eSignatures vs. traditional signatures: A comparative look at efficiency and cost

Digital transformation has, well, transformed how businesses operate, reshaping everything from customer interactions to internal workflows and even to how we sign and process documents. And while the latter may sound small, it has a big impact. Across industries, including insurance, financial services, and the legal sector, contracts and documents that need signing are a central part of day-to-day operations. Whether the signing process is smooth and efficient or slow and error-ridden has a significant business impact. That’s why organizations increasingly choose eSignatures as a preferred solution for efficient, cost-effective, and secure document handling. In this blog, we’ll explore how shifting to eSignatures streamlines your processes, reduces costs, and offers a competitive advantage. 

Why the shift toward eSignatures?

According to a 2024 survey by Valtech, 75% of US and UK business executives say their companies need digital transformation investment in the next year, and a whopping 94% of large organizations have a digital transformation strategy. One of the results of this widespread movement of integrating digital technology into as many business areas as possible is innovation in the field of eSignatures. 

‍

Although the United States enacted the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN Act) in 2000, the technology continues to evolve since then. With the COVID-19 pandemic pushing many organizations to rethink document processing, traditional, in-person signing methods increasingly went out of fashion. Amidst lockdowns and a significant boost in remote work, eSignatures became essential for maintaining business continuity across industries, helping organizations adapt to new ways of working. 

‍

Sectors such as insurance, finance, legal, and real estate, where timely document processing is crucial, have led the charge in adopting eSignatures. Driven both by necessity as well as a longer-term digital transformation strategy to increase agility and efficiency, businesses that adopt eSignatures enjoy numerous benefits, including:

‍

• Efficiency: eSignatures let you respond quickly to customer needs, with faster transaction times and instant document handling. They ensure that even multi-party contracts and agreements are processed smoothly, including in remote and hybrid work environments, where timely document completion can be the difference between low and high customer satisfaction.
• Cost-Effectiveness: eSignatures help you cut costs on materials and administrative labor by reducing the need for printing, scanning, and physically storing documents. If you need to process large volumes of customer documents, such as contracts and applications, and you don’t want to deal with the overhead associated with traditional paperwork, this is particularly valuable.

Enhanced Customer Experience: eSignatures offer customers an easy, secure, and flexible way to complete transactions, especially when in-person interactions aren’t possible, with easy integration into digital workflows. They create a more seamless experience for customers across locations and time zones, reducing friction in document-heavy processes and fostering faster, more transparent interactions.

Traditional signatures vs. eSignatures

Considering the switch over the eSignatures? Let’s do a side-by-side review of traditional versus eSignatures to see the benefits you can expect.

Efficiency 

The traditional signing process involves printing contracts or forms, signing them, scanning and emailing or mailing them to one or more other parties, receiving the signed forms, printing them – rinse and repeat for each relevant party. And, of course, when all is said and done, you have to organize and store all of those physical documents. 

‍

In contrast, the digital signing process is quick and seamless, requiring no physical handling. You can send, sign, and have the form returned to you in just minutes. In industries like financial services or insurance, where signatures are used for time-sensitive services like loan or claims processing, the significant reduction in turnaround times is a game-changer for customer satisfaction. 

Costs

The cost of traditional signatures includes:

‍

• Printing 
• Paper
• Ink
• Storage space
• Courier services

‍

On top of that, you have to consider the labor costs involved in managing and tracking paper documents.

‍

In comparison, eSignatures eliminate the need for physical resources, reduce postage, and minimize storage needs. The digital records are easily searchable and manageable, saving valuable administrative time. 

Security and compliance

Contracts carry a lot of sensitive information, including financial data, personal information, and proprietary details. Common security risks like forged signatures, loss of documents, and lack of encryption can lead to the exposure of confidential company or client details, breaching trust and hurting your reputation. Furthermore, physical documents can be easily altered or tampered with, leading to potential legal disputes and financial losses.

‍

On the other hand, eSignatures are significantly more secure, using multi-factor authentication, password protection, and encryption to verify identities and protect sensitive information. The automatically-generated audit trail, a detailed log of each action taken on a document, enhances transparency and traceability. Once signed, digital documents readily show evidence of tampering, making it easy to flag a potential security risk.

‍

Importantly, eSignatures that meet global compliance standards, including GDPR, ESIGN, and eIDAS, are equally as legally binding as traditional signatures, making them appropriate for any type of contract or agreement. EasySign by EasySend is compliant with the highest international standards, including GDPR, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and HIPAA, ensuring security and compliance.

Customer experience and its impact on the bottom line

Traditional document processing often leads to delays, which can lead to customer dissatisfaction. The lengthy processing times associated with waiting for documents to be mailed back and forth create bottlenecks, increasing the likelihood that your customers will be left anxiously waiting for their insurance claim approval or finalization of their mortgage. 

‍

With eSignatures, a process that once took days now takes only minutes, meaning customers can move through time-sensitive processes like loan applications and policy renewals more quickly. And they won’t have to stress out about where to find a scanner–eSignatures enable customers to sign documents conveniently–anytime, anywhere, using any device. This seamless signing experience enhances customer loyalty, satisfaction, and retention. 

Why eSignatures are the future of document signing

eSignatures are taking over for a reason: they offer superior efficiency, cost-effectiveness, security, and customer experience compared to traditional signatures. They can scale with your business needs, allowing you to handle higher volumes of documentation without increasing staff or resources. Their flexibility allows them to support even complex workflows and multi-party transactions, making them appropriate for large-scale contracts involving multiple stakeholders.

‍

As digital transformation continues to advance, adopting eSignatures is increasingly critical for organizations looking to stay relevant and competitive. By integrating well with other digital transformation initiatives like CRM, ERP systems, and dynamic customer interaction platforms, eSignatures supports streamlined and efficient digital ecosystems for future-proof internal and external processes. 

‍

EasySend’s eSignature solution, EasySign, addresses complex workflow needs without high costs or requiring advanced technical abilities. The simple setup process makes for easy adoption, regardless of your company’s size, and you’ll receive support for both serial and parallel signing, which is ideal for multi-step approvals. Send as many documents as you need without extra fees with affordable, scalable plans that grow with your business.  Real-time tracking and automated reminders keep everything transparent and on deadline, while security and compliance features meet regulatory standards, supporting compliance in highly regulated industries.

‍

Explore EasySign’s capabilities with a free trial to see how it can streamline document workflows for your organization.

‍

‍