Best practices for electronically signing contracts

Electronic signatures are a powerful tool for finalizing any type of contract. Essential to the dematerialization and digitalization of our businesses, they allow us to move away from paper contracts. Fast and reliable, electronic signatures can be used face-to-face or remotely, adapting to our consumption patterns...

The legal framework for electronic signatures

From a legal perspective, electronic signatures have the same legal value as handwritten signatures . They were incorporated into French law in early 2000, more than 20 years ago now. Using them makes it possible to bring any type of document into compliance with legal value. We will provide examples of documents to be signed in the second part of this post.

Electronic signatures are a secure procedure, perhaps even more so than handwritten signatures, at least when done remotely. Supervised by ANSSI (the French National Agency for Information Systems Security), trusted third parties must meet requirements in accordance with the eIDAS (Electronic Identification and Trust Services) law in order to certify electronic signatures.

Trusted third parties, who issue secure and compliant electronic signatures, can also be responsible for the legal archiving of signed documents. This legal archiving thus makes it possible to securely preserve the original of the signed document over time, as well as the accompanying evidence file and any annexes.

The advantage of electronic signature to finalize contracts

Now that we've established the legal framework for electronic signatures, let's look at how electronic signatures can boost contracting activity. Electronic signatures provide real time savings for a company's operations. The contract finalization phase can take several days to several weeks without electronic signatures; whereas, when using them, it's reduced to a few hours, or even minutes.

With a smart electronic signature solution, all processes in the contracting chain are automated to make them more productive. Administrative contract management is simplified, as there is no longer any need to assign a person to review contracts, scan and archive them, not to mention customer reminders. All these steps can be managed with a click in your management solution, which itself integrates the Oodrive electronic signature solution.

Additionally, this digitalization also facilitates the collection of data from signed documents. You can then boost your contracting chain by analyzing this data.

Finally, the savings in paper, envelopes, stamps and physical travel associated with electronic signatures speak for themselves; not to mention the physical space required to store paper files, or the time wasted initialing pages!

Electronic signature: for what types of contracts?

Electronic signatures, as defined by the European eIDAS regulation, are suitable for all types of contracts and in all sectors of activity. Let's take a few examples to illustrate the scope it can cover:

• Insurance: subscription contracts, DIP, SEPA mandates, general terms and conditions, etc.

• Real estate: DIP, commercial or rental leases, sales mandates, sales agreements, minutes of general meetings, viewing vouchers, etc.

• Pharmaceutical laboratories: distributor agreements, partnership contracts, subscription forms, informed consent, general terms and conditions, etc.

• Legal professions: lawyer's deeds, private notarial deeds, compromises, powers of attorney, etc.

• Security: employment contracts, subscription contracts, SEPA mandates, purchase orders, etc.

• HR: employment contracts, amendments, charters, certificates, etc.

This list is not exhaustive but gives you a better idea of what can be done with electronic signatures.

Best practices and pitfalls to avoid in electronic signatures

Let's get to the best practices for electronic signatures. In order to protect yourself as much as possible, as well as your clients, you should create a proof file for each contract signing. To ensure that it is legible, you should take care to include all the information from the contract with probative value, such as the unique transaction number, the dates, the identity of the signatories, the details of the supporting documents, etc.

Also, legal archiving is not required by law, but using it is an additional safeguard. If you have a way to securely store your contracts and all related data and documents in digital format, take advantage of it; otherwise, don't hesitate to use the trusted third party that provides electronic signature certificates, as they are authorized to do so.

Finally, it is preferable to use the advanced or certified electronic signature rather than the simple electronic signature. There are several levels of electronic signatures, and it is from the advanced level that they are regulated by the European eIDAS regulation. In particular, the advanced electronic signature is used to establish the identity of the signatory with a substantial level of assurance . The simple electronic signature does not necessarily require precautions; it is better to avoid it at all costs in contracts that we want to make incontestable. For example, the scanned signature is a simple electronic signature, therefore not legally valid.

Now that electronic signatures hold no more secrets for you, it's your turn!

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