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The coronavirus pandemic has quite literally moved the world indoors. Boardrooms are a thing of the past as more and more meetings go virtual. Businesses are conducted remotely but you must be wondering what about those situations where you absolutely had to meet the other party to put pen to paper and seal the deal. Technology seems to have found a way around that as well. How, you ask? Electronic signatures are the answer. Confused about what they are? Read on to find out all about them and how you can use them in your business to make life easier for everyone involved.
What is an electronic signature?
Electronic signatures are a way to give and seek consent electronically. This method is becoming increasingly popular as it makes it easier to conduct business remotely at a time when it is essential to keep direct interactions between humans to the minimum. Electronic signatures make things hassle-free for both parties involved in transactions that require consent from either party. There are several methods by which you can get your electronic signatures. Read on to find out how you can incorporate this technology into your business and make processing deals faster and easier.
How to get your electronic signature?
Acquiring your electronic signature is quite simple. Here are a few methods through which you can do so.
- You can get your electronic signature using your device. A stylus or even your finger can be used to draw your signature on to any electronic document that must be signed by you. But this is a hassle because you will have to keep drawing it on every document that requires your signature.
- You can put your signature down on a piece of paper and take a clear photo of it. Then you can save it in PNG format and insert it into documents that require your signature. Make sure to keep the PNG file of your signature saved.
- The touchpad on your laptop or the mouse of your system can also be used to create your electronic signature. You just have to move the cursor along till you create a pattern that looks like your signature but this time it is on a screen instead of being on a piece of paper.
- In comparison to all of the above methods, the easiest one has to be using a free electronic signature software. It is as simple as typing your name in. You will get a drop-down list of your name written in various fonts. All you have to do is pick the one that resembles your physical signature the most and voila! You have your electronic signature. It is saved automatically and you can insert it in whichever electronic document that requires your signature.
Who can use electronic signature softwares?
Electronic signatures are becoming a standard practise in most fields where seeking and giving consent in written format is an essential part of conducting business. Here is why electronic signature softwares can help businesses in carrying out their jobs faster.
What are the advantages of electronically signing documents?
Electronically signing documents speeds things up considerably. It helps in making the conducting of business much easier. Since everything is happening remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic, the technology to sign documents using free electronic signature softwares just makes it simpler for businesses to function remotely. The worry about losing important documents also lessens considerably when you sign and store them electronically. Businesses can cut costs by shifting to the electronic mode of exchanging documents as they can save money that would be used in paper, ink and printing out the documents. The documents don’t even have to be mailed back and forth between the two parties. So, this is the more environmentally friendly option to conduct business and choosing that is definitely the need of the hour. It is no surprise to see that more and more people are opting to go the digital way and starting to use electronic signature softwares.
Electronic signature softwares in businesses
Electronic signature softwares are extremely helpful and can be used to add signatures in Word documents and PDFs as well. So, more and more people are opting for it. Banks, offices and even hospitals are going the electronic way and asking people to sign forms and other documents using their electronic signatures.
This technology is especially useful in hospitals where a huge amount of client data must be kept confidential and keeping physical copies are too much hassle as there is risk of the confidentiality being compromised. This is a huge risk in the healthcare sector as there are strict laws that call for punishment and fines if the confidentiality of sensitive information like the kind of disorder and the stage of the disorder a patient is suffering from. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also known as the HIPAA protects the right to privacy for patients and holds healthcare services and insurance companies accountable. Going the digital route and using the HIPAA compliant electronic signature makes the confidentiality aspect easier for healthcare services such as hospitals, clinics, hospice care and even health insurance companies. Safer and more secure technology can be used to protect the privacy rights of patients if these services go digital and use electronic means.
To Conclude
While people had reservations about using electronic signatures initially but as more and more people have started using it and have realised it’s advantages, they are becoming more and more popular. There are tools to keep track of those documents which have been electronically signed and that just makes things easier for everyone involved with the business. They are safe, easy to use, legally valid, better for the environment and the most sustainable method to carry out business remotely. So, it is no surprise that more and more are making the switch to go digital and finalise deals using electronic signatures generated by electronic signature softwares.
