Why Use e-Signature?

When many people think of electronic signature tools used by firms seeking a secure, paperless, contract workflow, the first question they often ask is, “how do they know who signed it.” This is an old way of thinking from people who often resist technological change. I think forgery suspicion and lack of understanding are primary reasons that many small firms have yet take advantage of this time/expense saving eSignature technology.

The real question is, “how do you confirm who signed handwritten signatures?” This includes signature stamps or images of your real signature pasted into a document. I’m sure many people have signed documents for their spouse or their boss. I guess in order to confirm who actually signed it, you could hire an expensive scribe expert to compare signatures.

Upon mention of e-signatures, many may think of the process they go through at a department store when they sign for a credit card purchase. After swiping the card, they pick up a gadget that looks like a pen and make their mark on an electronic pad confirming their intent to buy. Even this process may have seemed strange 30 years ago, but we now know it is no different than signing your name with ink on paper. They are the same because the commonality between all signatures is threefold:

• You must have access to the document
• With the ability to make your mark
• Confirming your intent to sign

Hundreds of years ago, people would use stone chops and wax seals to make their mark and confirm their intent. Today, the Federal E-Sign law and subsequent state UETA laws proclaim that contracts and electronically signed documents cannot be denied based solely on this medium.

Benefits of e-Signatures

e-Signatures are nothing more than electronic substitutes for instances when handwritten signatures are impractical. If you do business with people outside the four walls of your office, then eSignatures enable you to close deals in minutes online, without spending money on postage and without waiting for clients to drive to your office to sign in person.

e-Signatures also provide an added level of security by enabling documents to remain in an encrypted environment, rather than floating around the office for faxing and mail packaging. This helps ensure client confidentiality and privacy, and may even help your company comply with regulatory standards.

If you’re the suspicious type who doesn’t think you can confirm who signed electronic documents, take a look at the last signed contract you received by mail or fax and ask yourself, “could this be my client’s paralegal’s, secretary’s, or spouse’s signature?”

Quality e-signature services require a PIN be typed before signing; the same requirement banks use to allow people to take money out of an ATM machine. They also track the email address the e-signature request was sent to, and the date and time it was signed. If this isn’t enough, an IP address can also be obtained from the person signing the document.

It may be a matter of time before companies fully accept this technology. However, those that embrace eSignatures sooner rather than later will be ahead of the game.

SaaS Remote Office: Telecommuting Technology

I found an interesting article linked on a legal blog about telecommuting called, “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Telecommuting.” This article talks about honest concerns that many business owners have about their employees working from home. Many of their concerns revolve around their comfort level with how they currently do business. Yet, they are legitimate concerns, such as:

• Productivity
• Social interaction
• Home office infrastructure (i.e., do employees have the tools they need to do work?)
• Security

This author says, “you can’t expect employees to maintain the same level of productivity and service that they do in the office while at home if they lack access to the files and applications they need to do their jobs.” Yet, the example technologies he provides to enable remote access to files are complicated, expensive to operate and maintain, and suitable for enterprise firms with large IT staffs.

Small business and firms can also implement remote office policies by using software-as-a-service (SaaS) products such as the ConXPoint Business Center. If you have an internet connection, then ConXPoint can enable you to gain remote access to files, meet face to face online, sign contracts and agreements with people in different states in real time, collaborate internally and externally with employees and clients, etc.

Another problem with the suggested productivity tools provided in this article, as well as many other articles and blogs, they suggest a hodge-podge of services through various vendors with no central login. The Business Center provides a secure central login to an online workspace branded with your company look and feel for your employees and clients to do work. This provides business continuity and security by encrypting all remote access to files through a comprehensive, full-service SaaS solution.

ConXPoint doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. We use a familiar folder and file structure to easily locate files, and we incorporate your existing software technology such as Word, Excel, Quickbooks. So, you aren’t having to waste time learning something new.

For more information or discuss other ways ConXPoint services may help you economically meet your customer service priorities and cost reduction initiatives, contact us by calling 866-907-6686. The ConXPoint website offers a brief 3‐minute movie providing more information about e-signatures, document storage, and web conferencing. You can sign up to participate in a 30‐minute interactive Web presentation called “Coffee with ConXPoint.”

Web Conferencing: Live Meetings Online

Reducing operating costs of business is at the forefront of ever business owner. One way to do this is to reduce business travel expenses by implementing a web conferencing tool. Many small companies and firms are choosing to use online web conferences to conduct training and sales presentations, collaborate with partners and clients, enhance customer service, troubleshoot software, record meetings for future use, etc. all without leaving their home or work office.

Until recently, web conferences were primarily employed by large enterprise firms with offices in different states. Today, web conferencing tools are more accessible to small firms, providing a great opportunity to improve internal/external communications while reducing costs.

ConXPoint helps to bring web conferencing tools to small businesses by providing a free license to Microsoft Live Meeting with every ConXPoint Business Center. We believe that a SaaS collaboration tool without web conferencing capabilities is an incomplete solution.

For more information or discuss other ways ConXPoint services may help you economically meet your customer service priorities and cost reduction initiatives, contact us by calling 866-907-6686. The ConXPoint website offers a brief 3‐minute movie providing more information about e-signatures, document storage, and web conferencing. You can sign up to participate in a 30‐minute interactive Web presentation called “Coffee with ConXPoint.”