How to sign a document electronically

No matter your industry, everyday technology solutions — like e-signatures — help boost efficiency. They help us complete tasks, streamline processes, improve customer service, and communicate and collaborate quicker and more effectively than ever before — optimizing productivity and profitability.

To better understand the power of e-signatures, let’s learn more about how they benefit businesses and how to sign a document electronically. 

What is an e-signature?

Put simply, an e-signature is a digitally written or software-generated signature that authenticates an online document. These enable users to conveniently send and receive legally approved documents to clients and vendors anytime and anywhere.

With e-signature software like Jotform Sign — which we’ll delve more into — you can send and sign documents in minutes. It’s as simple as signing in the signature block in a document by typing or drawing your name and clicking “submit” or the like.

What are the benefits of using electronic signatures?

Introducing e-signatures in your everyday business processes offers the following perks:

• It saves workers’ time and energy. You can send and receive e-signatures in a click of a button, instead of spending hours collecting and distributing documents to the right people.
• It helps automate your workflows. Better workflows streamline communication, resulting in less human error and departmental logjams.
• It makes your business more environmentally friendly. You save paper and energy by choosing this paperless solution.
• It provides added security for sensitive documents. This is especially true when you combine e-signatures with tamper sealing, audit trails, and data encryption.
• It cuts costs across your business. No need to spend money on printing, mailing, and storage space and furniture for documents.

Are electronic signatures legal?

Electronic signatures are legally binding virtually everywhere, and can create legally enforceable documents. Electronic signatures are as legitimate as handwritten signatures in all U.S. states and in many countries around the world. To ensure you’re complying with all regulations that cover your e-signature documents, we recommend that you consult legal counsel.

How can Jotform Sign help?

Now that you have a little more insight into what e-signatures are — as well as their many benefits — let’s look at a simple e-signature tool. Best for small and midsize organizations, Jotform Sign is an easy-to-use and code-free e-signature solution.

Here’s what you can do with Jotform Sign:  

• Create automated workflows through signatures
• Build e-signature documents from scratch or choose from more than 600 templates
• Send a document (e.g., offer letter, sales contract, mortgage document) multiple times to several signers and track its journey through a workflow
• Send or store signed documents in cloud storage systems, such as Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox
• Set signing deadlines and send email reminders to people who haven’t signed yet
• Collect signatures on your website with embeddable forms

What’s more, Jotform Sign is part of Jotform’s suite of products, meaning you can manage your e-signature forms through tables, apps, and e-commerce stores. 

What are some use cases for Jotform Sign?

Learning how to sign a document electronically is easy with platforms like Jotform Sign. Here are four examples of how you might use Jotform Sign templates:

1. Simple one-page lease agreement: This landlord-tenant contract lays out the terms and conditions of the rental property, so both parties can agree on lease dates, payment, utilities, and furnishings. Once you’ve included all your agreed-upon terms, simply send it to your prospective tenant via link or email, collect their signature, and store it safely in your Jotform dashboard.
2. Professional letter of recommendation: Having a letter of recommendation that highlights someone’s skills, on-the-job experience, and personality traits gives them an advantage during the job search. Use this template to help a friend or colleague wow a prospective employer, sign it at the bottom, and reuse it in the future — with a few tweaks — if someone else asks you for a recommendation letter. 
3. Payment agreement: This contract outlines loan details between a creditor and borrower — including whether the borrower will repay the loan in one payment or in installments — so you can streamline your loan process and payment schedule in minutes.
4. Grant proposal: Applying for a grant takes time, organization, and attention to detail. This template includes a cover letter, project details (timeline, goals and objectives, budget, etc.), and terms and conditions. Proposals usually require a group effort, so the template includes two fields for you and a colleague to sign before sending to a funding agency.

While pen-on-paper signatures are adequate, legal ways to authenticate a document, e-signatures are equally effective as well as more convenient, affordable, and secure than handwritten signatures. Plus, with tools like Jotform Sign, learning how to electronically sign a document is one of the easiest ways to automate administrative tasks and streamline your workflows for a less stressful, more productive work day.