Using electronic signatures to make firm agreements between you and your customers

Getting quotes and contracts officially signed and agreed by customers can be a challenge and can be time-consuming. In using electronic signatures, you can protect your business by ensuring standard processes are never overlooked, agreements can be approved in an instant and become legally binding commitments. These enable you to minimise the risk of customers not paying you for equipment and services you have delivered – no matter how urgent their equipment needs were to them at the time.

However, it’s not just time that can pose a barrier when it comes to getting documents signed. Many of your customers may work on-site or not have immediate access to printers. This means that printing, signing and scanning a document back to you can take a significant amount of work and cause unnecessary delays.

So what is the benefit of electronic signatures?

With an e-signing solution, you can enable your customers to sign and agree to a quote or contract at the click of a button, without the need of manually signing anything. An electronic signature solution means that your customers can make a formal agreement with you in a matter of seconds, saving time and paper whilst ensuring that there is an electronic document trail of what is expected from both parties.

What is the difference between an electronic signature and a physical signature?

With the right e-sign solution, an electronic signature solution is the same, if not even better, than a physical signature. Many electronic signature providers offer legally binding signing solutions so that if you need to hold someone accountable on their end of the agreement, you have an official document to help.

Electronic signatures are also tamper-proof so you’ll know if something isn’t right. Where handwritten signatures can easily be forged, electronic signatures are encrypted and secure so that nothing goes awry.

Where does an electronically signed document go?

In most manual systems, a PDF document attachment will be emailed back and forth between you and your customer and you know to expect a returned signed document (if you get one) back in your mail inbox. With an electronically signed document, it’s not dissimilar. You will be able to send a document for approval and signing via your hire solution and when this is signed, it will arrive back in the right place in your rental system. You can even receive alerts to let you know that this has happened and your customers can receive a signed copy automatically emailed back to them too.

How easy are e-signatures to use?

Even easier than physical signatures! Even the most non-tech-savvy people are using electronic signatures all over the world. With the right solution, you’ll be able to offer digital signatures on any device and browser with an intuitive and easy to follow step-by-step process that takes only a matter of seconds to get the document signed.

So, with the right electronic signature solution, you can make sure that not only are you providing excellent customer service, reducing the use of paper and doing business more efficiently…you are also ensuring that you always have legally binding contracts between you and your customers to make sure that both parties are accountable for what has been agreed.

If you’d like to find out more about our electronic signature solution, MCS E-Sign, get in touch with the MCS team to see it in all its glory.