The corporate world has shifted towards paperless offices and cloud computing. Companies are emphasizing real-time communication, quick transaction processing, and robust data security.
The ways to authorize contracts, sign documents, and verify transactions have also changed over time. Now, you can’t even imagine wasting days just because an official has to authorize and validate physical documents.
This traditional process of document authentication was not just time-consuming but was also prone to compliance issues.
As businesses are becoming more digital, innovations like digital signatures are ensuring the credibility of documents signed. Digital signatures are backed by advanced encryption technologies to prevent any scope of fraud and information tampering.
What are Electronic Signatures?
An eSignature is an electronic form of a signature generated through the signee’s digital identity. It enables the users to sign and send documents securely to verify the authenticity of documents. Digital signing works by encrypting documents only to be decrypted with the signee’s public key, which helps verify the signee’s authenticity.
Digital signatures are used to authenticate agreements, financial transactions, sale/purchase deeds, or any important document signed safely and securely. Electronic signature secures the integrity of signed documents as it cannot tamper during communication and documentation.
E-signature further enables organizations to stay compliant with legal procedures. Digital Signatures are legally acceptable by any Court of Law under the IT Act, 2000.
How Can eSignature Software Help?
The digital signature software can be one of the most valuable tools, especially to gain business efficiency. Here is how digital signature helps in establishing a digital culture.
- Time Stamp
Along with digital or eSignatures, a timestamp is also usually added to the document to offer a high level of authenticity because it includes the date and time when the document was being created. It helps in establishing an auditable trial and accountability.
- Applicability
Uses of digital signatures are unlimited, starting from internal documentation and authorization process to e-signing legal documents. It can be used to execute sale/purchase contracts, HR documentation, and also filing e-tenders.
- Traceability
Digital signatures offer maximum traceability to every document or transaction through the use of digital certificates. Any given user’s public key can be easily traced back to the digital certificate issuer, verifying the user’s true identity.
- Bulk Signing
Digital signature software helps in streamlining this process by allowing bulk signing, making it easier for companies to sign hundreds of documents at once.
- Encryption
The digitally signed document is encrypted with private keys, which means only the recipient can read the document. It ensures your organization doesn’t have a digital vulnerability on documentation.
- Versatility
Digital signatures are versatile because they can be used across any platform, application, or device.
Top 6 Reasons to Use eSignature Software in Corporate Businesses
Digital signature software enables signing, sending, and verifying documents digitally and securely without hard printouts and visits. It has massive potential in today’s corporate world.
Here are five reasons why every company should use a digital signature.
- Efficiency
Digital signature will help you save time and increase productivity because it is a secure, fast, and effective way to sign and authenticate a document. In the traditional way of signing different papers, one should first get the printouts to send the documents; the signee then signs the document by hand and sends it back, which kills a lot of valuable time. With digital signing, you can sign, send and verify any document across any part of the world in minutes.
- Saves Time and Money
As mentioned earlier, one can save time as well as money by using e-signing solutions. You don’t have to spend money on a printer, paper, courier, or traveling. Just sign and send the documents electronically, and you will save a lot of time and money.
- Data Security
Digital signature software offers unparallel security to your data or documents. Once a document is encrypted with the private key of the signee, it could only be unlocked by the public key of the same signee. It makes sure that the document’s integrity is not compromised.
- Authenticity & Compliance
eSigning solutions ensure the authenticity and integrity of documents, minimizing compliance risks. If a document is signed with a digital signature, it can easily be verified against the public key in the digital certificate. It prevents any scope of data tampering or data modification within minutes after being sent. Many government compliances like MCA and Income Tax return filing its mandatory to send digitally signed documents for authenticity.
- Streamlined Document Flow
eSignature software ensure that documents’ flow from signee to authenticator is integrated and smooth. Digital signatures can be used within an existing workflow, business process, or application you are using, to ensure that all documents are signed in one place and ready to use. It streamlines the entire documentation work of the company on a single line.
- Customers’ Convenience
The worst nightmare of any company would be losing potential clients because of a cumbersome sales procedure. During most of the B2B sales transactions, an agreement is signed between parties. A company might lose sales if the client finds the process too complicated.
Clients find digital signing convenient because they won’t have to spend time printing, signing, scanning, and sending the sale/purchase agreement, ultimately boosting revenue.
How to Use Electronic Signature Software for Your Business: Use Cases
Digital signatures have unlimited possibilities in businesses, starting from transactions to documentation. Thousands of businesses in India are already using digital signature software. Here are some use cases of electronic signature software.
- Legal Compliances
Company Secretary of Mansfield Cables used to have a tough time renewing licenses, submitting ROC’s, updating director identification numbers, or filing other legal compliance. There were many different forms to be filled manually by authorized personnel, which was time-consuming, costly, and prone to manual errors.
Soon, the company introduced software for online submission of digitally signed documents. The company secretary can now file ROC, renew DIN, and many other compliances by filling out the form and signing this digitally. As a result, the paperwork has been reduced drastically. The process became more efficient, and Mansfield Cable Company complied with the rules more than ever.
- Internal Controls
The State Bank of India has one of the most complex banking policies in the world. Until 2004, every authorization was through the manual signing of paper, and SBI was spending a tremendous amount of money and resources just on authentication of documents and transactions on various levels.
The introduction of electronic signature software changed the way SBI worked. Every employee is issued a digital signature, and whenever an operator requests a service, the branch manager can verify and authorize the service simply from his computer screen. Now, there is barely any paper used in SBI branches internally. Customers only use papers for deposits, withdrawals, and account opening since the use of digital signatures.
- Verification of Identity
IRCTC allows agents to book an unlimited number of tickets on behalf of the passengers. Although the paperwork was good enough to get an agent account, verifying the person’s identity by logging in through the agent portal was impossible. As a result, some agents sold their credentials to third parties who weren’t authorized to have agent privileges.
To counter this problem, IRCTC introduced digital signature verification. Every time an agent logs n through the IRCTC portal, they have to verify their identity with the digital signature. Digital signature software made sure that no one except the agent himself could use the agents’ portal, and it also solved the problem of multiple logins.
- Authentication
Opening Bank accounts, Demat accounts, or getting a SIM card was highly regulated. People had to sign multiple documents and produce both hard copies and originals of ID proof, address proof, etc. This manual authentication of documents was time-consuming, expensive, and required an extensive workforce.
The introduction of Aadhar ID and eSign service has revolutionized the telecom and banking sector in India. Any government organization, financial institution, Bank, or telecom can avail eSign services from NSDL to authenticate the data from their clients/consumers simply using the OTP verification method.
Most Recommended: Top eSignature Software Solutions in India
Cygnature
Cygnature digital signature software is helping thousands of brands authenticate their business documents faster and better. This eSignature software supports all types of signatures based on the nature of your document.
Further, the blockchain process ensures transparency at every stage of document signing. Cygnature is one of the most trusted eSignature software, which creates the proof of document signing with timestamping and capturing the IP address and location of every signer.
PDFAutosigner
You can automatically sign all types of business documents and share in bulk via email. From PDF files to tax forms, invoices and business contracts, every type of document can be signed electronically.
PDFAutosigner allows you to add unlimited signatories and create profiles. The software integrates easily with ERP and SAP solutions to streamline the document flow across silos. Also, it ensures document security with crypto tokens and timestamping.
CryptoESIGN
Create a simple and secure eSigning experience with CryptoESIGN. This cloud-based eSignature software helps authenticate both internal and external documents.
You can ensure multi-party digital signature in seconds and achieve the workflow efficiency. CryptoESIGN eSignature software is an ideal option for businesses trying to go green and do away with the process of paper-based printing, scanning, signing and storage.
In a Nutshell
Digital signing is among the most widely trusted ideas in the corporate world. In the US and other western countries, digital signature has already paved their way to almost all organizations, while in India, it’s still emerging.
These days, the government, large organizations, and SMBs in India are quickly adopting digital signing systems. With so many benefits like data security, compliance, and streamlined information flow, e-signing is undoubtedly the next big thing for Indian Corporates.
If you haven’t got your Digital Signature Certificate till now, don’t lag and get it now. The sooner, the better. Here is How you can Create a Digital Signature?
FAQs
Why do we need an electronic signature?
Electronic signature enables users to execute deeds, agreements and sign documents digitally. It saves a lot of time and cost of documentation for companies. Besides, an electronic signature helps to verify the identity of the signee and the integrity of the document.
What is an eSignature?
An eSignature is a digital format of signature that is used to sign documents digitally. It confirms that the signer has seen and approved the document for its intended purpose without printing the document.
What is the best eSignature platform?
There are many eSignature platforms available with different specializations and functions. Here are a few popular eSignature platforms like DocuSign, AdobeSign, Cryptoesign and HelloSign.
Related Categories: Productivity Software | Document Management Software | Digital Signature Software | PDF Software
Rajan is pursuing CA with a keen interest in trends and technologies for taxation, payroll compliances, Tally Accounting, and financial nuances. He is an expert in FinTech solutions and loves writing about the vast scope of this field and how it can transform the way individuals and businesses... Read more