#ElectronicSignatures #Esignatures #digitaltransformation

Transforming SMBs with Digital Signatures

DrySign Author

August 05, 2021

When SMBs go digital with E-Sign Solutions

Small or Medium Businesses are all about getting more from less. That right there is the core essence of technology. Harnessing every ounce of functionality offered by transformative digital tech is the key to unlock the true operating potential of any growing business. When it comes to transforming the document signing workflow, E-sign solutions can go a long way in helping SMBs reduce expenses and TAT. Not only are digital signatures legal, secure, and efficient, but they also help growing startups operate with tighter budgets.

The whole point of implementing a digital signature solution is to get rid of all the vulnerabilities and inefficiencies brought forth by traditional, manual workflows. When we consider the fact that small businesses have to operate on a tight budget and have a lot of stakeholders to answer to, E-sign portals help fill in the gaps present in the admin workflow and eliminate deceptive hidden costs, which over time, can form a hefty sum. In the longer run, businesses stand to gain a lot compared to what they invest by implementing digital signatures. And here’s how.

Contracts are better executed when E signed

The most significant advantage of having digital signature software is that electronically signed contracts are just as legally binding as physically signed paper-based contracts. Along with security features like 256-bit encryption, password protection for documents, and online document storage, the integrity of sensitive documents remains intact so that the following documents can be signed online.

Founder’s agreements

What begins as a ground-breaking idea on a tissue paper between friends brainstorming at a café with the right catalyst can quickly grow into the next big thing in the market. Unfortunately, when that happens, the stakes are high, increasing the chances of disputes that can just as easily escalate to a judicial level. In such cases, if the contracts are tampered with or forged, the consequences are often disastrous. Therefore, it is highly recommended that such contracts be drafted and signed in a digital format using E signs to ensure that all stakeholders, investors, and co-founders stay on equal grounds.
A classic example of such an agreement going wrong would be the lawsuit filed against Facebook in 2012. Paul Ceglia, who has founded many other businesses, was arrested for forging evidence in his favor to procure a significant share in Facebook.

Employment offers

A well-drafted and digitally signed employment offer letter clarifies the responsibilities, benefits & salary, confidentiality, and invention assignment issues. In most cases, the investors or capitalists insist on getting the confidentiality and invention assignment letters signed to ensure that the business ideas invented during the employment do not cause any proprietary issues.

Service/Sales contracts

If yours is a service-providing company, then digitally signing your service agreements helps avoid lawsuits and conflicts that may cost your business a small fortune. A service agreement, when signed online, will help your company prevent disputes regarding the terms under which you provide your services and help clarify the liabilities. Using E sign to sign contracts will also help avoid conflicts regarding fees and additional charges.

In the case of a product-based company, a digitally signed sales agreement will go a long way in helping your business avert disputes regarding terms of sales, warranties, and price adjustments.

Non-disclosure agreements

Protecting your company’s intellectual property can be tricky. Your employees are accessing confidential and sensitive information daily, increasing the chances of corporate espionage incidents. Stealing confidential information can damage the company’s image and may even cost a small fortune to get the situation under control.

Also read: Why all SMBs working remotely need to deploy a digital signature solution

Top 5 critical areas SMBs can focus on using digital signatures

Be it either in the initial stages when everyone is super excited about starting a new venture or during the prime of its operation, a few unforeseen blunders can cost your business dearly. The chances are that a startup may be working on something ground-breaking or on some product that can potentially become the next big thing. But due to certain shortcomings, this paradigm-shifting plan never came to fruition. Following are five critical areas SMBs can strengthen using digital signatures.

Paperwork handling and management

The defining factor of successful startups and SMBs is the fact these companies always consider Murphy’s Law in every equation while operating. When your business has every angle covered using immaculate paperwork stored and signed online, you are prepared for virtually any adverse situation heading your way. Unfortunately, when it comes to maintaining documents, physical paperwork can cost your business in some of the most deceptive ways. Costs associated with document cabinets, paperwork handling, office supplies, and document shipping can add up to form a hefty sum. All of these can be eliminated using a holistic digital signature portal.

Protecting intellectual property

Theft of ideas has been going on for a long time. For example, ever since Nikola Tesla concluded that his charged Tesla coils could be used to transmit messages over long distances, an Italian inventor named Marconi used the Tesla oscillator to get a similar device patented in his name. So the next time you have an idea worth filing a patent, be sure not to write it down on a piece of paper. Instead, prepare the documentation in a digital format and submit your patent application online using digital signatures.

Monitoring administrative costs

When you have a tighter budget to operate and stakeholders breathing down your neck every time you spend the company’s money, the administration is the last thing that should take a bite out of your expenses. That means making it as cost-effective as possible by saving time, infrastructure, and funds at every juncture. This is where digital signatures shine by getting rid of these subtle expenses. In the grand scheme of things, this allows your company to do what it does best. Make this world a better place, one problem statement at a time.

Keeping an eye on customer experience

If your company requires the end user to sign documents, making them sign physically is the proverbial crack in the lens when it comes to customer experience. However, making your customers sign documents digitally could prove to be one of the key factors in making your company stand out from the competition.

Signing Letter of Intent manually

A letter of intent can help your company boost its momentum when closing a deal. It can either be a binding contract or a non-binding communique. In either case, confidentiality and security have a significant impact on the execution. For example, if the deal can affect your share prices, having a secure and private medium to execute the deal drastically reduces the chances of insider trading.

Cutting down TAT and streamlining administration of SMBs using DrySign

DrySign being a smart and intuitive digital signature platform, provides all the necessary and usable features any emerging business would require to accelerate its growth. With reasonably priced plans and features like legal compliance, group sign, audit trails, 256-bit encryption, password protection, and secure login, companies can save funds and invaluable business hours, enabling them to focus on their core offerings or employee development. After all, the key is to let technology take care of the administrative end. Moreover, the best part about DrySign is that it’s super easy to get started.