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4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Get Documents Signed Electronically

Lindsay McGuire
January 15, 2020
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Min Read

We often talk about the benefits of using an eSignature software. Digitizing documents can benefit your business, but should you always get documents electronically signed?

If you're still wondering if you should ditch paper for digital, here are 4 reasons you shouldn't use an eSignature tool to get documents electronically signed.

Spoiler: None of the reasons are around the legal validity of electronic signatures.

Reason 1: You love spending time printing, faxing, scanning, and mailing documents for signing.

Do you love the logistics of paperwork? Wish you had more items to print, sign, scan, and repeat? Then you'll be fine sticking to paper documents and inked signatures. Don't forget to check your printer toner level and stock up on paper! Just be sure to recycle any document drafts that don't become a final signed product.

Reason 2: You enjoy calling or emailing your customers multiple times to remind them to sign your paperwork.

Do you live for having the same conversations over and over again? If you're manually sending documents as email attachments or sending them off in the mail, you'll likely need to dedicate a lot of time to following up with customers to get their signatures.

If you find follow-up phone calls or emails awkward and time-consuming, then Formstack Sign can help out. Our automated follow-up emails save our customers the hassle of manually following up by phone or email. You'll no longer have to set reminders to make that call or craft another "just checking in" email again.

Related: How to Follow Up on an Email (Without Being Annoying)

Reason 3: You would miss the experience of customers sending back your contracts with signatures missing.

If you often send out long or complicated paper documents to be signed, you may receive them back with missing signatures, initials, or check box fields. You could invest time in highlighting every section that needs a check mark, signature, or initial, but we think you may want to spend your time on more pressing projects. Playing document tag is no more fun than phone tag.

Reason 4: You like that it takes days or weeks to get signed documents back.

Printing, scanning, faxing, and mailing documents takes time. Emailing documents that need to be printed, signed, and scanned isn't that much better. In fact, consider how many individuals no longer have a printer at home. If you're dealing directly with consumers, your customers won't appreciate needing to head to the library or local office store to print your document, scan it, and send it back.

long form tips

Pro Tip: If you're creating lots of documents every week, adding document generation software could save you hundreds of hours. Automatically create a populate documents without ever needing to hit copy and paste again.

Time is money, and the productivity of employees is key to business success. If you're still wasting lots of time on manual document processing and signing, it might be time for a change. Avoid running into the four situations above by adding an eSignature tool to your tech stack.

Our electronic signature software is the easiest way to get your documents signed, with automated features designed to save you time and hassle. With our simple three step process, you can be up and running in no time! Employees and customers will thank you when they see how quick and easy it is to sign documents with Formstack Sign.

Looking for an easy way to capture electronic signatures? Formstack Sign has everything you need to collect signatures quickly, easily, and safely. Get started today with a free trial.
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Lindsay McGuire
Lindsay is the Content Marketing Manager at Formstack, splitting her time between creating blog content, writing reports, and hosting Formstack's Practically Genius podcast. She's a proud graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism (MIZ!) and loves connecting with others on LinkedIn.
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