From quickly handling student applications to doing employee on-boarding, electronic signatures provide a safer and more effective way of obtaining signatures. In 2000, the ESIGN Act gave e-signatures the same legal standing as wet-ink signatures. That was followed by the UETA act, which was embraced by most states in the U.S to guarantee uniformity in the use of e-signs and electronic records.
With that said, some organizations are hesitant to adopt electronic signatures in their business processes. What these organizations don’t understand is that, nowadays, electronic signatures can be used to execute signatures in nearly all kinds of situations. Let’s take a look at some of the frequent instances where e-signs can be applied, especially in the business world.
Vendor/supplier agreements
Businesses, especially SMEs, are usually disadvantaged when it comes to negotiating with vendors; thus, it is essential for managers to be in a position to lock-in the terms and prices immediately when an agreement is reached. When managers or business owners sign documents online, they get to finalize any deal they have with their vendors within minutes, hence capitalizing on the earlier mentioned benefit.
Sales contracts
When managers esign documents, they are guaranteed of closing more deals faster. For many organizations, sales contracts are the most regularly signed documents – and most vital. Whether it’s business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) sales agreements, e-signatures can come in handy.
Customer approvals
For businesses that deal with custom-made goods, that final approval prior to manufacturing is very important. E-signs help you capture and store approvals securely, and with ease, so you can move on quickly to completing the order.
Employee on-boarding
There is a plethora of paperwork linked to hiring a new employee. Employment offer letters, background check consent, performance appraisal letters, contact forms, employee handbooks … the list is endless. All those forms can be executed quickly and securely via electronic signatures.
Intellectual property licensing and other standard legal agreements
Since e-signatures are legally binding and admissible even in courts, they are perfect for common legal agreements, such as intellectual property licensing and NDAs.
Secure online banking
Using e-signatures guarantees a reasonable level of security, which is of utmost significance when it comes to your money. Financial institutions prefer the use of e-sign technology, as it minimizes the possibility of manipulation of transaction records to the most significant extent.
Filing tax returns
You can use electronic signatures to ease the demanding process of filing tax returns. In fact, The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) strongly encourages people and businesses to file their returns electronically to get a faster refund. Electronic signatures make the process so convenient and seamless that the number of returns filed electronically in 2014 increased from 25, 000 to almost 100 million in 2017.
E-signing legal documents
Lawyers, investigators, attorneys, and other players in the legal industry, engage with paperwork that relies on signatures on a daily basis. As a lawyer, when you esign documents as opposed to signing them manually, you save a lot of time. This saved time can be used to serve your clients and doing other vital duties.
Final thoughts
As you have seen, electronic signatures can be used in nearly every aspect of life. Actually, there are no limits as to when and where you can use them unless declared otherwise by your country of residence.
Don’t wait, Create your electronic signature with Foxit eSign!!
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