Top 5 advantages of electronic workflow
2021-04-11
Electronic signature vs. written form
2021-05-09The functioning of any company, whether larger or smaller, is based on documents. Contracts, invoices, intra-company procedures, tenders, letters – these are all the things that make a company function, earn money for itself and generate profits.
However, there is one condition – in order for company documents to fulfill their function, they must be logically sorted, and the process of creating, reviewing, accepting and archiving them must be based on procedures. This is what a document circulation, which by definition is a procedure that organizes the flow of company contracts and invoices, serves.
Traditional document circulation – what is it?
In traditional document circulation, documents circulate around the company in paper form. Printed sheets of paper go to authorized approvers, who are often located outside the office. Acceptance and signing of documents is often preceded by the preparation of the content of contracts in electronic form – there are probably few companies today that draft their documents 100% by hand.
Traditionally processed document workflow, i.e. the flow of contracts, invoices, etc. between employees and management, requires appropriate facilities. Traditionally processed documents, above all, take up a lot of space. Companies that have opted for this type of keeping company contracts and invoices, therefore, need to invest in the right furniture, allowing them to store dozens of binders in a way that complies with RODO. In large companies, office furniture is not enough – it is usually necessary to rent a separate space that will serve as an archive.
An example of document circulation in a medium-sized company
How does document circulation work in practice? Let’s look at a classic situation from the life of a company, where documents are processed in the traditional way.
Model contract – it was somewhere, but where?
Marcin, an employee of the marketing department of company X while drinking his Monday morning coffee, gets a notification from his email inbox. He has to deal with creating the content of a contract with an online developer who will promote Company X’s flagship product on its channels. Marcin already knows that not only will he not get to look at funny cats on the Internet today, but he will certainly be facing overtime.
Marcin remembers well that the company once already worked with another developer on similar terms. He also knows that someone from the department prepared a similar agreement. But where to find it? Marcin starts investigating, visits colleagues in the department, writes in the chat room, inquires. Finally – there it is! He finds an agreement that he can follow. The problem is that it took him more than 2 hours – after all, a few words had to be exchanged with each co-worker.
The creative act, or quite a galimatia
Marcin sets about transforming the content of the contract for the current project. When he decides that he has finished his work, he e-mails the content of the agreement to Ania, whose task is to add the part about the campaign budget and salary. Ania does her job and sends the contract to the team manager. The latter rejects the document – it turns out that the web developer only runs an account on Instagram, not YouTubes. The contract goes back to Marcin, who corrects the relevant provision, but does it on his version – without the mention of the budget, which Anna added. The contract goes to a lawyer, who rejects it due to the lack of a paragraph talking about finances. By this time, 5 versions of the document have been created, and no one knows which one is actually valid.
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A moment for management, or chasing the bunny
When Marcin, all sweaty from nerves after 5 h of pushing, finally finalizes the content of the agreement, all that’s left is to collect signatures from the board. Marcin with a triumphant smile goes upstairs with a file of papers in his hand and… kisses the doorknob. The board is just on its way to the airport, from where it will fly out in 3 h to Berlin for a multi-day conference. A race against time begins – will Marcin manage to catch up with the CEO’s cab?
The scenario for creating such a contract could look different if Marcin had a good electronic workflow system integrated with an electronic signature platform at his disposal. Why?
- It would have taken him 2-3 hours at most to finalize the details.
- The CEO could sign the contract in seconds using a smartphone.
- The web developer could start executing the order the next day.
- And Marcin… Marcin would go home at 4:30 pm, not 9 pm, and on his break he would have time to watch funny cats while nibbling