Bringing e-sig software within reach of small businesses

Businesses spend thousands of pounds each year on e-signature software. It seems like a big expense for a small task, but if you’re a company that deals with hundreds of documents every month, the cost is worth it.

 

But what if you’re a small business? Between you and your clients, you may only need to sign a few hundred letters, contracts and the like each year. If that’s the case, the outlay feels huge.

 

The high cost of e-signature packages has traditionally put them beyond the reach of smaller companies. But the alternative – manually signing everything – is now taking up too much time. Not only that, but it’s also limiting the ability of small companies to internationalise their business. Potential clients on the other side of the world no longer want to deal with physical paperwork. They’ll just go elsewhere.

 

Democratising access to tech

 

One issue is that the major players in the e-signature business position themselves as being for large companies. This limits the move towards democratising access to technology.

 

Syncfusion has long since recognised that smaller companies were at a disadvantage and set about finding a solution in the form of BoldSign – a product whose mission is to make e-signature tools available at a lower price point while ensuring they are navigable and legally binding.

 

“Cost often prohibits small businesses from being more effective and profitable,” says Daniel Jebaraj, CEO of Syncfusion.

 

“Small to medium-sized businesses often have to look at each dollar spent, which Syncfusion, as a bootstrapped business, understands. At the same time, SMBs need to be competitive in the market, which requires access to the right technology.

 

“E-signature technology is now an essential part of how agreements get signed and proposals are converted into profit.”

 

BoldSign gives users access to many of the same key features that other e-signature software has: embedded sending and signing, webhooks and direct support from developers. If needed, its API can be scaled to easily handle millions of signatures, and it has the same level of security and privacy as its competitors, meaning it can be used in both the US and the EU.

 

But affordability is the centrepiece of the product. BoldSign saves between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of the cost of what a big player in the industry would charge – and if a company only requires a few signatures a month, the tool is free. Different types of businesses – non-profits, start-ups and so on – can explore different options.

 

“We want to help SMBs – that’s our goal,” says Jebaraj. “We believe in giving companies access to technology that helps them achieve more with less.

 

“SMBs are the backbone of the global economy, and we want to ensure they can be competitive in these economic markets.”

 

Empowering smaller companies

 

Syncfusion’s mission to democratise access to tech is part of a wider goal: to integrate businesses from countries that have long been sidelined into global markets. Empowering smaller companies also helps to empower the nations they call home.

 

This emphasis on empowerment is the thread that runs through all of Syncfusion’s work – and it’s the reason why the company has set up an office in Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. Some years ago, Jebaraj taught computer skills to students in Kisumu who were unable to access university. Their potential was immense, but there were very few tech jobs on the market.

 

Jebaraj has long championed a business philosophy that saw potential as more important than credentials. Having already established a Syncfusion office in Chennai in India, he had a model for one in Kisumu.

 

That opened in 2019; in the six years since, it has gone from just two employees to nearly 500, who all play critical roles across the entire organisation. Just as BoldSign seeks to strengthen small businesses in a world dominated by giants, Syncfusion as a whole strengthens the place of Kenya in the global tech market.

 

Significant growth

 

Syncfusion’s drive to make digital solutions available to all is clearly landing with customers. In terms of adoption, BoldSign grew 700 per cent last year. This year, it’s aiming for 2000 per cent growth – all powered by a tool that is easy to use, easy to switch to and makes life easier for small businesses.

 

“BoldSign is providing users with the ability to process everything more efficiently and effectively,” says Jebaraj. “The days of soliciting a signature by printing a piece of paper, mailing it via a postal service and waiting a week or two for a response (if a response ever comes at all) are long gone.

 

“Now, this can be done in five minutes, and everyone can move on to the next task – of which there are always many. We are helping users digitise their processes – a critical requirement for efficiency, and therefore success, in today’s global economy.”

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For more information about BoldSign, click here