
Electronic signature vs. written form
2021-05-09
How does the electronic workflow work?
2021-06-20The smooth processing of contracts in a company consists of many factors that can result in the signing of a contract and the finalization of a transaction that brings tangible profits to the company. Before this can happen, the content of such an agreement must first be created, verified and often also submitted for legal review.
Effective passage through each of these stages requires proper organization and the introduction of systems to support the document creation process. The best working solution is to be able to work on the same version of the file as the electronic workflow system from Microsoft 365®.
Microsoft 365® – what is it and how does it work?
Microsoft 365® is a collection of applications and services available in the cloud. The most essential and frequently used in daily work functionalities of the package are:
- Always up-to-date versions of Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook).
- SharePoint® platform, through which employees can share documents and information among themselves).
- OneDrive®, a service that works similarly to Google Drive. It’s a shared cloud drive that all colleagues can access, giving you the ability to work on the same version of a file at the same time.
Preparing a contract, or working on the same file
Preparing the content of a contract, especially a complex and complicated one, is a process that often has several people working on it. In a traditional system, successive versions of the file circulate between the people involved in the creation process and are edited or supplemented with additional elements. When multiple people are working on a single document, it is not difficult to get lost in which version of the file is up to date and at what stage the contract creation process is currently underway.
Working with a workflow system integrated with Microsoft 365® is much easier. Each person involved in the project works on one version of the file. The Microsoft package also allows simultaneous work – this means that several people within a single file can work on a piece of content for which they are responsible.
With Microsoft 365®, people responsible for a project can work from anywhere in the world – all they need is access to the Internet to log on to the service and do their work.
The electronic workflow system from Microsoft 365® also allows you to see the full history of changes and identify the author who edited the text at any given time, and return to an archived version of the file if necessary. All documents the team works on are also archived and fully secured.
Reviewing the content of the agreement
Once the content of the contract has been created, it’s time for reviewing. Often, especially in the case of contracts involving large sums of money, it is necessary to consult the legal department for an opinion on the content.
If the team prepared the content using Microsoft 365, the legal department employee responsible for giving an opinion on the contract receives a link where the current version of the text is available. Without having to create a new file, he or she can edit the text, add missing sections or leave comments with remarks.
After reviewing the agreement, the legal department employee can return with the file to the team that was involved in creating the content with a request to make corrections, or send it further – for example, to the board of directors, which will finally approve the content of the agreement.
The Hatiroo™ electronic document workflow system integrated with Microsoft 365® is a tool that streamlines the work of both departmental employees and the board of directors. The ability to work simultaneously on a single file significantly speeds up the process of creating the content of the document, and thus brings closer the moment of finalizing the agreement, which is likely to bring additional profits to the company.