If there’s one thing almost everyone can agree on, it’s that there are so many options whenever you’re shopping for something new. While it’s wonderful to have such a selection, it can be daunting and confusing to make the final decision. Technology is one area filled with competition, each promising the best of the best. When it comes to technology solutions, you want to make the choice that is right for you, but it can be a real struggle to determine which one will actually meet your needs.
In this second installment of the “3 Things to Look For” series, we want to focus on an extremely versatile tool – Electronic Signatures. Last week, we discussed eFiling, a court-specific technology. Electronic Signature solutions certainly have their place in court, but it’s a solution that can be beneficial for many other industries as well. Let’s take a look at three green flags to look for that indicate a solid and effective eSignature solution.
Electronic Signature solutions should be accessible on the go.
One of the best things about eSignatures is that they make it possible to sign documents in more modern formats. Almost all industries have seen a major shift in how they conduct business over the past few years. Most notably, organizations are taking their processes to the virtual realm in response to remote or hybrid work environments. While this shift brought quite a bit of convenience in some ways, it also threw monkey wrenches into traditional processes. Suddenly, collecting and sending signatures was a challenge few saw coming.
The solution to this on-the-go, work-from-anywhere conundrum? eSignatures. Electronic Signature solutions were created to a) reduce paper waste and b) provide a virtual method of signing documents from anywhere. No matter where you’re working from, so long as you have internet access, you can sign documents digitally and keep the process moving. No more trips to an office, no more losing pens, and no more delays caused by busy schedules.
TrueSign is ImageSoft’s own eSignature platform developed to provide signing capabilities from anywhere. Mobility and accessibility features include:
- Mobile Signing 3 Ways: TrueSign is revolutionary, in that it offers three different ways to collect mobile signatures. There’s email-to-sign where a link is sent to the signer’s email, text-to-sign where the link is texted over, and QR code-to-sign where a custom QR code can be scanned by the signing party. All three options will instantaneously transform the recipient’s smartphone or tablet into a signature pad. There’s no download required, and the recipients can physically sign rather than type their names into documents. Mobile links can be sent in real-time for faster turnaround and witnessed signing over a video conference call.
- Internal and External Signing: To keep the platform accessible to everyone, TrueSign supports signing within an
dorganization, as well as outside it. Your employees or managers can sign a document just as easily as a third party can. You do not need an account to utilize TrueSign’s mobile signing, and there’s no special hardware or software required. Electronic Signatures can be obtained in just minutes, regardless of the relation of the parties. - Easy Fill Signatures: For added convenience, account-holding signers can create a digital signature and save it to the platform. Once an Electronic Signature has been submitted, all subsequent documents can be “signed” by clicking to paste in the saved signature. It may seem unnecessary now, but you’d be surprised at how much time this feature saves in the long run. When you’re running from meeting to meeting, you don’t have any extra time to spare. TrueSign remembers your signature for you so you can sign with just a tap.
eSignatures should be secure and trustworthy.
The best Electronic Signature solutions guarantee security with each “transaction.” Most of the time, documents that require signatures contain some form of sensitive information. It’s important to protect said information from parties who should not be privy to it. Digital communication can have a bad rap because people are concerned about security when sharing documents. eSignature solutions need to be trustworthy so that they become more widely accepted. Many people don’t realize just how secure it can be thanks to pin codes, multi-step authorization, and other blockers.
Let’s consider a few examples of documents that require signatures that would prioritize security:
- A hospital needs a patient’s signature to perform surgery. This is a release form stating that the patient understands the risks involved. Within the document are key medical details that only the hospital staff and patient need to know.
- A business has decided to work with a new vendor. They need a signed contract stating the expectations, scope of work, and liability clauses. This document might have financial data, trade secrets, or business information that is not meant to be seen by the public or any competitors.
- A witness is signing a digital deposition for a court case. In this, testimony are details of the case and relationship with the accused that the court does not want to release to the public as the case is ongoing.
- An individual signs on with new insurance. They must sign their contract stating that they agree to pay the monthly bills and ensuring that they understand what is and is not covered under their plan.
TrueSign is an Electronic Signature solution designed with government-level security in mind. TrueSign encrypts all data and has options to require passcodes prior to signing. This ensures that the signer is the intended recipient of the message to prevent fraud. TrueSign also offers digital certificates for all eSignatures which are obtained when a unique public key is correctly matched to a specific person. Digital certificates authenticate any signature so that you can feel confident the signer signed with intent and is who they claim to be. Another security feature is automatic audit trails that collect records of anytime a document is accessed, reviewed, or edited. You can see the full history of a document to know what was changed, by whom, and when.
Your eSignature solution should be user-friendly.
Lastly, you want to make sure that any Electronic Signature solution you’re considering is user-friendly. To be more specific, it should be simple to use whether you’re the sender or the signer. Regardless of what side you sit on, a good eSignature platform will be simple to understand and straight-forward to use. No one should have to jump through hoops to sign a digital document, and the platform shouldn’t be one you can get lost in. Look for a solution that is comprehensive without being overly complicated on the front end. After all, Electronic Signatures should save you time, not eat more of it up with complex processes.
TrueSign is extremely user-friendly no matter which view you look at. Here are some of the organization and user features that set TrueSign apart from others in the industry:
- Envelope Organization: If you’re trying to send over multiple documents that are related, TrueSign gives you the option to create envelopes. Each envelope can contain several digital documents that are sent over as a single unit. This keeps things organized and ensures that all documents for a particular case or purpose are signed promptly.
- Guided Signing: For those new to TrueSign, a guided tutorial can help you along the way. Spots requiring signatures, dates, times, etc. are flagged and users can click through one by one until they are all filled out. A brief tutorial gives new users a step-by-step guide to using the tool so that there are no delays or apprehension about learning a new system.
- Document Template Library: For those requesting Electronic Signatures, utilize TrueSign’s Document Template Library. You can store blank templates of frequently used documents for one-click sendoffs to future recipients. You can edit a template at any time, create a copy, or rename a template for easy searching.
So, do the Electronic Signature solutions you’re looking into have these three green flags? While they are not the only things to look for, they are three of the most important if you want a chance at success with your new eSignature system. Other features to watch for include integration capabilities, value, salability, and reliability. As always, you know what’s best for your organization. If you still find the hunt daunting, we suggest creating two prioritized lists; one for Needs, and one for Wants. As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want to sacrifice any of the Needs, but you might have to part with some of the Wants.
TrueSign is proud to check all three of the mentioned boxes and then some, to provide the best solution possible. We have met hundreds of customers’ expectations in the past, both from the Needs and Wants lists. If you’re interested in learning more about TrueSign and what it can do for you, visit https://truesign.com/. To request a free custom demo, or for advice with the daunting hunt, please reach out to our team.