When a company maintains habits that the market considers outdated, it's bad for business. After all, customers will hardly be willing to hire the services of an organization that has been stopped in time, right? Therefore, it is important to understand the points that are part of modern firms, such as, for example, understand what the electronic signature is for.
If you still work with printed documents, collect signatures manually, pay for the transport of these documents so that they arrive safely to the parties involved, and you do not know clearly how the electronic signature can help to optimize all this, we invite you to continue reading, because this article is for you!
What is electronic signature?
Electronic signature is a means used by digital tools whose signatories have consent to the document generated in electronic format, replacing the manual signature. This makes it easier and faster for the company to sign contracts with suppliers, employees and customers.
As much as some people think that the electronic signature is restricted to signing documents, its scope is much wider. In addition to contracts, it involves other means such as: biometric recognition, facial reading, token and even the login you use in your personal email is a type of electronic signature.
Thus, if all the company's actions that require the recognition of a person designated to comply with it, one of the ways to do this is using this resource, which ends up being very useful in times of home office.
What is the difference between electronic and digital signature?
The two terms are very similar, which makes it common for people to think that they are synonymous. However, in fact, both are different.
As explained above, the electronic signature can be used in several ways, which is not the case in digital signature.
Even though it is a type of electronic signature, the digital signature is basically aimed at signing documents online and its validity occurs via encryption made from a digital certificate.
Its issuance is made with the ICP (Brazilian Public Key Infrastructure) and lasts a few days, as it is necessary to pay the corresponding fees and follow the instructions established by the issuing institution.
Does electronic signature have legal validity?
This is a question frequently asked by everyone who is thinking of adopting electronic signatures in their document management. Therefore, we begin this paragraph by answering that, yes, it is legally valid.
You know when you're talking to someone, suddenly a potential partner, in an informal place like a bar, and you end up agreeing something in terms of work? Well, if there are one or more witnesses to that moment, this agreement has legal validity. Therefore, electronic signatures do too.
the articles 104 e 107 of the Brazilian Civil Code defend that any type of contract is valid as long as it maintains its integrity, authenticity and is not modified after the parties have already reached a consensus.
What is the use of electronic signature within a document management?
The use of electronic signature It has a number of advantages, we highlight the main ones here.
Replacement of physical documents
If your company is small or just starting out, the space for storing physical documents is likely to take up only a folder or drawer in your closet. But what will happen when that demand grows?
Startups seeking business scalability will certainly see this scenario occur at some point. As a result, the folder or drawer will give space to the entire closet and, later, an entire room. He doubts? ask one counter if an office furniture is enough to store all the printed documents it issues.
However, when you start using electronic signature in your documents, you no longer need to have a physical space to store them, as this location becomes the cloud where even the smallest storage limits allow you to store a large amount of text files.
Greater agility
The traditional subscription process is more time consuming as it is based on more lengthy conditions that need to be followed. This starts with the signature itself whose subscribers must be together in the same place – which can be the office or the notary if a notarized signature is required.
If it is not possible for the parties to be united in person, the document can be sent by motoboy, mail or carrier (if the person is in another state or country, above all), which makes the process take even longer, as it involves the time of sending the document and signing it.
On the other hand, when the electronic signature is applied, the online document can be sent by any communication tool, which includes email and even WhatsApp. In just one click the signature is done.
best organization
Locating physical documents can be more difficult than digital files, even if you are a very well organized person. Want to see some examples?
Let's imagine that the person or team responsible for the treatment your company needs to consult a contract signed by a customer. She should go to the place where all other related documents are kept and check them until she finds the contract with the information the client wants, which can make him uncomfortable because of the delay.
In another situation, an unannounced audit can be done at the company and they will certainly ask for certain documents. If you are at the company and you know where they are, it will be easier to find them. But what if you're not and someone, in your place, needs to look for them? It will probably be more difficult.
How are the electronic signature platforms they have a space to store signed documents, they are more organized, so locating them in the cloud is much simpler.
cost savings
You know when you travel for tourism, spend a day strolling around, buying souvenirs, and suddenly you say to yourself:
– Wow… I spent all this and didn't even feel it!
The same happens in relation to the costs related to the issuance of physical documents: the expenses come out of your box and, in the midst of routine, end up not being noticed. So we will list them below for you:
- printer: this is the essential tool for generating the documents, that's why we put it as the number 1 item on the cost list;
- toner: equally necessary to print files, buying or refilling toners ends up being more periodic if your job requires printing many files;
- ream: considering that standard market reams bring 500 blank sheets, document demand may require frequent purchase as well;
- fresh: the values corresponding to the services of motoboy, mail and carriers can also be high depending on the frequency and locations of the recipients;
- cabinets: finally, the furniture intended for storing papers, some offices need to buy more cabinets as the amount of paper increases.
Scope of hiring
Once you start using electronic signatures instead of manuals, it expands your range of hires as you become independent of the physical presence of your contractors.
If your employees work from home and your company does not have any kind of legal restriction to hire people who live in other states, why focus efforts on bringing people who live in the same city as you if electronic hiring allows you to search for talent through entire country?
The same goes for customer acquisition. These days, the rise of technology has given us the opportunity to deliver tasks with more speed and that expectation also exists during a negotiation.
When a customer says “yes” to your proposal, he expects to leave the commitment made right away (by signing the contract electronically) instead of waiting a long time (by sending the physical contract). Depending on the delay, the client may even give up on the negotiation, thinking that the service provided will be equally slow and bureaucratic.
⚠️ Also check out these related articles ????
➡️ Online document signing: your business differentiator
➡️ Find out how to make an electronic signature on your cell phone
➡️ Why You Need to Enter the Age of Electronic Documents Today
How to adopt an electronic signature?
Now that you know what an electronic signature is and what its uses are, you must be wondering what should be done to have one in your company, right? Well, check out the answer below!
Electronic signature platforms
The first step is to hire an electronic signature platform. It allows you to upload the document to be signed by the parties involved. Therefore, the process is much simpler than the ones followed when making a manual subscription.
After uploading the file, the tool generates a link to the signature that needs to be sent to the signatories. To subscribe, they must provide some personal data – such as full name, CPF number, email and telephone – and click on the subscription button. This means that, in less than 1 minute, the contract is signed.
If you have a low demand for contracts per month, you can use most platforms of the type for free. But if the volume increases, you should choose plans that better serve the business.
ZapSign: Electronic Signature Without Mysteries
As you can see by accessing this blog, we are from ZapSign, a company that provides the electronic signature service. Our focus is to make it easy for you to collect signatures from both your computer and your cell.
In addition, we understand that, nowadays, negotiations are carried out in different media, so the tool allows you to easily send the links to the contracts via email and also WhatsApp. Check out the video below to see how it works!
What are the steps to have an electronic signature on ZapSign?
It's just as simple and quick to start using ZapSign in your business. By clicking here, you will find the three plans offered by us: two are enterprise and aimed at serving all types of businesses and the other is a free trial plan made for those who have low demand for subscriptions or want to try the platform first.
If you have questions about which one is the most suitable for your organizational model, why not chat with us? Yes, that's right. Now that you have reached the end of this text and understood what an electronic signature is for, click here to request the contact of one of ZapSign's consultants and see how it works for you!
