5 Features to Look for in eSignature Software for Your Business

With digital technology, businesses are always looking for ways to increase business operation efficiency and cut costs.

A great tool to solve these problems is eSignature software. eSignatures have become a vital part of today's businesses — no matter what size your business is because many transactions are done in a paperless-base and working remotely. With so many options out there, how are you supposed to know which eSignature software is best for your business? These are the five integral features one must look forward to when making a decision.

1. Security and Compliance

Security is the bedrock of any eSignature solution. When choosing eSignature software, it's essential to ensure that the platform adheres to industry-standard security protocols and compliance regulations. Look for software that uses strong encryption methods to protect your data both in transit and at rest. The solution should also comply with relevant regulations such as the ESIGN Act, UETA, and GDPR, depending on your location and industry. Compliance with these laws ensures that your electronic signatures are legally binding and can stand up in court if necessary.

Advanced security features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), audit trails, and secure access controls are vital. These features help in preventing unauthorized access, ensuring that only the intended signatories can access and sign the documents. An audit trail feature is useful, as it provides a detailed history of who signed what, when, and where, adding an extra layer of accountability and transparency to the process.

2. Ease of Use

A good eSignature solution should be able to provide a great user interface for both your employees and the people you are sending forms to. Fast software adoption often simply depends on whether or not it is user-friendly. A program that is too intricate or takes a long time to learn can frustrate, and it can slow down work.

A Good Interface: You should always opt for eSiganture software which has a simple and easy-to-navigate user interface. You need some basic features like drag-and-drop ability to add signature fields, simple document uploading and a simple signing process. A good catering software should be available for users on desktops, tablets or any smartphones.

The user-friendliness of the software also carries over to its integration functionality. The eSignature platform would ideally be compatible with your existing tools, like CRM systems, document management software and cloud storage services. This connection streamlines the process and reduces dependency on manual data input or shuffling of documents.

3. Customization Options

Businesses come in all sizes and varieties, your eSignature software should do the same. Configure the software to fit your specific workflows, branding and document requirements using customization options.

Use eSignature software that provides the ability to customize custom signature fields, templates and document layouts. Storing templates for documents you already use a lot can save time since they all should conform to the same style, across every transaction in your business. Offering custom on-brand features like branding from your company logo and colors to the signing interface all the way through email notifications help keep a professional image of you as well by building trust with your clients.

There should also be custom workflows to fit the way you do business as well. For example, if your business needs several signatures in a particular order or specific locations on the document, you should be able to quickly create customized sequential signing steps.

4. Scalability

Whether you are a small startup or a large enterprise, it’s important to have software that can scale with your company. Find an eSignature solution that provides scaling plans along with per-document and user pricing. A software that can handle larger scale deployments and complex workflows, without slower processing. Scalability is crucial when you plan on significant expansion or if your industry has variable requirements.

Also, ask yourself if the software has some advanced functionality that you may want to use later such as bulk sendings or access via an API interface for a custom integration or better-dot reports and so forth. The best part is if you invest in intelligent and scalable software, you will not outgrow your eSignature solution as the business grows.

5. Customer Support and Training

As easy as eSignature solutions might be to use, you may have face some difficulties at the beginning while setting up an account and when integrating with another software. So robust customer support is an important feature to keep in mind.

Select a provider that has rigorous support. Live chat, phone help and lots of documentation is vital. Other providers will help onboard your team to ensure they understand how to use the software by offering training and webinars. Good customer support can go a long way in how well your business transitions into the new system and quickly respond to any problems that arise so it reduces downtime.