It is estimated there are some 5.82 million small businesses in the UK, offering a diverse and vibrant array of services, goods, and expertise. Each startup is unique, but all face the same array of barriers to growth and success. Whether it is challenges around funding, staffing, or even how, when, and where to work.

Whatever the business model, time is often the most precious resource for any fledging organisation. Making efficient use of it could ultimately determine the success or failure of the business. Implementing the right digital processes and workflows at the inception of the business will help not only time efficiencies but also assist with revenue flow.

Which is why DocuSign eSignature is the ideal tool for all small businesses with large ambitions. It can eliminate administrative tasks, automate processes, and streamline workflows – but where to begin?

Digital building blocks of any business

Startup organisations by their nature often have an organic structure to them. They grow alongside the experiences of the owner operator. As a result, processes can be ad hoc, time consuming, and not always follow best practice protocols. By embedding digital workflows into the very building blocks of the business, companies can create simple, easy to use, and time-saving methods of working.

Digital agreements deliver greater visibility of the signing process to the business. In this way, owners can see if an agreement has been signed, or an invoice processed. If delays are flagged, they can be quickly and easily rectified with the sending of a reminder.

Whether a small tech company looking to share NDA documents or contract agreements with a developer, or an independent retailer looking to streamline third-party supply agreements, DocuSign eSignature can help even the newest organisation connect and automate how they prepare, sign, and manage agreements.

Small business owners looking to refine practices across the business can look to increase staff efficiencies by automating workflows and streamlining processes. Whether in the form of sales contracts, new hire paperwork, or partner agreements, DocuSign has found that using eSignature, 83% of eSignature transactions are completed in less than 24 hours, and 50% within 15 minutes, delivering speed and ease of use to the organisation.

Defining smarter ways to build the business

The growth of remote working and the ‘Anywhere Economy’ has seen partners, colleagues, and even customers increasingly work apart. As a result, not all small businesses work in the same location. DocuSign eSignature can ensure that digital processes continue to be quick and efficiently handled, as forms can be digitally and remotely signed in a secure and legally valid manner.

Signing documents electronically using DocuSign eSignature can offer a quicker and more-personalised customer experience over paper-based methods. Reusable templates, which can be customised with ease, reduce the overall need to repeat work while simultaneously reducing the risk of errors or missed components in agreement. They can be signed from nearly any device, anytime, reducing administrative tasks, delivering quicker turnaround times for all involved, and streamlining overall business processes.

The daily demands of running a business can often get in the way of fundamentals of best practice, especially around security protocols. Physical documents and old-fashioned processes are not only slower to process but can also be insecure. Paperwork can be left on a counter, a desk, or even off premises, for example, exposing potential confidential information to leave the business. 

Digital forms do away with physical processes, are encrypted and stored electronically, so only accessible by those with authorisation. Furthermore, DocuSign eSignature has the flexibility to grow with the business, allowing documents to be signed in 180 countries and 44 languages, making it cost-effective and efficient.

Digital solutions for a greener planet

Small business operators often seek to be eco-friendlier and more sustainable. DocuSign eSignature enables this as the business can reduce the amount of paper, printing, and postage it consumes. As an example, DocuSign and its customers have saved more than six million trees, 55 billion sheets of paper, 22 billion litres of water and eliminated more than two billion kgs of waste to-date.

One such startup that views digital experiences as part of its sustainability ethos is The Modern Milkman. The small grocery delivery service started as a group of friends running their own local milk round. It now employs 86 full time staff, servicing customers across the UK and has a mission to reduce plastic waste across the UK and beyond. The organisation leverages DocuSign eSignature across its contract signing and management system, using technology to make a digital-first business more efficient and more sustainable.

The best startups don’t stay small for long. Needs rapidly change and evolve as the business grows and expands. By choosing to implement the right digital solutions at the opportune moment, entrepreneurs have the flexibility to scale with ease.

DocuSign eSignature is that digital solution. It seamlessly overcomes the barriers that prevent small businesses, its employees, and clients from being able to act and respond to agreements with speed, ease, and security quickly and securely.