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How many ways can a contract be signed?

All written contracts require signatures from the parties involved to make them legally binding. If one of the parties violates the agreement, everyone risks ending up in a lawsuit. The signatures are used to acknowledge that the parties are ready to conform to the contract’s provisions. It’s no question that the contract should be signed, but it’s more about how to accomplish that. This article introduces you to different ways to execute a contract.

What is a contract?

A contract is a written agreement involving at least two parties and listing their duties and obligations. Agreements usually have specific deadlines. If deadlines are violated, one of the parties is usually subjected to a fine. An oral agreement is not a contract and can’t be considered legally binding.

A good contract should contain the following:

An offer, which must be accepted by another party.
Consideration/compensation.
Both parties agree to the contract.
All parties should be competent and in good health.

Contracts can be created between individuals and entities. However, the basic conditions for making it legally enforceable should always be met. For example, the contract should contain a specific subject, the reason for the contract, and the responsibilities of the parties involved.

What are the two ways to sign?

Until recently, the only possible way to sign a contract was physically. Meaning a hand, a pen, ink and a piece of paper. However, the evolution of digital development has made it a time-consuming and inconvenient thing to deal with paper copies. It’s just about a thing of the past to scan, upload, and fax contracts back and forth between parties.

Digital evolution has made eSignatures a dominant tool in today’s business world. The statistics show the eSignature software will continue to hit the market and grow in popularity in the upcoming years.

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What are the advantages of eSigning?

While some businesses feel pressured to move to the paperless solutions, the others have already benefited and even profited from the switch. The main objective of an eSignature is to authenticate an agreement fast and conveniently, avoiding long distances, working hours, and useless materials. As the tool is relatively new for some businesses, let’s take a look at its benefits.

The best ones include:

Convenience. It’s the easiest way to sign contracts. You can do it from anywhere and at any time; at your office, on the go, at home, morning/night, weekend/holiday, it doesn’t matter.
Simplicity. The majority of eSignature tools are pretty intuitive. So you’ll hardly ever get confused about how to use one.
Advanced security. Your contracts will be secured and encrypted.
Boosted turnaround. eSignatures enable parties to avoid scanning and emailing the signed documents, making document flows faster and easier to complete.
Cost-saving. The company saves money on paper, delivery, and even salaries/wages for those who normally work with paper copies.

How to select an eSignature tool?

It’s high time to away from old-fashioned ink and paper contracts and shift to digital contracts electronic signatures. However, don’t be scared.

When selecting an eSignature tool, check if it suits your business. For example, whether or not it has a mobile version, what the delivery channels are if it has an online/built-in editor or if you can you create your own agreement. Always make sure to look at reviews before making your final decision.

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How to sign with signNow?

signNow is a perfect tool for generating and negotiating agreements, collecting signatures and accepting payments. It has a variety of features that distinguish it among other eSignature solutions: top security, online editor, link generation, live chat.

To sign with signNow follow these step-by-step instructions:

Open signNow.
Place a cursor where you need to sign.
Add a signature field.
Add one or more signers.
Set a singing order.
Either generate a link, or send a document via multiple channels directly to the signers.

signNow is compliant with the most modern security standards and eSignature laws in Europe and the USA. It protects documents with two-factor authentication and is available on both desktop and mobile devices.

By signNow's Team

May 07, 2020

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