How to choose an eSigning solution for NonProfits

How to choose an eSigning solution for NonProfits

Non-profit organizations are unique, they are not like every other business. We could argue that in a few ways there is a resemblance. For instance, everyday challenges like increasing productivity, wearing too many hats, having too much to do in very little time can be like those of another business. However, when we dive deep into the organization, the challenges they face in their unique context can take a different form, even more so when we talk about adopting new technologies for processes like eSignature. 

 

Challenges like privacy and security of information can be especially delicate for non-profits. They not only have to comply with their own standards and those of their clients, like a private organization; they also have to ensure the general public, some government institutions and any external investor of the policies that safeguard this type of data. The same structure makes adopting technology another challenge as their expenditure is likely overseen by several internal and external agents, not to mention, they often have to report on that expenditure to the general public. 

 

These are only a few examples of the unique challenges nonprofits face when dealing with new technologies. On the bright side, their team members are often resilient and extremely dedicated professionals ready to face this head on. The next steps will help nonprofit professionals take a stroll through the process of choosing an eSignature provider, which can be a more daunting task than it sounds like. 

eSigning solutions: why are there so many?

In the tech space it is common to find many players in one category, they all solve the same need but do it in different ways. This is often just the beginning, taking a deeper look each of the solutions in a space have different:

 

  • Features (and sometimes unique)
  • Niche based products or benefits
  • Pricing models and offers
  • Support policies, times and channels
  • Privacy policies
  • Process to handle information 
  • And more

These factors do not affect the basic solution they offer, signing a document online. However, they directly affect an organization’s ability to grow with a solution, adopt it, use it and make it a part of their processes in the easiest way possible. If all these needs are not met, the solution chosen will work in the short term and might even become more of a cost than an investment. 

 

Choosing any provider should be seen as a long term investment. Ultimately the goal is to choose it once and not have to worry about it again for a while. When your organization grows, you don’t want to have to migrate. Ideally your solution will adapt to your growing needs and in the long term it will help you make and save more money than it costs. 

This is why it is so important to choose wisely. As an organization you decide what your needs are and you get to choose the solution that is best suited for that. But, how do you know which e-signature platform is right for your non-profit organization? Here are some steps to help you understand your unique needs and assess an e-signature platform with the goals of being scalable, cost-efficient, and increasing productivity.

4-step-framework

Our 4 step framework

We have talked about needs and how they go beyond signing a document on a phone or tablet. So the first step is to define what are your needs beyond eSinging. 

Step 1: Define your needs

It’s essential to identify your specific e-signature needs before you start evaluating e-signature platforms.

Document related questions:

  • What type of documents do you need to sign electronically? Are they often the same type of documents like NDA’s in which only the signer changes. Or are they often unique in content as well?
  • Do I send out documents for 1 person or more to sign?
  • Is there an order to sign documents?
  • Do I bulk send or bulk sign documents at some point?
  • What are the specific requirements for signatures, such as legal compliance or security?
  • When do I send documents to be signed, after sales are made, before a sale, during the service process?

Sender related questions

  • What does my team need when they send or manage documents?
  • Do we need hierarchical permissions for different team members?
  • Are some documents not to be accessed by everyone?
  • Do we have team leaders who should be the ones to set default permissions?

After a document is sent

  • Do we need automatic reminders for signers?
  • Do we have a signer order that needs to be followed?
  • Will my team be notified upon completion?
  • What stats can be important to measure and track in order to improve this singing process a d reduce signer delays?
  • Once you have a clear understanding of your needs, you can start evaluating e-signature platforms that meet those requirements.

Customer support needs

  • What type of support do you think you will need?
  • Will you need onboarding and migration support? This could be needed if you already have another eSinging solution or process. 
  • Do you foresee any unique challenges in your process which might be unique to your organization?

Step 2: Evaluate options based on your needs

Once you find some solutions that offer the features you need it is time to dig deeper. A free trial might not be enough, if you have unique requirements ask for a demo or a quick call in which they will show you how to use the platform. 

 

As a non-profit organization, your needs may change over time. It’s essential to choose an eSignature platform that can grow with you and your team. Look for a platform that offers scalable pricing, so you don’t end up paying for more than you need. This is also something that can often be discussed when reaching out to a sales team.

 

Look for productivity-boosting features. The right e-signature platform should not only save time but also increase productivity. Look for features such as templates, automatic reminders, and mobile compatibility to streamline your workflow and reduce delays. Additionally, make sure the platform integrates with other software you use, such as document management systems or CRMs, to ensure smooth operations.

 

Assess cost-efficiency Every dollar saved counts in a non-profit organization. When evaluating e-signature platforms, consider the pricing model and the total cost of ownership, including any setup or maintenance costs. Look for a platform that offers transparent pricing and doesn’t charge hidden fees.

 

It is important to include that during this stage having direct contact with the platforms you are evaluating can be a game changer. You will be evaluating their responsiveness, support times and channels, and ultimately, a free trial of their platform to see if it’s easy to use and understand. This is also when specific and important questions need to be asked, so write down a list of questions like this:

  • Where is your data stored?
  • What makes your product unique?
  • What is the feature most used by other clients in the NFP realm?
  • Do you have any testimonials from other NFP that I could read?

A final pro tip: If you are not the user of the product, make sure you include someone from the team that will actively engage with the platform in the free trial. One of the biggest challenges you will face after choosing a solution is adoption inside your organization. You need your team to use this platform for this investment to be successful.

Step 3: Look for a culture fit

Finding the right company to provide services is often reduced to finding a product that works. We believe it is so much more than that. You will be adopting a product that will hopefully be part of your organization for years to come, a product everyone in your team will have contact with at some point. Even more important, a product that is meant to significantly help your productivity and get you closer to your business goals. 

 

While it is extremely important for a product to work, it is just as important to have the right culture fit with the company behind it. Do they live by your same values and believe in what is important to you? Are their goals aligned with your goals? Think of this process as finding a partner, you need to know you are compatible in more than one way. Have them meet with another team member, get more than one opinion and look at reviews in sites like G2 or Capterra. If they are open about reviews it is one the best indicators of their transparency and if they have good reviews, it tells you about other client’s experiences. 

Step 4: Open up the discussion about scalability and extra features

Once you choose a provider, ideally, you want to stay with them. So once you know they solve your needs both product related and company related, talk about the future. What are they working on, new developments, features, integrations, etc.

 

This is an ongoing step, as you get used to the platform ask them about new needs that might arise. If they are open to hearing about them they could even end up developing them. Think of this partnership as that is what will give you the peace of mind you need while increasing productivity, saving money and more. 

This is an ongoing step, as you get used to the platform ask them about new needs that might arise. If they are open to hearing about them they could even end up developing them. Think of this partnership as that is what will give you the peace of mind you need while increasing productivity, saving money and more. 

The recap

Implementing e-signatures can be a game-changer for non-profit organizations, enabling them to save time, money, and resources, while increasing productivity. By understanding your unique needs and assessing e-signature platforms based on your unique needs, scalability, cost-efficiency, and productivity-boosting features, you can choose the right platform to streamline your workflow and make a bigger impact.

The Story Behind Signority’s AI Development

The Story Behind Signority's AI Development

A challenging Ecosystem

Ontario is home to a thriving innovation ecosystem with numerous start-ups and SME’s working on cutting-edge technologies and highly focused on innovation within the Canadian industry. However, many of these innovators face severe challenges when it comes to securing funding to develop and scale their projects. As a Canadian start-up Signority, a key player in the eSignature industry, was no stranger to these challenges in 2022, when our paths crossed with the NCFDC.

 

“We’ve had plans to adopt AI technology to enhance the ease of use of our platform for some time, but funding restrictions prevented us from implementing it.”

 

Jane He, CEO and founder of Signority.

An Innovation Ally

The Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation (NCFDC) is an independent business development corporation dedicated to providing financing and strategy for entrepreneurs based in Ontario, Canada. The NCFDC is committed to supporting local innovators by providing them with the necessary funding to help bring their ideas to life. Through their programs and services, this organization is helping to drive innovation and economic growth in Ontario and in all of Canada, as this is one of its economic centers. They achieve their ultimate goal through a range of funding options, including grants, loans, and equity investments, to help innovators take their ideas to the next level.

 

There are five ongoing programs currently run by a group of passionate and experienced staff. Their goal is to help promote economic development and job creation in the region by providing support to innovative and promising business ideas.

“We support innovation and entrepreneurship as a pathway to future prosperity.”

NCFDC

 

ThriveForward_image

thriveFORWARD: The Program that Revolutionized Signority

Signority specializes in providing secure and easy-to-use eSignature solutions to businesses of all sizes. It was founded by a team of entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity to streamline the signing process and reduce paper waste. That was only the beginning. Using this type of technologies, other companies in countless industries have been able to adopt innovation as part of their day to day. 

 

After 10 years of being a key player in the eSignature ecosystem it is key to keep Signority at the forefront of its field. Technology is ever evolving and so are our customer needs. There is one concept that in recent years has become common and furthermore, a synonym of innovation, productivity, and efficacy in the SaaS world: Artificial Intelligence. 

 

AI is a rapidly growing field, and many companies are looking for ways to incorporate AI into their products and services. The goal is to use it to overcome challenges that traditional technologies are not equipped to achieve. Here at Signority, we were at this very stage. 

 

The biggest challenge for companies when adopting eSignature solutions is an ever evolving user with habits that are not easy to change related to document sending and signing processes. This could include team permission hierarchy, different tags and behavior of those tags, messages for senders, types of senders, types of documents or even a mistrust of technology. Every single one of those setups must comply with legal acts, bylaws and privacy policies depending on the document sensitivity. This can be different for each organization or team. Thanks to AI technology, Signority has approached this challenge through an innovative framework.

However, developing AI technology can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor. This is where funding from organizations like NCFDC can be a game-changer. With thriveFORWARD we were able to revolutionize eSignature usability by leveraging AI technology. This translates to more value for users and a user experience taken to the next level.

 

The thriveFORWARD fund was a key aspect of this journey, becoming the fuel to an engine that allowed us to implement fundamental AI components to our platform and revolutionize eSigning. 

 

This achievement represents a critical milestone in Signority’s history, and we’re proud to have created many highly skilled jobs in Canada. We’re grateful to the NCFDC team for helping us realize our vision of building a strong Canadian tech company.” Jane He, CEO and Founder of Signority. 

Our NCFDC Experience

We are extremely grateful for the support we received from the NCFDC. The experience we have had at Signority for applying to the thriveForward SME fund has been highly efficient and pleasant, from the very first touchpoint to receiving the grant. 

 

Entrepreneurship is a wonderful journey but not an easy one. It is filled with long hours, sleepless nights and a lot of unknowns. Frustration is the word of the day almost everyday, for the modern entrepreneur. When an organization like NCFDC truly understands your needs, it can make all the difference in the world.

 

As processes go, lengthy, and confusing explanations were expected, as with any grant request (cue frustration). This is something that would inevitably delay the application process as we got acquainted with all that was required. However, from the very first step, the online application guides were clear and provided enough detail for us to understand what was expected. 

 

Things were looking up, could this be a company that understood what we needed and had a team of people actively working towards helping us achieve our goal? We decided not to get ahead of ourselves and enjoy the clarity and easy journey they offered. 

 

Requirements, eligibility, terms, conditions, and measurement were clear and concise as well transparent and understandable. This translated to a great beginning to our customer journey with them. The site was easy to navigate and finding information was simple, which helped avoid jumping around different pages and losing track of readings. 

 

As with any grant application, as the process continued moving forward questions arose and the need for a human touch was clear. This was when NCFDC proved that they do not only provide services, they provide a whole experience for their users. The staff and consultants were great listeners, they clearly knew their craft but beyond that, they were actively focused on providing the support needed at each stage. They answered all our questions within hours and were ready and willing to provide help regarding all topics needed. Sometimes those topics were not only questions about filling up forms, but a friend who actively reminded us of where we were going. Someone who continuously provided emotional and technical support throughout a tiring journey. 

 

Grants are not easy to apply for, anyone can tell you that. From lots of forms to a myriad of deep data is required to even fit the eligibility criteria. After writing for hours and staring blankly at documents with thousands of questions and spaces that need to be filled out, it can be refreshing to talk to someone who eases that path. There is not much anyone can do to avoid all those forms, but NCFDC proved to us that there is a lot an organization can do to make that journey lighter, calmer and even unique. 

 

The reporting stage was no different. Help was always easy to get, email reminders were constant but evenly spaced, allowing our team to work on the documents with enough time in hand. Not only that but by now we had built rapport with them, we felt we could talk freely and they would listen. By now we had a deeply ingrained belief that they cared about us and understood us. 

 

This made it clear to us this organization is run by highly trained professionals with a clear understanding of their brand vision and values, as well as their goal. As users, our entire experience felt unique, easy, and streamlined. NCFDC made us feel welcome and important. They are a customer centric organization that puts their customers at the center of everything they do. When you find a company that understands your needs more than any other, it’s natural to feel grateful. This feeling is a testament to the quality of their work which reverbated inside Signority. It is important to recognize the efforts of companies like NCFDC and appreciate them. With more companies like this we could all turn the world of business and tech into an even more nurturing and fulfilling experience than it already is. 

 

Our CEO and founder, Jane He, mentioned the following when talking about the experience:  

 

As a Canadian eSignature company competing in the global market, innovation is essential for us to remain a market leader. We’ve had plans to adopt AI technology to enhance the ease of use of our platform for some time, but funding restrictions prevented us from implementing it. Thanks to the thriveFORWARD fund, we were able to develop the fundamental components necessary to build interactive document preparation and improve our platform’s functionality before documents are sent for signatures. This achievement represents a critical milestone in Signority’s history, and we’re proud to have created many highly skilled jobs in Canada. We’re grateful to the NCFDC team for helping us realize our vision of building a strong Canadian tech company.