What Is a Signature and When Do You Use One?

What Is a Signature

A signature is a mark, a person’s distinctive way, or a person’s name that he uses to sign a document to express that he agrees personally. From the beginning of this world, people consistently want verification from the authorities that agree to what the document says. In contrast, signature counts as the preferable way of verification.

Whenever you bring some documents to someone, he will first check whether the related authorities have permission for this or not. In other words, we can say that a document is legally allowed to proceed with demanded signatures. In this article, we will discuss some real-life examples where you should use your signatures.

What Is a Signature and Its Types?

A signature is an act of signing a document where a person agrees with it and uses its characteristic way or mark to sign it. Signature in any form or style is essential for anyone who wants to proceed with something in a legal manner.  Some of the types of signature are discussed below:

Electronic Signature

Electronic signatures can be done in many forms, such as a typed name entered at the document’s end or a picture of a handwritten signature. There are some online contracts available for different applications, and you agree with the terms and conditions of the contract to use the application means you signed it.

Wet Signature

When a person physically marks or signs a document, he uses a wet signature to do that. Different countries use different styling of wet signings like some use cursive format or a simple “X” on paper, while others use the seal for the same purpose. In this type of signature, “Wet” means a physical one can be done by wax or ink, and it needs time to dry.

Digital Signature

A digital signature is more like a cryptographic one where digital can also add integrity to a document signed by electronic signatures. When a document is digitally signed, both parties can detect whether they are valid or invalid. These signatures can also be used while sending electronic messages where anyone can access the key.

Related: How To Use E-Signature For Business

Why Should We Use the Online Signature for Our Documents?

There are free signature generator tools that efficiently draws them in whatever style you want it to be. It is a fast, secure, easy-to-use, and efficient tool that offers different fonts, font sizes, text colors, background colors, and changing slants and slopes. You can either type your name to create one or draw it in the required area.

Other than the useful features of online signature, we have come up with various benefits of this tool. These benefits include:

Secure

Electronic signatures mean the document is now secure from any kind of criminally motivated document doctoring, as it ensures that everything is under protection. The changes can also be revealed because it is digitally signed.

Related: How Do I Insert a Signature into a PDF?

Cost-effective

Processing, managing, and storing huge documents is not just a matter of time because it has to be made every year. Electronic signatures make things easy and help you get rid of physically signing documents.

Storage Friendly

Electronic signatures also save your space for documents and the budget, as you can sign your documents electronically and then save them on your electronic devices.

Fast and Efficient

Things can be done more quickly and efficiently due to electronic signatures that help you get rid of printing the documents and signing them manually.

Top 4 Real Life Use Cases of Electronic Signatures

Whether you are doing small or large businesses, your signatures should be on the documents where they are needed. In businesses, when you have to make deals with the other parties and agree to their terms and conditions, signing that document is necessary. We will further discuss some real-life use cases where you have to sign the doc with electronic signatures.

Purchase Orders

A simple purchase agreement could include intellectual property, pricing terms, shipping, scope, and other vital aspects that should be part of that document. In such cases, both the seller and purchaser are eager to efficiently and accurately execute the contract. This could be done when both parties signed the document with electronic signatures.

We know that electronic signatures make the process more secure because signing documents electronically means multiple levels of encryption security protect it.

Change Orders

There are kinds of businesses where the requirements of the customers or the other party can suddenly change with time. Such flexible projects need a flexible way to make changes in the document as required and ensure that the document can be electronically signed again. Web design, architecture, and construction are examples of such businesses.

Customer Approval

A final approval before initiating the production and manufacturing process is essential for the company. You can get these approvals using electronic signatures that can make the approval process more easy and fast. Signing a document electronically means you have saved your time focusing and planning for the order instead of getting approvals.

Electronic signatures make it easy not to visit the customer personally to obtain any approvals. Furniture businesses, print shops, and custom art businesses are examples of businesses requiring customer approval.

Distributor Agreements

If you are doing business with dealers, distributors, and other channels, signing the documents with electronic signatures will help you enjoy a better company. A lot of confusion can be created in a business when there are many partners involved. With each partner or distributor, you will face more agreements that you have to sign electronically.

Conclusion

The whole discussion in the above article refers to the importance of signatures on a document and when to use them. We have discussed many real-time scenarios where signing a document electronically is the best thing to do.