We regularly extol the virtues of signing online. After all, our cloud working docSAFE system incorporates it as a highly desirable, ‘must have’ feature. One of the reasons we shout loudly is the number of unnecessary meetings it cuts out.
Recently one of our clients brought us up short and said that signing online might negate the need for meetings but he prefers to see his clients face to face and use it as an excuse to get together (we suspect over a pint) and ‘do business’.
We considered this for a fraction of a second before defending the need to sign online. The point is that, for most accountants, online signatures come into their own at the busiest periods of the year – when you have tax returns mounting up and seconds on the clock counting down, conspiring against you. When you have an uphill battle to get everything signed and sealed, why wouldn’t you opt for the ability to get that all-important (sometimes elusive) signature virtually? docSAFE has a reminder system built in so clients are prompted when they don’t respond. It saves our accountant clients hours (and late penalty fines).
We agree that meetings are the life-blood of all professional relationships but sometimes (like texting your husband/wife when you’re going to be late), the digital alternative is much sweeter.