8 Reasons Your Organization Needs E-signature Now

The professional landscape has changed vastly in recent years, with small and midsized organizations having to adapt to remain competitive. E-signature technology is an essential part of that evolution because it drives faster closes, shorter time to revenue, increased visibility into document management, higher customer satisfaction and increased security.

Here are eight reasons to start using Docusign eSignature today.

1. Reduced costs

Cost savings have become a priority amid current economic trends, and many businesses are searching for products that can maximize their return on investment. E-signature solutions can save an average of $36 per document when paper, printing, postage and storing is taken into account. It also eliminates costs associated with human error, or in cases where documents are missing the necessary information. Contracts with such mistakes can cost up to four times as much to process as those submitted correctly the first time.

Our clients include industrial and environmental machinery supplier Flowserve, which used eSignature to save $2,000 per contract and reduce legal fees by 40%. The South Carolina Department of Health used it to save $4 million and eliminate 2.85 million paper documents per year, while the University of Texas saved $2.4 million by deploying the technology.

2. Better customer experience

Facilitating positive customer experiences is a vital part of running a successful business, and e-signature can help with smart features that make it simple to use. With e-signature, customers can sign and return documents with the click of a mouse or the tap of a finger from anywhere in the world, on nearly any device. Ensuring ease of use has been shown to pay off, with 57% of businesses that use electronic signature technology reporting increased customer satisfaction with the digital agreement process.

3. Productivity improvements

E-signature solutions fully automate the document workflow, streamlining contract execution and increasing employee productivity. Docusign customers have experienced immediate gains, with Thermo Fisher using it to create compliant and more efficient workflows.

After implementing the Docusign Agreement Cloud, the Massachusetts-based supply company discovered that traditionally time-intensive processes could now be completed in a fraction of the time. For instance, the average cycle time for creating standard operating procedures was reduced from six weeks to two, and initiating change controls now takes less than 10 days, compared to five weeks.

4. Fewer errors and inaccuracies

Businesses experience fewer errors by automating the entire contract lifecycle with document generation, collaboration, workflow, and a central agreement repository. Because the e-signature solution walks the signer through a document, errors and inaccuracies decrease. On average, e-signature leads to 49% fewer errors.

5. Increased privacy and security

Shuttling physical contracts from one signer to another, particularly in a multiple-signature situation, increases the risk of a privacy breach. Conversely, e-signature keeps a document safely stored in one digital location and tracks contract changes throughout the signing process. Routing rules can be specified so signers gain access in order of authorization, protecting the document from tampering along the way.

And unlike wet signatures, e-signatures also come with an electronic record that serves as an audit trail and proof of the transaction. The audit trail includes the history of actions taken with the document, including the details of when it was opened, viewed and signed. If one of the signers disputes their signature, or if there’s any question about the transaction, this audit trail is available to all participants in the transaction.

6. Reduced need to store paper documents

Many e-signature solutions offer unlimited digital storage that makes it easy to find and retrieve documents, so you no longer must devote storage space to signed contracts, agreements and other documents.

Since all Docusign documents are stored in a central repository, going digital also reduces the risk of losing or destroying hardcopy documents.

7. Fast implementation

Many electronic signature solutions fit smoothly into your workflow and work alongside the tools you already use. This allows you to deploy e-signatures for business processes quickly. Docusign offers a robust range of resources to help your team get up and running successfully with eSignature including a large customer success organization that offers implementation services, plus live and online classes and 24/7 support.

8. Reduced environmental footprint

By replacing paper with electronic documents, Docusign customers have created a more eco-friendly environment by reducing the consumption of approximately 55 billion sheets of paper, the equivalent of nearly 6 million trees.

Docusign eSignature has significantly reduced businesses reliance on traditional, antiquated methods of communication by revolutionizing the way documents are shared, signed and stored. eSignature eliminates the need to print, fax, scan, mail and store paper documents by providing a fast, easy-to-use electronic document signing process.

You can learn more about the capabilities of Docusign's eSignature here.