Electronic Signature – A Smart Onboarding Tool For Modern Business
Electronic signature, also known as an eSignature, is a quick and legally binding way to approve electronic documents. They can be easily integrated into digital documents to facilitate a more efficient way of getting them signed.
eSignatures are secure and verifiable, & they can replace handwritten signatures in almost any process. This makes them a smarter choice for executing business documents which are often processed in large volumes on a day-to-day basis.
Electronic signatures expedite onboarding procedures as they enable users to sign agreements quickly. eSignatures allow businesses the freedom to collaborate & onboard partners/clients remotely & pave the way for increased revenue opportunities.
Digitizing execution workflows for business contracts helps enterprises manage routine processes with ease. Companies can streamline their document signature process flows by integrating them with electronic signature software.
Electronic Signature- What Is It & Why Should Businesses Be Paying Attention?
An electronic signature solution is enterprise software that is developed to streamline & simplify all the activities that take place to get documents approved & signed.
Onboarding procedures can be highly time-consuming when carried out manually. Getting documents verified & signed traditionally leads to a significant amount of time being spent unnecessarily, which can be cut short using digital methods. The tedious document signing process can take several days, if not weeks, when a document has to be passed along to multiple stakeholders, who may sometimes be present in different states or even countries.
Carrying out onboarding procedures using traditional processes becomes highly inefficient. The process becomes much faster when businesses execute onboarding using eSign-enabled execution management software. Implementing this software allows businesses to get their documents signed electronically & thereby enables instant document execution.
How Does Electronic Signature Work? – The Process Explained
An electronic signature entails a series of steps that enable a seamless eSign implementation on an electronic document. Making an eSignature using the SignDesk’s software takes place as follows: 
- Logging Into the Electronic Signature Platform
The initial step for digitally executing agreements requires an authenticated user of the business to log in to SignDesk’s digital document execution platform using valid credentials.
- Creating the Contract or Uploading an Available Document
Once logged in, the user can upload the document that needs to be executed or create one from scratch, right on SignDesk’s platform. Libraries of vast contract templates & clauses make drafting the document easier. The user can choose the template & clauses relevant to his contract & create the agreement in minutes.
- Choosing a Suitable eSignature Type
Based on their requirements, businesses can choose from different eSignature types, including OTP-based eSign, video-based eSign, etc., to have their documents signed.
An OTP-based electronic signature enables seamless document execution by sending out a one-time password to the signer’s email or mobile number, which he uses for creating an electronic signature on the document within seconds.
Video-based eSign improves user experience by simplifying the execution process. The contract clauses will be read out to the signee, who simply has to consent/dissent to on video. The documents are subsequently eSigned.
- Setting Up a Signing Sequence
When more than one party is required to authenticate the document, the user can choose to add multiple parties & set up a signing sequence in hierarchical order.
This system allows the document to be executed by all the stakeholders in the exact order required by the business.
- Inviting Signers Virtually Via Email & SMS
Post selecting the eSign type, the user can send document eSigning invites to all the stakeholders. The user enters the parties’ email IDs / mobile numbers to which the invite links will be sent out.
- Executing the Document With eSign
All the parties that receive the eSign link will be able to execute the document instantly. By clicking on the link, the stakeholder will be redirected to the digital document, which he can read & eSign by providing the OTP in the case of OTP-based eSign or create video evidence to execute the contract using a video-based signature. UAE pass integration helps clients of regulated businesses such as banks, insurers, and investment firms execute onboarding forms with ease.
- Downloading the Digitally Executed Document
The document gets executed in real-time & the eSigned agreement will be sent out to all the parties by email. Stakeholders can download & store the electronic document for future use.
Additionally, an audit trail document entailing the transactional details of the process is sent out to the parties, which they can download on their device. It makes the document execution process robust by offering a strong evidence document detailing every stage of the transaction.
Problems Businesses Face While Executing Documents- Why is Signing Onboarding Documents a Major Challenge?
Managing the entire execution process manually is a highly demanding task & requires a dedicated team to carry out the same. A large volume of onboarding documents has to be managed meticulously by these teams & often accompany major challenges that demand a significant amount of their time, attention & cost.
Some of the most difficult challenges that businesses face while executing onboarding documents are listed below: 
- Slow Onboarding: To begin with, executing documents manually can be excruciatingly slow. Obtaining signatures on contracts manually takes up a lot of time as the document has to be passed along to all the parties involved.
- High Costs: Getting contracts signed physically is resource-heavy. Businesses need to spend on logistics & staff for managing the process. This increases costs & makes a considerable dent in a company’s budget. The total cost can soar when there is an expenditure involved for paper, files, & other items of stationery.
- Security Threats: Traditional signatures pose a high risk of security threat to confidential business agreements. Wet signatures are more vulnerable to being forged or tampered with without the business’s knowledge. In addition, if physical documents are left lying around, they can end up in the hands of the wrong person & be prone to illicit actions very quickly.
- Risk of Forgery: Manually executing agreements with wet signatures can lead to higher chances of forgery. Physical documents do not come with adequate protection, which can make it easy for intruders to manipulate them.
- Document Storage Complications: Apart from these challenges, wet signatures also pose issues regarding storage & maintenance. Businesses contract numerous agreements on a daily basis which can lead to documents being piled up & hard to retrieve. Firms need to dedicate a space with filing cabinets at the office premises for physical paperwork.
- Lack of Flexibility: One of the biggest challenges of traditional document execution is that the process is inflexible for large-scale enterprise needs. Doing business with inter-state & international firms becomes tedious as wet signatures cannot be feasible for executing contracts remotely.
Why Should Businesses Switch to an Electronic Signature Solution?
Utilizing a modern, more efficient process to sign & implement documents enables businesses to overcome the aforementioned challenges successfully. Many business opportunities can be lost when organizations do not use a digitized signature workflow management system.
An electronic signature platform allows businesses to streamline all their onboarding & approval workflows & execute them efficiently. A digitized approach enables businesses to accelerate their onboarding process flow by allowing users to authenticate documents instantly. Moreover, digitization transforms the way contracts are implemented by introducing a faster & more secure way of dealing with contract execution.
Making an eSignature on any electronic document is effortless with platforms like SignDesk that provide businesses with low-code electronic signature APIs & eSign web portal integrations to digitally execute their documents.
Electronic signature platforms help stakeholders track approval workflows & activities happening at every stage of the execution process. Businesses can keep track of whether eSignatures have been made, the stakeholders whose approvals are pending, & the time at which a document was signed & make further decisions easily.
Online signing & execution workflow management is highly efficient in speed, security, accuracy & cost, giving businesses an edge over their competitors.
State-of-the-Art Features For Seamless Document Execution
SignDesk’s electronic signature software is built with multiple features & functionalities that streamline signature workflows & implement them efficiently.
- Document Template & Clause Libraries: There is a vast library of contract clauses & document templates that expedites & simplifies the otherwise time-consuming task of document creation. Businesses can select a suitable document template & add relevant clauses & draft their contracts fast.
Additionally, businesses can store templates of their routine documents, like vendor contracts, employment letters, etc., on the electronic signature portal & reuse them by making necessary changes. This cuts down a significant amount of time required to create documents & subsequently expedites their execution procedure.
- Real-Time Status Availability: Businesses can have a bird’s eye view of the current status of all their documents that are being executed. They can effortlessly keep track of the parties that have signed the document, pending signatures, the time at which eSignatures were executed & so on using SignDesk’s smart eSign dashboard.
- Intelligent Signing Hierarchy: Businesses can set up the document signing sequence as per their requirements & enable a systematic execution of the contract. They can choose which party/stakeholder signs the document first, & set up successive signer hierarchies to enable structured document execution.
- Smart Evidence Creation: Every electronically signed document is accompanied by an audit trail that allows businesses to maintain strong evidence of the execution process. A detailed audit report which contains the eSign workflow history (including the date & time stamp, IP address, document ID, etc.) is made available to all the stakeholders for record-keeping purposes.
- Easy Storage & Retrieval: Businesses can store & manage all their agreements on SignDesk’s digital document repository. By logging into it, authorized personnel can quickly retrieve any document they need for audit/legal/renewal purposes. Storing all documents on one platform simplifies document execution & management for businesses of all sizes.
- Effortless Integration: SignDesk offers easy integration of its electronic signature tool through mobile SDKs, web portal integrations, APIs, and more. Businesses can choose the option that is most convenient for them & realize the ease & benefits of executing documents with electronic signatures. We also offer UAE pass integration to enable easy onboarding execution for banks and NBFCs.
- Enhanced Document Security: Digital documents are safe for businesses as they are tamper-proof & inaccessible to intruders. Compared to files & paperwork, which can be easily accessed & misused, electronic documents Executed with eSignatures are a safer option.
How Are Electronic Signature Solutions Beneficial For Businesses?
An electronic signature platform brings about an overall improvement in the way documents are signed. Not only does it streamline signature workflows, but it also helps businesses in the long run by lowering operational costs as well as their capital expenditure.
- Lifetime Accessibility
Based on the business’s requirement, digitally executed documents will be made accessible even after their termination dates. Companies can retrieve & download any document for any purpose at any time, as electronic documents will not be lost or misplaced.
Digitally executed documents can be permanently stored in a digital repository accessible only to the authorized parties of the company.
- Seamless Onboarding
Digital document execution is integrated with an eSign workflow that eases onboarding processes for businesses. Firms can effortlessly manage their onboarding workflows & execute them with eSignatures. This increases business opportunities multifold by allowing them to join hands with businesses & clients from all over the world.
An electronic signature platform coupled with an AI-enabled onboarding solution has the potential to make these routine & mandatory procedures quicker & more efficient.
- Legally Valid
Digital document execution using eSign is a legally binding procedure & any contract executed digitally is valid in courts of law.
The legality of electronic signatures makes cross-border business transactions easier to carry out. Businesses can collaborate with international clients/partners more seamlessly by legally executing their contracts using electronic signatures.
- Reduced Carbon Footprint
Since an electronically executed document need not be printed, it saves a lot of paper from being used for routine documentation purposes. In addition, using a digital document eliminates the need to print multiple copies of the same document to send to stakeholders.
In addition, businesses need not expand their workspace for contract storage purposes, as all their documents will be securely stored in a single digital repository.
- Quick, Secure & Reliable
Documents can be sent out in just a few seconds to all the intended parties & can be eSigned instantly. Digital document execution also offers a higher level of security as compared to traditional ways of signing documents.
The speed & security of digital document execution makes it a dependable option for businesses to execute their documents faster & more safely.
- Independent of Time & Location
One of the basic benefits of digital document execution is that contracts can be implemented instantly. Stakeholders can eSign agreements from any location & at any time. With remote business models & cross-border transactions increasing every day, time & place-independent signature workflows are highly beneficial.
Location independence is especially beneficial for seamless document execution when multiple parties/stakeholders have to sign the same document. The signatories do not need to agree on a meeting location, as they can instantly sign the document wherever they are.
- Cost-Effective in the Long Run
Businesses can save on costs that come with physically handling documents by going digital. They can do so by saving up on expenditures of stationery & storage infrastructure which will not appear when they implement documents digitally.
Firms can significantly lower operational & logistics costs by executing & managing their contracts online. They will not have the need to allocate funds for vendor management or manage dedicated teams for document execution management.
- Adaptable to Various Applications
Electronic signatures are flexible & adaptable for a variety of applications frequently occurring in business processes. Executing documents using electronic signatures is not just limited to contracts & agreements. Businesses can make use of an electronic signature platform for various other applications, such as email authentication & securing document access. 
Go Digital & Enable Hassle-Free Electronic Signatures With SignDesk
Executing the typically large volume of documents digitally gives companies an upper edge by lowering costs & eventually aiding in revenue growth. With SignDesk, businesses can go paperless with their documentation workflows, make their processes smarter & follow sustainable business practices by lowering their overall costs & carbon footprint.
Any organization can leverage electronic signature platforms to see a drastic improvement in the way their signature process flows perform. Utilizing electronic signatures for agreement authentication has the potential to improve speed & efficiency multifold.
Schedule a free demo with our process experts to know how you can digitize & execute documents instantly.
