Sending a contract off for signature is a process that has been revolutionized by modern technology. Thanks to leading electronic signature platforms, the signing and execution stage of contract lifecycle management is more secure and faster than ever. Electronic signature software allows businesses to send off their contracts for signature and receive signed documents back within minutes, resulting in faster contract lifecycles and more contracts executed in the same amount of time.
Content:
- Electronic Signature-Equipped Contract Management Software Centralizes Signing
- Maintain A Comprehensive Inventory of Contract Approvals
- Increase Version Control
- Electronic Signatures Are Legally Binding
- Digital Contract Signing Improves the Client Experience
- Conclusion
Prior to requesting a signature for a given contract, you likely have tirelessly worked to develop and negotiate an accurate and compliant contract – so why run into bottlenecks during one of the most critical stages of the contract lifecycle when there’s a way to prevent against them. With contract management software, you can attain every signature you need at the times you need them most, allowing you to execute your contracts effortlessly without missing a beat.
Perhaps your current method to receiving signatures requires that you manually collect signatures from stakeholders face-to-face using wet signatures. Or you might leverage email and require the printing, signing, scanning, and mailing of your signed documents. If any of these processes ring a bell, then it’s time to adopt an electronic signature solution for your business and its contract management.
Contracts are essential to a thriving business. In the modern day, adopting an electronic signature solution can support your business in increasing the productivity the security of your contracts when they undergo the signing process. Electronic signatures are fantastic for a remote workforce because they allow the workflow to continue, where all of your contracts can be signed virtually on any mobile device in any location with an Internet connection. In addition, electronic signatures can support improvements in the user and client experience. To add, electronic signatures contain a legally binding audit trail of all of your approvals. Leaders in the electronic signature space such as DocuSign, Adobe Sign, and Sertifi are integrated into our contract management solution to provide you an optimal signing experience.
Now let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons why businesses should adopt electronic signatures into their contract lifecycle management.
1. Electronic Signature-Equipped Contract Management Software Centralizes Signing
In the case you’ve developed a contract, made the proper changes to reflect redlines, and confirmed that each party is satisfied with the resulting document, then it’s time to get the contract signed. Integrated electronic signature solutions mean that you don’t have to jump between multiple platforms to complete contract signing – you can complete all of your contract signing tasks under one umbrella in one digital location. This will provide a sense of consistency by standardizing the location of contract signing, where you can easily review signing histories and signed contracts.
2. Maintain A Comprehensive Inventory of Contract Approvals
Any contract-related data is kept secure within your contract management software, where you can easily monitor the status of your documents sent off for signature. In addition, you can easily track who signs each contract, when and where it was signed, who has viewed the document, and if the signer received a notification email requesting their signature.
Every piece of data is documents with a time and date stamp to support auditing and compliance. When an individual sings an agreement, your software will automatically route the document to the next signatory. This helps to automate processes, save time, and maintain standardization.
3. Increase Version Control
One of the main advantages of adopting a contract management system equipped with electronic signature integrations is the ability to improve upon version control. When each signatory has successfully signed the document, the document is automatically sent back to your contract management system’s digital contract repository. This is essential, as one of the most common pitfalls from companies that leverage electronic signature providers is how people often neglect to upload the signed contract to their repository. Contract management software automatically uploads the latest contract version into your repository.
4. Electronic Signatures Are Legally Binding
The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) passed in the United States in 1999 to provide a legal ground for electronic signatures. In addition, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act was passed into law in the United States in 2000. Both the UETA and the ESIGN contributed to the rise of electronic signatures in the business landscape, providing them with the same legal validity as signatures made with ink.
5. Digital Contract Signing Improves the Client Experience
There’s nothing worse than a delay in your contract signing process. To provide your clients and vendors with the best experience, we suggest leveraging electronic signature to streamline their signing. With an electronic signature integration, you can effectively cut down on the need to schedule face-to-face meetings in order to attain the signatures you need. This also allows your users the ability to spend more time reviewing the contracts they are signing, rather than spending time coordinating meetings. With in-person, manual signing, your clients will likely view signing the contract as just another piece of paperwork they have to get to. This might result in them failing to understand exactly what they are signing. With electronic signature integrations, your clients can take the time they need to read and review documents and sign when they feel comfortable.
Conclusion
If you haven’t already adopted an electronic signature integration into your contract management software, or if you aren’t yet using contract management software, then it’s time to take the leap and get the competitive edge. Electronic signatures allow you to save time and money while increasing contract security and compliance. Here at Dock, our contract management software is integrated with leaders in the electronic signature space, including DocuSign, Adobe Sign, and Sertifi eSignature. With these solutions, you can automatically monitor the statues of your approving parties, track executed agreements, and notify stakeholders when a given contract has received signature.
Learn more about our Dock 365 Contract Management System here.
Learn more about Contract Lifecyle Management (CLM) Software here.
