The Simple Guide to Electronic Signature Workflows

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The Simple Guide to Electronic Signature Workflows

• Im sure everyone reading this will know the
  scenario where youve been collaborating on an
  online document with others, adding in clauses
  and details, sending it back and forth. But then
  the document goes missing, or a version gets
  overwritten.
• You end up having to redo the document, wasting
  time and money in the process. In fact, it is the
  lack of controlled process that causes most of
  the headaches around document creation,
  management and completion. If you add electronic
  signatures into the mix, then you have another
  layer to worry about in getting from start to
  finish in one fell swoop.
• If you instead, take all the aspects of a
  document or contract lifecycle, and package them
  up into a digitized process including electronic
  signatures, you end up with a controlled
  e-signature workflow which can revolutionize the
  way you handle contracts and documents.

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If we look at some of the facts around document
workflow, you can see how much lack control in
document management costs. Analysts IDC found
that people spend nearly 9 hours each week just
searching for documents. The same study found
that if companies used digital documents, rather
than printing them out, and used document
workflow systems, they saved 25 in associated
costs. Industry body, Workflow Management
Coalition (WFMC) found a 30 increase in
productivity when even a simple workflow process
was used to manage document lifecycles. What are
the elements of an e-signature workflow
process? The jury is in, having a workflow
process in place to control documents that need
digital signatures, will save you time, money,
and make you more productive. But what exactly
does this entail? We can break the process
of electronic signature workflows down into its
constituent parts which are
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• Create a document or use a template to generate a
  contract. E-signature solutions
  like ApproveMe offer document templates that let
  you create a document, ready for workflow
  distribution, with pre-configured signature
  fields to make electronic signature application
  easy.
• 2. Invite Part of an electronic signature
  workflow process is readying signatories for the
  workflow to start. Signatories can be contacted
  via email to access the document or contract. The
  email can contain a direct link to access the
  document. They then just access, click and sign.
• 3. Access is an essential part of the workflow
  event. Signatories will receive their invites but
  the electronic signature platform also needs
  to  control access to the document. Access can be
  controlled using a number of methods, including
  having a second factor to access a document, for
  example a special access code. This is useful for
  documents and contracts which contain sensitive
  information and personal details.

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4. Review of documents is allowed once access is
gained. Users can go to the centralized document
repository and check out the document before
signing no out of sync version issues. 5.
Digital signature collection. For greater control
automation of the flow of digital signatures,
from user to user should be accommodated in the
workflow. ApproveMe lets you set up events that
trigger actions. It allows you to create a
logical flow to go from creation, to review,
signing, and acceptance. You can even set it up
to allow people sign in a particular order. 6.
Consent and acceptance. The act of signing using
a compliant electronic signature solution, like
ApproveMe, automatically assigns acceptance of
the contract TCs a) Protection of the
reviewed document  compliant digital signatures
that adhere to standards like UETA and ESIGN will
ensure that no unauthorized changes can be made
to the document after its been signed without
being picked up by the process.
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b)Reminders  the key to successful electronic
signature workflow processes is to keep them
flowing. A electronic signature solution that
sends out automated signing reminders will make
sure this happens. 7. Customise your workflow
you may find that you need to tailor a workflow
to your specific needs. For example, you may want
the process to work with your Dropbox account and
sync the documents. Or keep documents in pdf
format. Not all solutions allow you to configure
a workflow to fit your conditions, check out that
this is possible when looking for a solution 8.
Audit should be offered throughout the workflow,
events should be audited to generate an audit
trail. You can look back on this checking the
process works well and you can even use it to
tailor your workflow to optimize it. 9.
Completion Once the document is agreed, and
the electronic signatures applied by all parties,
it can then be finalized. The signatories can be
automatically sent a URL link to the completed
document, making sure that everyone is in the
loop and alerted to its completion.
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The thing about getting all our digital ducks on
order is that it means you can sit back and get
on with your real work. Letting workflow
solutions, especially those with built in
e-signing capability to automate each part of the
lifecycle of a contract or signed document, is an
empowering and freeing way to get contracts and
documents signed off and completed. It reminds me
of the revolution in peoples lives that happened
when white goods like automatic washing
machines came into our lives. We cant imagine a
world where we had to wash our smalls using a
kitchen sink like our relatives in the 1930s did
they would spend a whole day of each week washing
clothes. The same thing is happening with
digitization of electronic signature
workflow processes, they are letting us take
lengthy, onerous processes, and wrap them up into
a seamless platform that does the legwork for us.
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