What are the Benefits of an eSignature?
In much the same way as email rapidly overtook snail mail, e-signing documents is fast becoming the norm across many industries around the world.
Employees working remotely from around the world often send and sign digital documents to their team members without needing to print and scan each contract, work sign-off or other documents. Healthcare professionals are using electronic signatures to make storing important patient information and sharing it with other clinics and professionals a breeze. Many schools are using eSignatures to make it easy for parents to sign forms for their children. Even lawyers are keeping cases moving forward by signing endless paperwork digitally.
But signing online documents requires one important tool; an e-signature. There are plenty of benefits of electronic signatures. But are they enough to warrant e-signatures rapidly replacing handwritten signatures? Keep reading as we explore what e-signatures are and the benefits of electronic signature for work, personal documents and more.
What is an eSignature?
An electronic signature, also known as an e-signature, is a digital version of your personal signature. Just as you would sign your name on medical paperwork, agreements, legal papers and a variety of other types of physical documents, you can use your personal electronic signature to sign documents digitally.
Much like a handwritten signature, your e-signature is still unique to you. Instead of having to draw the same signature each time, though, you can create one electronic signature, save it and use it again and again to sign documents for work or personal reasons.
What Kinds of Documents Can You Sign with an E-Signature?
eSignatures can be used to sign a wide variety of types of digital documents. In fact, they can be used to sign just about any kind of document that can be sent and shared digitally. This includes documents such as:
- Legal paperwork
- Permission forms
- Agreements and contracts
- Transfers of ownership of leases, mortgages and property
- Requests for quotes/proposals
- Non-disclosure agreements
- Employment contracts
- Offer letters
- Sales contracts
- Leases
- Purchase orders
- Financial documents
In most cases, if a document can be signed with a print signature without requiring a notary, it can be signed with an e-signature. In some cases, individuals may need to provide consent for their e-signature to be used. This may require signing an additional document. Or, in some cases, consent may be implied by your signing the original document.
What are the Pros and Cons of eSignatures?
If using an eSignature is just like using a written signature, you might be wondering why you should bother creating a personal electronic signature. While there may be a few cons to using e-signature, the benefits of e-signature often far outweigh them.
Cons of eSignatures
There are a few cons to be aware of. As we’ve mentioned, if you’re trying to use a free service or a word processor that you already pay for, you’ll be facing a complicated and time-consuming process. This can make using e-signatures inconvenient.
To enjoy the speed and convenience that e-signatures have to offer, you’ll need to invest in a great electronic signature service, which does mean paying a fee. But the following benefits more than make up for the cost incurred.
Benefits of eSignatures
There are a number of benefits of e-signatures. The biggest is that signing documents using an e-signature is fast and convenient. It takes just minutes to create your own personal electronic signature. Once you’ve done it once, signing, sharing and sending digital documents is incredibly fast and easy.
All you’ll have to do is sign into your jSign account, upload your document and choose where to add your signature. After that, simply choose other signees to send the document to, or save and send it to its intended destination. If you were to sign your documents with pen and paper, you’d have to print the document out, sign it, then scan it, save it and send it along to its destination.
The e-signing process is not only faster but also requires no equipment beyond a device with an internet connection. This doesn’t need to be a desktop or even a laptop; you can sign and send digital documents straight from your tablet or smartphone. You won’t need to invest in a scanner or a printer and the costly ink and paper that go with it.
Additionally, while printers and scanners may experience delays or require repairs that can delay the signing process, you can sign documents digitally from any kind of device, which means less chance of delay.
How Do You Create an E-Signature?
If you choose not to use jSign, you have a few options for creating your own personal electronic signature. Many devices have an app that you can use to draw your signature. However, this can be tricky to do using a touchpad or mouse. You’ll also have to then figure out how to get the signature onto the documents that you need to sign. Editing documents using photo or document editing software can be complicated and time-consuming.
Some word processors also offer a document signing feature. This includes popular Microsoft Word. But while you might already have this word processor service downloaded on your device, the digital signing feature is complicated. If you need to share the document after it’s signed, or if you need to send it to other individuals to sign, you’ll be limited in your options. This can make the entire process of signing digital documents more cumbersome.
Some of the biggest benefits of digital signatures are that they are a fast and convenient way to sign documents on the go. Having to go through this process can negate that benefit.
But there’s an easier way to create an e-signature.
Creating an eSignature with jSign
jSign makes it fast and easy to enjoy the many benefits of e-signature. You’ll start by creating your own account with jSign. You can do this directly through the website using any device with an internet connection. This includes your desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. There’s even a free trial that you can use to try out this digital signing service.
jSign offers a variety of plans to choose from. The plans vary depending on the types of documents you’ll be uploading and signing, how many documents you’ll be signing and the size of those documents. This makes it easy to customize your plan.
After creating your account, you can upload the first document that you need to sign. If you’ll be sending the document to other people to sign as well, you can choose those signees at this step. You’ll add them to your account, which means that they’ll be saved to make it fast and easy to collaborate on documents with them in the future.
Now it’s time to create your personal electronic signature. jSign offers four options for doing so:
- You can draw your signature using your mouse or touchpad.
- If you’re using a tablet or touch screen, you can draw your signature using a stylus, such as an Apple Pen. This can be a great way to create a digital signature that mirrors your regular written signature.
- If it’s important to you that you use your written signature, you can also take a picture of your handwritten signature, and upload it to jSign to add to your digital documents.
- The final option is to choose from jSign’s signature templates. These utilize fonts that look like natural handwriting. This might be the fastest and easiest way to create your digital signature.
After finishing your signature, you’ll add it to your document. Then, send it on to its destination or to the other people who need to sign it.
Creating Your Own E-Signatures
Once you’re ready to reap the benefits of digital signatures, it’s time to create your own e-signature. In fact, there’s never been a better time to create your own electronic signature. With more businesses moving to the web, and many industries moving away from paper documents and transactions and replacing them with digital alternatives, you’ll likely increasingly find yourself needing to sign digital documents in the future. Creating your own e-signature now means that you’ll be ready to quickly sign any necessary documents when the time comes.
It takes just minutes to create your own personal electronic signature using jSign. After creating your account and designing your personal signature, you’ll be able to save it to use on any future documents. This includes documents for work or for personal reasons, like health forms, leases and more.
With several plans to choose from, jSign makes it easy to customize your digital signing experience. Check out the available plans today to find the right one for you or your business.
