Keeping up with your outstanding orders and agreements is one of the key benefits of an electronic signature solution. Using the SmartSign Tracker feature allows our customers to rapidly identify sticking points in their business. The Tracker allows you to search by date range, status, or a variety of other unique identifiers. Search results are displayed by Transaction Identifier, Status, or Creation Date.
Once you’ve located the correct transaction, the Tracker allows you to drill down to see exactly where the transaction is in the workflow.
The Tracker shows the status of each participant within the transaction.
If you required a participant to go through additional identification screening – the Tracker shows a pass or fail indicator for each participant.
If one of your signers is slowing down the process – quickly send a gentle reminder invitation to him.
If the terms of the agreement have changed – the Tracker allows you to rescind the transaction or upload a new version of any document to the transaction and send out an updated invitation.
What about those pesky customer support calls? Maybe your signer “misplaced” her security code – use the Tracker to look up the code for her.
As you can see, the Tracker helps keep all your deals “on track”.
For those customers who have taken the time to tryout our our new version on Preview On Demand, you have probably already experienced the new Workspace. Yes, we did it. We merged the SmartSign Web and Command Center user interfaces into a single application. The “new” Command Center user interface has undergone a significant update, making it much easier for you to locate, manage, and interact with your transactions and documents.
But our engineers were not just satisfied with a simple user interface refresh, they spent a lot of time “under the hood” optimizing the way you can search for documents and transaction, implementing (geek alert) Ajax to enable you to quickly page through large result sets, reorder lists, change the order of table rows in results, and introduced the new Snapshot view. The Snapshot “shows itself” anytime you click on a transaction, giving you a fast-yet-comprehensive view of the transaction. From the Snapshot, you can…
View all the documents associated with the transaction,
View the document histories on each document,
Retrieve a copy of a document,
Retrieve a Document Activity History Report (PDF),
and much more…try it out
But one of my favorite features of the new Workspace is Collections. There are two types of collections; transaction and document. To create a collection, simply click Add from the Collections list on the left side of the page. Type in the name of your collection and a new collection is added to your list. Now all you have to do is search for transactions (or documents) using the search feature at the top of the page. Click on the transactions you want and drag them over to the collection. The selected transactions are automatically added as members of the collection.
Once you have created a collection, you can perform all kinds of batch actions on its members. Maybe you need to delete obsolete or incomplete transactions, or transfer control to a partner, or destroy signed Electronic Originals that have passed their retention period. All these actions (and more) are available to you by clicking on the little arrow to the right of the collection name. Of course, all available actions are limited to your permissions in the trusted repository.
So go ahead, log into Preview and create a collection.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post, “What Does it Really Cost to have 10 Documents Signed”, where I explored the average costs associated with physically shipping, filing, and managing documents. I reviewed the costs of everything from printing to filing, but looking back, I realized I really only took a good look at the initial front end costs and benefits. There’s a whole other side I’d like to explore on the long terms benefits to moving to an electronic process and leveraging our Trusted Repository.
When you sit down and think about it, what can happen to your documents a few months or even a few years down the road? For our purposes for this post, we’ll ignore disasters such as floods, fire, or any other natural disasters. Even though they are real concerns for many businesses both large and small, let’s just focus on pure business related matters like legal challenges, audits, and administrative costs and effects.
So what happens if one or more of your contracts/agreements are challenged in court or if you are being audited? The Trusted Repository gives you the utmost control to track access and protect your documents throughout their entire lifecycle. The Trusted Repository uses digital “tamper seals” to protect the documents and their associated audit trails. This allows you to track every action taken against your document from when it was signed to who had access providing a better evidentiary package than paper-based processes. Since the signing process takes place in a closed-loop system, we can establish with all reasonable certainty that the signature and everything associated with your documents haven’t been compromised, something that is a lot harder to prove with paper.
When being audited, think of the number of documents you’ll have to pull from storage, physically transfer, and keep secure during the entire process. The task can be very daunting. However, through an electronic process, the steps needed to be taken can be made a lot simpler and easier. The Trusted Repository allows you to retrieve documents in real-time. All you’ll need to do is simply identify the documents you need and through a few clicks of your mouse and maybe a few keys punched, you’ll be finished in a fraction of the time.
The administrative costs of both instances can really pile up depending on the number of documents, storage facilities, and employee salaries all factored in. Just think of the time it takes to pull one file, let alone ten plus. In the long run, you may never face a legal dispute or get audited, but the right system not only saves and makes you more money in the short term, but it also protects you in the long run. Offering solutions that make us a complete package (short and long term) for our clients are why we are able to build a consistent and impressive ROI for our clients.
How long do you hang on to your Electronic Original® documents? How long do you need to? Very often we hold on to things a lot longer than necessary, simply because it’s easier than the clean-up process. With our retention policy rules engine it is easier than ever to stay on top of unneeded electronic clutter.
First, you must decide how long you really need to maintain copies of your documents. Consider your internal business rules, compliance/legal requirements, risk management policies, and depending on the nature of your documents consider any third-party needs. You may find that your needs are really quite simple (e.g., we keep everything for 10 years); or perhaps your needs are more complex and change depending on what ‘has happened’ with your documents (e.g., we keep unsigned documents for 30 days, but once they are signed, we keep them for 1 year until they are funded, if they are funded, they are kept for an additional 7 years). Consider whether you can treat your entire transaction as a whole or whether individual documents within your transaction have different retention needs.
Once you have identified your retention requirements, your organization administrator can then define Transaction and Document Retention Policies within the Command Center application. Retention Policies evaluate a transaction or document (“the object”) and automatically flag the object with a scheduled expiration date. The policies dictate how long an object is ‘allowed’ to be in any given status. When the object is created, and each time the object transitions to a new status, the expiration date is calculated and reset. Command Center users can easily locate transactions and documents based on their scheduled expiration and confirm their intended destruction through the initiation of a Destruction Request.
For further information, please watch this quick tutorial or contact eOriginal Support (support@eoriginal.com).
We all know how important it is to make every customer feel like they are your most important customer. One great way to do this is to customize each signers experience so that each signer not only experiences exactly what they need to see and do, but they do and see it in the manor you want them to do it.
No matter how simple or complex your companies workflow (or each signers workflow) is eOriginal SmartSign can easily and effortlessly help you brand each workflow for you businesses’ needs. SmartSign Web has always allowed your organize to brand and customize the signing experience your signers see. Now SmartSign allows you to take it one step further. With eOriginal Transaction Types and eOriginal Role Based branding options, you may simply group like documents for your online repository into one grouping. This grouping allows you to set the default order each document will be shown to your signers, as well as which documents are required or optional by default.
SmartSign then takes this one step further to allow you to customize any and all branding and workflow options to that specific Transaction Type and even each specific signer.
If you want one logo and set of colors for Transaction Type A and another logo and set of colors for Transaction Type B, that is easy as a click of the mouse.
If you have a set of four documents and want to show documents 1 and 2 to Signer A, but documents 2 and 4 to Signer Two, just as easy.
If you want notification emails to go to different distribution lists or want to use SmartSign’s push service to update different system based on the Transaction Type, even easier.
If you want each set of customizable instructions to be different for each signer, because you just customized the documents each signer would see…you guessed it, simple as pie.
With SmartSign’s interactive dashboard you may quickly and easily create a transaction with any of your Transaction Types with just 1 click! If you would like to learn more about the use of SmartSign’s Transaction Types, Role Based Sort Order, and/or any other branding options please contact your customer support representative.
Clients that use the SmartSign Web application to create transaction are always looking for a way to cut down the number to steps it takes their employees to create the document(s) for e-signing.
Transaction Types are a great tool in cutting down the time to create a transaction and ensure the right document(s) and signature action are used for each. Transaction Types allow the user to pre-define document packages. Then by choosing the Transaction Type in the SmartSign Web application, the user can create the entire document package in one single step.
The signature action on these documents can vary from needs a signature, must be reviewed, user must attach a document or user must print for wet-ink signature.
How to setup Transaction Types:
Command Center – Administration – Settings
Document Types – create the Document Type and update all necessary field(s)
Note – if a signature template is needed for the Document Type first create the Document Type then in the SmartSign application create the signature template and save it against the Document Type previously created. This also updates the Command Center Document Type with the signature template.
Transaction Types – create the Transaction Type and drag desired Document Types under the ‘Include These Documents’ heading.
To create a transaction using a Transaction Type use the ‘Create a new transaction of type’ dropdown to choose that Transaction Type value.
For more information on eOriginal Command Center and SmartSign Web application please contact us anytime.
I recently had the opportunity to attend the 2011 National Automobile Dealers Association EXPO in San Francisco, CA. I used my time to speak with auto dealers, lenders, as well as service providers. You can imagine the joy I felt as I learned, across the board, that business process optimization, including the use of electronic signatures, has become a key focus in the future of the industry. One of the consistent topics of my discussions was how to create a faster more efficient process that saves money, resources and time, increasing revenue!
This got me to thinking about how eOriginal and electronic signatures have evolved since the signing of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) in 1999 and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) in 2000. More so than ever before, businesses are recognizing the value of streamlining costly business processes, creating friendlier client and employee experiences. eOriginal SmartSign has since processed millions of e-signature events each year, streamlining a variety of business processes, some of which we didn’t think about. Our innovative clients helped to provide the vision- What are some of the processes it is used for today?
And just about any other Document-Oriented Transaction requiring a signature
My list could continue, but my point here is, don’t take anything off the table. Look at your business from the outside in. Find the areas that have proven to be costly and ask yourself – Why? Some of the unfailing answers that you may come across are almost always related to the process in which one’s job is executed. This process often includes the scanning, faxing, copying, printing, filing, finding, mailing and shipping of documents, many of which require some sort of signature.
For more than 15 years, eOriginal has assisted corporations in streamlining various types of business processes using our SmartSign electronic signature and lifecycle management solutions. SmartSign has a proven ROI, whether used for HR documents or negotiable instruments. eOriginal is able to save your company time and money without compromising the legal integrity of your documents.
An article published in the New York Times, by Floyd Norris “Are Banks Losing Lots of Documents”, was recently brought to my attention. After reading through Norris’ thoughts and the quotes provided by those featured in the article, it got me thinking about how eOriginal’s electronic process could prevent documents from being lost or forgotten.
In Norris’ article, complaints and concerns ranged from the constant need to mail or fax every single document, to some believing documents are being lost on purpose. Norris does point out, however unlikely that it seems, it is still a common belief.
So this brings us to, how can eOriginal help your company to prevent lost or misplaced documents? The answer is in our SmartSign secure electronic signature and eVaulting applications.
After a customer is prepped and ready to sign your documents, whatever they may be, contracts, NDAs, eMortgages, loan docs, etc., our system will keep your documents in order and track and monitor every action taken against your documents, from when your documents are ready to be signed, to when the eSignature is applied, and throughout the entire lifecycle of your documents.
Our SmartSign eSign application is designed to quickly and smoothly integrate into your business process or systems. The “front end” eSigning tool allows your customers to electronically sign your documents online, allowing your team to execute contracts while they still have your customers on the phone or within minutes after they electronically receive your documents. The entire eSigning process is completed online enabling straight-through processing for your company and greater convenience for your customers. One-time or first call resolution eliminates the need to ship your documents and eliminates the chances of documents becoming lost.
After a document is eSigned, we bind your documents in a digital tamper evident seal then directly deposit your documents directly into our eVault, so there is no opportunity for your documents to get lost in transit or misplaced among other paperwork. The digital seal identifies the final executed document as the original, which is the first step we take to help protect your business agreements and ensure legal compliance.
Once a document is deposited into the “back end” eVault, its processes secure your documents, so that they retain their commercial value by adhering to important legal and regulatory standards. One component of that process that makes our eVault extremely valuable is the exceptional audit trail that follows your documents throughout their entire lifecycle. The audit trail tracks every single action that has been taken against your documents. You’ll have the ability to view and track your document’s progression, status, and complete history. Our eVault also allows you to control access to your documents. Adding another level of security, only those employees or persons with the proper credentials will be able to view and manage your documents. So. in combination with the audit trail and rights access, you’ll always know where your documents are or have been and who has had access to them, eliminating questions like, “Where are my documents?” and “Who say them last?”
Finally your documents can be easily referenced within our secure eVault. Reference identifiers that you define allow you to more quickly query and find the documents you need. No longer will you have to thumb through file after file looking for a document that may have been misplaced; a quick search in our system will be all you need to complete your search.
Using an electronic signature process results in a “greener” company…in more ways than one. From an environmental perspective, paper has been eliminated and mailings are reduced. There are less resources being consumed, yet more contracts are being signed. That’s the other “green”. Sales reps close deals faster, and customers will use your products and/or services much quicker. Repeat orders come in rapidly, which means your company is moving products faster and your customer satisfaction levels are higher. All of this happens because of the efficiencies gained through the use of electronic signing.
Besides the benefits listed here, upgrading your paper process to an electronic one also adds more flexibility and cash flow into your existing infrastructure. Resources and funds are now able to be allocated towards something other than filing, maintaining or storing documents. And, because of the increase in productivity most businesses find themselves able to move ahead in directions they thought would have been years away while using a paper process. Faster contract close times, a lighter environmental footprint and more satisfied customers are the benefits you can look forward to when adding electronic signatures. Actually, using an electronic signing process may make your competition turn green…with envy, if they are still using paper to close deals.
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