There are several different kinds of documents, most of which are extremely important. With technological advancement, more people and organizations prefer keeping their documents on their computers or online. They don’t need to take out scans or printouts to approve or authorize these documents, as several electronic document signing programs make life easy. After electronically signing these documents, individuals can email them to someone on the other side of the world in a few minutes.

What is electronic document signing?

Electronic document signing involves the use of an electronic signature. In this, a symbol or some other kind of digital data in digital format is attached to a designated document by the person who is required to approve or sign the document. In most cases of electronic document signing, an image of the physical signature of the person is taken.

What is electronic document signing software?

It is software that helps you deliver a digital mark to indicate that you agree to a document or contract. As the name suggests, an electronic document signing software enables you to sign documents electronically. It saves the need for papers and eliminates the need for faxing, printing, or even scanning. The best part of electronic document signing software is that it is easy, fast, and secure.

How does electronic document signing software work?

Here is how the electronic document signing software works. Most of these let you upload the document, prepare in an acceptable format, and then send documents for signature from the signatory. The e-signature software encrypts the document during the process and can be accessed with the signature of the signatory. The e-signature software also allows you to receive, sign, and return the document to another sender as well.

How is electronic document signing software different from digital signature software?

Digital signature and electronic signature are terms that are used quite interchangeably, whereas there is a significant difference between them. Now, the difference shouldn’t matter much to you as the software combines the goodness of both. Digital signature software creates layers of protection to the document, thereby making it more condensed. The software encrypts the document using a key, which is called “hash”. To decrypt this key, a signatory’s key will be required.

Which are some of the best electronic document signing software?

To make the concept of electronic document signing and the software that use this easy to understand, here are some of the best electronic document signing software:

• eSign Genie
  Organizations can add documents and send them to the concerned people for receiving e-signatures. Once received, they can even create an archive of all the signed documents.
• DocuSign
  With DocuSign, users can upload a document, email them to the person that has to sign the document and they can even specify the order in which the signatory is supposed to sign the software.
• SignEasy
  SignEasy is a cloud-based solution that is used across several industry verticals such as HR, IT, operations, real estate, etc. It can capture signatures on various kinds of documents spanning across various file formats like PDF, JPG, Excel, Word, and many others. It comes with various predefined signature templates as well.

Physical documents have a shelf life, after which they become perishable and not to mention, the signatures on them become illegible. This is not the case with e-signatures. It is advisable for organizations containing critical documents to use electronic document signing software.