The Complete Small Business Guide to Digitally Signed Documents

In the past, signing documents required setting up a meeting, sending a flurry of faxes back and forth or relying on expensive FedEx overnights. Today, thanks to mobile technology and cloud computing, digital signing has made it easy for small businesses to send documents and complete transactions all over the world.

Companies can use several methods to take advantage of digital signatures. They can use workarounds offered by Preview for Mac or Google Apps, use a basic signature service like SignEasy or send documents back and forth with programs like HelloSign or DocuSign. Digital signatures are just as legally binding as pen-and-ink signatures, and as long as proper data encryption protections are used, digital signature transmission is completely secure.

The Beginnings of Digital Signatures

Digitally signed documents became legally binding across the U.S. in 2000, when Congress passed the ESIGN Act and President Bill Clinton signed it using his electronic signature ID. However, electronic signatures got their start over 100 years ago, when people used Morse code and telegraph machines to transmit electronic contracts. In 1869, the New Hampshire Supreme Court validated electronic signatures as legally binding. “It makes no difference whether [the telegraph] operator writes the offer or the acceptance … with a steel pen an inch long attached to an ordinary penholder, or whether his pen be a copper wire a thousand miles long.”

Today, businesses of all sizes use digital signatures. Most companies find digital signatures are:

• Cheaper and more efficient. By going digital, businesses save on printing, shipping and fuel costs. They can also obtain signatures and store signed documents more quickly by eliminating paper.
• Faster. Just like offering credit card transactions helps businesses to get paid more quickly, digital signatures allow companies to issue and receive new business contracts more quickly.
• More mobile. A contract sent to someone’s e-mail account can be downloaded onto a tablet or smartphone, signed by dragging a finger along the touchscreen and sent back to the issuer in less than one or two minutes, anywhere in the world.
• Secure. Document signing applications and cloud services use encryption tools to protect signed documents in storage. They also offer authentication tools that affirm the identity of all signers.

Basic Digital Signing: Google Docs, Preview for Mac and Adobe Reader

The simplest way to start digitally signing documents is to create a signature with a drawing tool and save it to paste into documents. Two easy tools to use are Google Drawings and Preview for Mac.

• Google Docs. Choose “Drawing” from the “Insert” menu. Use a touchscreen or mouse to drag and draw a signature. That signature can then be inserted into any Google Doc.
• Preview for Mac. Choose “Preferences” and then “Signatures.” Sign a piece of paper and hold the paper in front of a Mac’s camera, lining it up with the signature line on the screen. Snap the photo, and then use the saved file to insert a signature into documents.
• Adobe Reader. Open a PDF and click “Sign” in the Adobe Reader toolbar. Click the triangle next to “I Need to Sign” and then choose “Place Signature.” Type a full name, and Adobe Reader will generate a signature in a script-like font. Alternatively, draw a signature using a mouse or trackpad.

Better Digital Signing: Cloud-Based Digital Signing Programs

Different digital signing programs offer different tiers of service. Free services are cheap and easy to use, but paid services offer more functionality.

• SignEasy. SignEasy can open documents from certain programs and allow someone to sign them using a touchscreen device. Paid services integrate with Dropbox, Google Drive, Box and Evernote to import documents and then send them to another signer.
• DocuSign. In addition to signing documents, DocuSign can send documents directly to the recipient for a signature and then return them to the originator. It also offers email, SMS, access code, phone and other types of authentication.
• HelloSign. HelloSign offers strong security measures for storing digitally signed documents. These include AES-256 encryption, storage in ISO-certified facilities and SSL document transmission.

Digital signatures add a layer of sophistication and ease to any business transaction. Small businesses can design their own solutions using tools for capturing digital signatures, or they can subscribe to cloud-based solutions if they send high volumes of documents for signature.