An electronic signature or an E signature is a personal signature in electronic format used to sign digital documents. It is a legal and efficient way of having your electronic documents signed immediately. It replaces many handwritten signatures in many processes.
Why an E signature?
An E signature is a convenient way of signing your documents remotely without being physically present. Why is it important? There are several factors that makes electronic signature important in the business world
- With the market being global you are now able to transact business and sign contracts in real time without having to travel all over the world.
- E signature has lowered the cost of business transactions. You can collaborate, negotiate and close contracts without having to be present physically to sign documents. You also don’t need the physical documents to be sent through courier to have them signed and returned. By using E signature this is done at minimal cost. There is also reduced cost of printing documents to have them physically signed
- E signature speeds up the approval process thus no time is wasted in waiting to have the document signed. CEO’s tend to travel a lot but as a company, you don’t have to wait for him to come physically to approve documents. The documents can be approved remotely from wherever he is. This speeds up the approval process.
Is an E signature legal?
The information and communication act in kenya highlights that it is not necessarily handwritten signatures that are recognized for a contract to be binding. Contracts cannot be refused for having been electronically signed.
Section 83J of the Kenya Information and Communications Act recognizes electronic contracts.
E signatures are legally valid and recognizable in the Kenyan court of law. Electronic signatures issued by a certifying authority are legally valid.
The business laws amendment act, 2020 (Came into force 18th march 2020), amended a number of statutes, The law of Contract Act, The registration of Documents Act, and the Land Registration Act to recognize the use of advanced electronic signature.
What is entailed in advanced electronic signature?
- An advanced electronic signature is linked to and is capable of identifying the signatory.
- The signatory should be able to maintain it under his or her control.
- Should be linked to the data it entails to and easily recognizable
Where can an E signature be used?
Sales
In sales an electronic signature can be used in approving contracts in real time and the process can also be tracked making it secure. Regardless of where the salesperson is, the contract document is sent for approval without wasting time on physical follow up.
Quotes can be delivered, contracts and signed approval right from a CRM. They can also use any device to access the e signature. E signature can also be utilized in order processing and partnership programs.
Finance
E signatures can be used to process new account requests, loan applications and pre approvals in real time. Application forms can be done online and approved electronically using the electronic signature.
Electronic signature speeds up serving of customers in application and enrollment processes.
Electronic signature will ease loan application and account opening processes especially in the banking sector.
Electronic signature makes it easy for remote workforce to work in the digital space.
Human resource
With pre approved Human resource documents recruiting and onboarding of staff is made easy and faster improving efficiency. It also eases management of employees’ life cycles. Contractor agreements, training compliance and compensation agreements.
Healthcare
Patients, Doctors and hospital staff can have online forms filled up and signed in real time without producing paper. In healthcare consent forms to admission forms, clinical trials are processed electronically and approved through e signatures
Procurement
In procurement an e signature can be used to approve Purchase orders.
Manufacturing
In manufacturing e signature is used in batch approvals, recall notifications, incident reporting, safety inspections, trademark registrations and many others.
Construction
In construction e signature is used in signing of contracts with clients, consultants, contractors and suppliers.
Electronic signature can also be utilized in asset management, change requests, order fulfillment, budget approvals and authorization of maintenance in an organization. Electronic signature can be used in all departments in a company where approval is necessary.
Even in Government an electronic signature can be used to serve the citizens and community as a whole.
Who can use the E signature?
Anybody who has authority to approve can use an e signature regardless of the industry.
How does an e signature work?
To demonstrate how an e signature works we will use acrobat sign
You can start by registering with an e signature provider. With acrobat sign you can sign up for an e signature by picking a package that is appropriate for your company.
How to sign.
In your communication you will receive an email with a link to the document to be signed.
You will click on the link sent to open up the document to review and sign
You will click on the ”click here to sign” prompt in the document to sign.
A pop up window opens up for you to create your signature in the signature field.
Choosing an option. There are four different options you can use to append your signature. You can choose to type in your name, or choose to use the mouse, upload an image of your signature or sign with your finger or stylus.
Sign document
You select apply to add your signature to the signature line, preview the signed document to confirm that it is ok before approving.
Select “click to sign” at the bottom of the document to finalize the document approval.
Acrobat sign automatically sends you and the sender the final signed document.
By using e signatures how is this cost being reduced?
- The cost of printing a document is eliminated because the signature is applied on an electronic document. There is no need to print a document and duplicate copies. The electronic document is shared online without the need for duplication. All these costs are completely done away with.
- The cost of delivering documents is also eliminated. With the physical documents, they have to be delivered through a courier or post. This can be quite costly because of moving back and forth to have the documents signed. The possibility of losing a document on transit is also high.
- Time is money. It can take time to look for the stakeholders to have them sign a document. If they travel a lot it makes it even more time consuming. This might not adhere well with the customers and the suppliers who want their documents approved on time. With e signature this can be eliminated completely because the approval can be done by just a click from anywhere on any electronic device.
Conclusion
To improve your workplace productivity and efficiency, the best thing is to have an e signature in place. The customers will be happy because the speed of approving their documents will improve and also the other stakeholders will be served fast.