Electronic document workflow in a company: where to start

Start with a list of the documents your company signs, then pick one repeatable process for a pilot, for example contracts with one type of customer. Then assign roles, agree how to archive, and only then extend the workflow to more documents. You do not need to replace all paper at once.

An electronic document workflow is best started with a list of what your company signs, followed by one repeatable process as a pilot. You settle roles, archiving and rules on that one process before moving the next. You do not have to replace all paper at once.

Why not start with the tool?

The most common mistake is choosing software before understanding your own documents. The result: some papers still travel around the office and some sit in e-mails. Start from the process, not the technology.

Step 1. Audit your documents

List every type of document you sign or send for signature in a spreadsheet. For each, note:

• who signs it (customer, employee, contractor, board),
• how often,
• how many people handle it and how long the workflow currently takes (your own measurement, not a guess),
• what form it needs: written (met by a SignSafe signature according to the 2023 G&A legal opinion, see Legal security), electronic under Art. 78¹ of the Polish Civil Code, or a notarial deed (a question for a lawyer if you are unsure),
• where it is stored.

Step 2. Choose a pilot process

A good pilot has three features: it is repeatable, it concerns a document of ordinary form, and it has a clear owner. Typical examples: customer consents, delivery confirmations, sales contracts with counterparties, onboarding documents. At the start, do not pick documents that require a notarial deed; for the electronic form of Art. 78¹ CC, ask us about connecting a qualified signature.

Step 3. Set roles

• Process owner is responsible for document templates and keeping them current.
• Sender sends documents and watches the status.
• Supervisor (for example a manager) checks overdue signatures.
• Lawyer or compliance person assesses documents with a higher formal requirement.

In a small company one person can hold several roles, but it is worth writing them down.

Decide also who the observer is: a person who does not sign or send but sees the document and receives notifications (for example accounting or HR). A copy of the signed PDF goes to everyone: the sender and every signer. Reminders in SignSafe are manual, so appoint someone to resend invitations.

Step 4. Prepare templates and fields

You have two routes: your own PDF in A4 portrait where you choose the signature places, or a template with fields for the other party to fill in (for example company or personal details), which reduces retyping and errors. In SignSafe the recipient ticks the consent, fills in the fields and draws a signature with a finger (a mouse on a computer), and once everyone has signed the finished PDF with a signature summary page goes to the sender’s e-mail. The recipient does not register or install an app. For the pilot also choose the order: any, or fixed if the document must pass through people one after another. Whoever signs many documents can sign them in bulk, all at once.

Step 5. Agree on archiving

Before the pilot starts, decide:

• where the signed document goes (sender’s e-mail and the SignSafe document list, company system, both; we do not delete documents automatically),
• how you name files and how you find them,
• how long you keep documents (the period follows from law and company policy, to be confirmed with a lawyer or an accountant),
• who has access.

With a large number of documents, you can automatically return the signed file to the right place in your system through the API integration.

Step 6. Test, measure, extend

After a month of piloting, compare with what you measured at the start: workflow time, number of overdue documents, number of errors. Only then add the next type of document.

What to avoid

• moving everything at once,
• having no process owner,
• forgetting documents that need a special form,
• having no clear archiving rule.

An example of a pilot

A company picks customer consents for its pilot. For a month, all new consents are sent from one template. The process owner notes how many consents came back signed and how many times an invitation had to be resent by hand. After a month the team knows whether people cope with signing on a phone, whether the template is clear and where the bottleneck is. Only then do contracts follow.

How to measure whether the rollout worked

Do not assume numbers in advance. Measure your own indicators before and after the pilot:

• average time from sending a document to its signature,
• number of documents unsigned after a set time,
• number of errors caused by retyping data,
• working time of the person who sends.

What next

• See the description of the electronic document workflow.
• Learn how to send a document for signature.
• See how to fill in documents and sign.
• Considering automation? Check the API integration or contact us.