Why integrate digital signatures into your business’s operational workflow?

Digital signatures are a strong digital transformation trend for businesses. Most current digital signature solutions focus on solving issues related to taxes, e-invoices, social insurance, commercial contracts, etc. Meanwhile, the problem of submitting and signing documents for internal business operations has not been thoroughly addressed, leading to manual and extremely time-consuming submission and signing processes. Is it possible to integrate digital signatures into operational workflows to handle a company’s internal challenges? The article below will provide businesses with the most comprehensive answer to optimize internal operations with digital signatures.

What is a digital signature?

A digital signature is considered an electronic seal for a business or a signature for an individual, legally recognized by the state. It is a form of electronic signature created from private and public keys to encrypt and accurately identify the signer’s data.

Digital signatures are used in place of regular signatures in digital environments to sign digital documents and records without needing to print, declare, or stamp them. Common applications of digital signatures include:

• Signing e-invoices
• Filing electronic tax returns
• Signing labor contracts
• Signing documents in the import-export and customs fields, etc.

See more: Basic guide to using digital signatures

What obstacles do businesses face without implementing digital signatures?

Struggling with non-standardized submission and signing processes for hundreds of documents

When the scale is small and the number of documents is few, approvals and submissions are simple. Everything is given to the director to sign; if there’s a mistake, it’s reprinted and signed again. In reality, as many businesses grow, they become confused about which documents are for administrative signing, which are for HR, and which are for accounting. After signing, who should it be sent to for stamping, approval, and so on…

The consequence of not having a clear submission and signing process is that the entire business operation system becomes chaotic, with no one knowing who to send which file to. When this happens repeatedly, employees waste time and resources, and leaders spend time processing files and documents. Furthermore, without a tool to control signing and submissions, businesses cannot trace the history of these actions, not knowing which approval steps a document has gone through or when. Especially if an error related to a document occurs, it’s impossible to trace which step the error came from or who is specifically responsible for resolving it.

The pain of remote work makes submitting and signing complex and time-consuming

Manual signing and approval become more difficult than ever when businesses have to work remotely due to the stressful pandemic. Even with a signing process in place, an employee would initial a document, send it via express delivery to the director, who then signs it and forwards it to the accountant’s home for stamping and payment approval before it’s sent to the partner. This way, shipping costs increase, and document processing time gets even longer.

Not to mention the risk of losing documents when they are signed at home, with no storage facility while waiting for shipment. In addition, the approval and signing of internal decisions and documents also face bottlenecks for the same reasons, causing the business’s operations to stagnate due to constant waiting, reminding, and delays.

Costly expenses and cumbersome operations when using multiple internal management and digital signature software

Driven by digital transformation, businesses are starting to use digital signatures more to handle tasks related to taxes, insurance, e-invoices, etc. However, the reality is that the digital signature uses one software, documents like invoices, insurance forms, and contracts are created on another, and the approval process for these documents is on a third software. Too many applications make consolidation time-consuming and prone to errors.

Not to mention, accountants and HR staff have to learn how to use each separate software. The business then incurs additional costs for purchasing software and wastes employees’ time on learning and getting used to it. Despite the high costs, using them presents many inconveniences related to document consolidation. To find a document in a specific field, signed by a particular department within a specific time frame, one has to search in each separate software. These cumbersome and complex operations leave employees and the business feeling exhausted, leading to high costs and reduced focus on work.

If your business is also struggling to find answers to these bottlenecks, don’t hesitate to contact us via the “Request a consultation” button below. 1Office will accompany you and help you find the most optimal solution for convenient, simple, and effective document submission and signing.

Benefits of integrating digital signatures into business operations

To no longer worry about the difficulties of standardizing processes, remote signing and approvals, or the fatigue of using multiple software, businesses can choose a comprehensive process management software that has an integrated digital signature feature to optimize operational productivity. Not only does it solve the submission and signing crisis, but businesses also receive countless practical benefits from integration, such as:

Building standardized submission and signing processes to complete the business ecosystem

Standardizing submission and signing processes helps departments save time on learning the ropes, allowing them to handle tasks quickly and accurately. This creates a closed-loop operational process at every stage, following established standard procedures to build a comprehensive business management ecosystem.

Digitize internal operations with digital signatures to accelerate business digital transformation

Process digitization ensures that 100% of processes are carried out on a digital platform, from creating documents and records, submitting for approval, to digital signing. Questions like “Who approves the document after it’s created?” and “Who signs it after approval?” are all answered within the software’s workflow, which features pre-configured automatic transitions and sends notifications upon completion.

In addition to commercial contracts and labor contracts, internal decisions can also be digitally signed on a single software platform. Managing both internal and external business operations will be unified, enhancing connectivity and boosting operational efficiency.

Centralized storage for all documents on a single platform

Once a document is signed, all data is stored on the platform. This helps secure information and simplifies document retrieval. Furthermore, with integrated workflows, documents are distinguished by tags, indicating which department, project, or task they belong to, and who handled them. To search, you simply need to fill in the relevant information fields. This significantly reduces time compared to using multiple software systems or handling manual paperwork.

Save time and effort

Department staff no longer need to use separate systems for digital signing, document creation, and approval if these tasks are unified into a single workflow on one platform. This integration saves approval time, standardizes internal operations, and enhances business management efficiency.

No more carrying papers around for manual approval and signing; everything is handled by the automated workflow. From internal operational processes to the signing and approval of external documents, everything is automated. Once a step is completed, the system automatically moves to the next one and sends notifications to the relevant departments.

1Office provides the 1CA solution – Smart digital signature integration on every process

With its strength as a technology platform for total business management, 1Office has become a leading brand for process digitization in business management. With its integrated Workplace – HRM – CRM ecosystem, 1Office is serving over 250,000 users and more than 3,000 businesses in their comprehensive digital transformation journey

To create convenience for customers, 1Office has integrated a digital signature feature into every process, helping to connect and handle all business activities. The 1CA digital signature service has established its advantage as a leading solution, thoroughly and effectively solving a major business challenge: signing digitally within every process. Businesses using the 1CA digital signature, which is pre-integrated into all digitized processes, will help create a closed-loop management ecosystem, bringing significant benefits:

Sign any document, in any process: 

Whether it’s a labor contract, a commercial contract, or an internal document approval, businesses can sign with just a click. The software has an integrated feature for creating document templates directly on the system to minimize the need for manual uploads.

Furthermore, when integrated into a workflow, digital signatures can be used in any process, whether it’s for payments and receipts, recruitment, or business contract signing. Simply select the process and execute it, and the system will automatically send notifications and requests to the relevant departments. Signing becomes incredibly easy and convenient.

Sign digitally anytime, anywhere: 

You can approve and sign from home using either a phone or a computer. Optimization for multiple devices, combined with permission settings, allows businesses to perform remote signing while ensuring accuracy and quick completion.

Ensure data safety and security: 

With Cloud storage technology (cloud computing platform), you can store a large volume of documents with high security. Only senior management is authorized to sign or make changes, while other levels can only view (due to permission settings in the workflow), which helps prevent data from being altered or stolen.

Sign multiple documents at once: 

The software allows you to digitally sign multiple documents at once without stuttering, lagging, or crashing. With smart digital signature technology and rapid document processing capabilities, business owners can sign multiple documents simultaneously, quickly, and conveniently.

We hope the information shared in this article helps businesses understand the benefits of integrating digital signatures into their operational processes. To experience our digital signature service and find out which digital signature is right for your business, please click the “Register for a trial” buttonRead more: 4 common types of digital signatures today and how to distinguish them in detail