This is the world of digital signature. You wouldn’t think of requiring someone to put on a powdered wig and use a quill pen dipped in an inkwell. So why are you stuck in the past century with mail and FAX? Especially since so many people don’t even have a FAX machine. If they every had one, they unplugged it at the same time they unplugged their typewriter. Today it’s all about desktop, laptop and notebook PCs, iPads, iPhones, Blackberries and the like. These people don’t want to go hunting for pen and paper. They want to mouse and swipe and be done with it in minutes. Now you can enable them to sign your documents electronically, quickly and easily. The service you want is called RightSignature. It’s a sophisticated way to send documents for signature online. Here’s how it works. You choose a document from your favorite web application, select a Google Doc or upload a PDF or Word file. Then enter the name and email of each signer that you need on the document. Write a short subject and message and click to send. You can also add text fields, check boxes, initials boxes and other form fields that you need to recipients to complete. For many documents this will take you all of about a minute.
Your recipients are automatically notified via email that you’ve sent them a document for signature. They click on a link and are taken to the online document. They read it over and then sign. How? There are several methods that all work well. Most recipients just use their mouse to write their signature. You can also enable an option for signers to type their names to create a valid electronic signature. There’s a RightSignature iPhone App available free in the App Store so that iPhone users can sign by just using their finger on the touchscreen. Business users may sign on their BlackBerry. Even retro users who want a pen and paper solution can print out the signature page, sign it, and fax it back to RightSignature in order to execute the document.
Are these signatures valid? In this electronic age ESIGN and UETA laws have established the legal validity of electronic signatures in the US, and similar legislation has been passed in many other nations. Check out these laws to satisfy yourself that electronic signatures will work for your needs.
Your document has been signed by all parties and now it’s available for you to download as a PDF. Each signer and cc is automatically sent an email with that PDF document as an attachment. Each signed document also includes a Signature Certificate with contains signer information, an audit log and a unique identification number.
How much does this all cost? Probably less than what you are spending on copying and postage now, not to mention the waiting time you’ll avoid with digital document signatures. If you have a need to send out documents for signature and are curious if this solution will work for your business, take a 5 document free trial. No credit card is needed. Get started in just seconds. You may forget what a pen even looks like.
