signature solution without registering for an account or directly from the email you received from them, then it’s better to walk away.
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Due Diligence on Your Behalf
Most of the time, users of e-signature solutions assume that their job is done after selecting the provider. However, users have to follow the due diligence for the service provider on ‘how to collect electronic signatures’. The services of electronic signature solutions and your requirements may vary considerably, thereby leading to long-term discrepancies. On the contrary, if you put in some efforts for verifying the integrity of the process followed for collecting electronic signatures, then you have the best outcomes from the e-signature solution.
It is important to look into the a number of factors while choosing an electronic signature solution for your business. Here are the top points you should consider while choosing an e-signature vendor.
Ready to Avail the Benefits of These Electronic Signature Tips?
On a concluding note, readers could find substantial help in using electronic signatures from the above-mentioned information. Even if electronic signatures have been around for a while, there have been a lot of ambiguities regarding their validity and applications. The gradual rise in the adoption of e-signature solutions at a large scale indicates the need for enterprises and individuals to familiarize themselves with best practices for using e-signatures.
The above-mentioned electronic signature tips can help you get everything right with the use of e-signature. As you must have noticed, these pointers are not some magical tricks to get your e-signature right without having to lift a finger. Users of e-signature solutions are also equally responsible for safeguarding the integrity of electronic signatures.
Therefore, it is important to engage in thorough research and uncover additional best practices for using electronic signatures. In the long run, e-signatures will replace traditional ink-based signatures completely, especially for businesses. Get ready right now for leveraging the seamless benefits of e-signature tomorrow!