FileCloud + Signority: Simplifying Secure, End-to-End, Content Workflow Automation

by Jason Dover – Chief Product Officer, FileCloud

May 23rd, 2024

In today’s fiercely competitive business landscape, the call for automation has never been louder. This demand stems from the necessity to cultivate competitive edges and operate with swifter agility to meet customer demands. To further assist organizations in addressing these imperatives, FileCloud is proud to announce its acquisition of Signority, an industry leading, Canadian-based provider of e-Signature and document workflow automation solutions. This strategic move enriches FileCloud’s enterprise file sharing and sync portfolio by integrating Signority’s end-to-end secure, automated digital signature solution. Signority’s offerings, being both SOC 2 and CSA-Level 2 certified, facilitate seamless digital transactions, governance, and compliance, aligning perfectly with Canadian data sovereignty and residency requirements. This acquisition synergizes with FileCloud’s existing content workflow automation capabilities, enhancing them and enabling customers to streamline their content-centric business workflows effectively.

The Significance of e-Signatures in Content Automation

In conventional file and document workflows, authoring or ingestion into an enterprise environment marks just the beginning. Facilitating adequate collaboration among stakeholders, enforcing appropriate security measures and access controls, and ensuring proper categorization and retention of content are additional pivotal components. FileCloud’s robust automation and policy framework fulfill these requirements comprehensively. However, the surge in enterprise digitization demands, particularly in recent years, has intensified the need for embedded e-Signature capabilities within file and content management processes. As content lies at the core of modern businesses, crucial processes and transactions often necessitate a signing step. Meeting this burgeoning customer demand with Signority represents a fundamental aspect of our ongoing automation strategy.

Integration and User Experience Enhancements

While numerous e-Signature solutions abound, they often operate disparately, resulting in subpar user experiences for both employees and external parties involved in the process. Moreover, signed content typically requires long-term storage in third-party cloud services, diminishing the owning organization’s control. As we progress with integrating our product portfolios, customers will gain the ability to ensure on-premises or self-managed public cloud storage of signed documents by designating FileCloud as a storage target. Furthermore, forthcoming product updates will empower customers to trigger signing workflows directly from within FileCloud, thus optimizing the user experience. This integration promises a streamlined approach to tackling typical document workflow processes.

Compliance Assurance

Ensuring compliance with industry-specific and jurisdictional standards ranks high on the priority list for CIOs across organizations of all sizes. Non-compliance with these standards could entail significant financial repercussions. Often, achieving compliance necessitates substantial changes to IT infrastructure, processes, and content management methodologies. It demands standardized approaches to document access management, storage, and electronic signature handling, particularly for content containing sensitive data. FileCloud offers an array of capabilities for generating and automatically applying policies based on content characteristics. Additionally, templates are available for configuring the content ecosystem to comply with relevant standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and NIST 800-171. The integration of e-Signature capabilities further enhances FileCloud’s solution, simplifying the process of compliance with required standards.

Looking Ahead

We are excited to welcome Signority’s established product and talented team into the FileCloud organization. These capabilities will significantly empower us to simplify end-to-end workflow automation for our customers. In the upcoming quarters, we will facilitate product integrations across our portfolio, making it easier for customers to address their content automation challenges and advance their digital transformation initiatives.

Our commitment to the Canadian market remains steadfast, and we aim to build upon Signority’s successful business while extending FileCloud’s strong value propositions globally. We are enthusiastic about the prospects this acquisition brings and the added strength it lends to our impactful portfolio.

Stay tuned for further updates!

Shifting Organizational Perspective on eSign

How to Shift Organizational Perspective on eSign from Cost to Cost-Savings Solution

December 14th, 2023

In the digital age, eSign technology is revolutionizing business processes. Yet, a common misconception frames eSign as a cost rather than a cost-saving solution. This blog aims to demystify eSign technology, showcasing its benefits and efficiency gains.

This blog encourages businesses to reassess their processes and consider eSign as a key tool for cost savings and efficiency.

What is eSign or an eSign ceremony?

eSign actually refers to an “eSign ceremony”. An eSign ceremony is a meticulously organized and secure process used for the digital signing of documents. This procedure encompasses several critical steps, such as verifying the identity of the signatory, confirming their intent to sign, and ensuring adherence to legal standards like the ESIGN Act in the U.S., PIPEDA in Canada, or eIDAS in Europe.

The purpose of an eSign ceremony goes beyond merely capturing signatures for approval; its true value lies in its workflow. This workflow guides recipients through a legally compliant and secure signing process, ensuring the integrity and legality of electronic signatures. It merges the formalities of traditional document signing with the advantages of digital technology, offering a blend of efficiency and security. Post-signing, it provides the assurance that the signed document remains unaltered, maintaining its authenticity and reliability.

Understanding the Cost Implications of Traditional Signature Processes

Traditional signature processes, involving physical documents and in-person signings, have been the norm for decades. However, this method incurs significant direct and indirect costs, often overlooked in the business world. Understanding these costs is crucial for organizations considering a transition to digital solutions like eSign technology.

Direct Costs:

Printing Costs: The need for physical copies of documents requires substantial use of paper and ink. For instance, a large organization may use thousands of sheets of paper annually for contracts alone, leading to considerable expenses in paper and printer maintenance. Diverse case studies from sectors like insurance, legal, and medical demonstrate substantial reductions in document processing time and paper-related costs.
Mailing Expenses: Sending documents via mail for signatures involves costs for postage, envelopes, and other mailing supplies. For urgent documents, the use of express or courier services further escalates these expenses.
Storage and Archival: Physical documents must be stored securely, often necessitating filing cabinets, storage rooms, or offsite facilities. Additionally, the costs for organizing and maintaining these records can be substantial.

Indirect Costs:

Time Delays: The manual process of printing, sending, receiving, and storing documents is time-consuming. Delays in obtaining signatures can stall business processes, affecting project timelines and potentially leading to lost opportunities.
Labor Costs: Manually handling documents requires significant employee time, from administrative staff organizing paperwork to executives reviewing and signing documents. This time could be more productively spent on core business activities.
Environmental Impact: The environmental cost of paper consumption is considerable. The paper industry is a major contributor to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing paper usage not only has a financial impact but also aligns with corporate social responsibility goals.

Real-World Examples and Statistics:

According to InformIT, a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that on average, an organization spends $20 in labor to file a document, $120 in labor to find a misplaced document, and $220 in labor to reproduce a lost document.

According to Square 9, the typical office consumes about 10,000 sheets of paper per worker each year, contributing to significant environmental and financial costs.

A report by Gartner highlighted that professionals spend 50% of their time searching for information, with much of this time dedicated to navigating through physical documents. Professionals spend about half their time searching for information and on average take 18 minutes to locate each document

The traditional signature process, while familiar, is laden with hidden costs and inefficiencies that can impact an organization’s bottom line and operational efficiency. By understanding these implications, businesses can make more informed decisions about transitioning to digital solutions like eSign technology, which offers a more cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly alternative.

Common Misconceptions About eSign as a Cost

Often viewed as an additional expense, eSign technology is actually a cost-saving tool. Initial investments in software and training are quickly offset by savings in paper, printing, mailing, and document storage, as well as reduced labor costs.

Real-World Example:

Consider a medium-sized business that spends approximately $5,000 every year on paper-related expenses and an additional $3,000 on mailing. By switching to an eSign solution, with an average annual subscription of just $2,000, this business can achieve significant cost reductions immediately.

The investment in eSign not only offers immediate savings but continues to provide financial benefits year after year, compared to the ongoing costs of traditional methods. The efficiency and productivity gains, along with the environmental benefits, further reinforce the value of this investment in eSign technology. It’s not only a modern solution but also a financially sound decision for businesses.

Other Facts Highlighting Capabilities of eSign Unattainable with Traditional Paper Signing

eSign technology introduces functionalities and benefits that are simply unachievable with traditional paper-based signing methods. These unique capabilities not only enhance efficiency but also provide a level of security and convenience that paper documents cannot match. Here are some key aspects where eSign excels:

Customizable Workflow Automation
eSign technology allows for the customization of signing workflows to suit specific business processes, a level of automation and personalization that paper signing processes lack.

Legally Binding Across Borders
eSignatures are recognized as legally binding in numerous jurisdictions, making them ideal for international transactions, unlike paper signatures which may require additional verification steps across borders.

Remote Signing
eSign allows documents to be signed from any location, eliminating the need for physical presence. This global accessibility is impossible with paper signing.

Instant Delivery and Confirmation
eSign technology enables instant sending and receiving of signed documents, along with immediate confirmation, a process that is time-consuming with paper.

Error Reduction
eSign technology often includes features like automatic form-filling and validation checks, significantly reducing the likelihood of errors common in paper forms.

Document Tracking
Real-time tracking of document status (opened, in progress, completed) is a unique feature of eSign, offering transparency that paper documents can’t.

Time-Stamped Audit Trails
eSign solutions provide a detailed audit trail, recording each action’s date and time, a feature paper documents can’t offer.

Enhanced Security
With encryption and secure authentication methods, eSign offers superior security against tampering and fraud compared to physical documents.

Exploring User Applications of Signority eSign Technology

eSign technology is more than just a tool for capturing signatures; it’s a workflow enhancer that drives accuracy and speed in document processing. Here are several common applications:

Application 1:
While eSign is often associated with remote signing, its utility in in-person scenarios, especially post-COVID, is significant. The misconception that eSign is unnecessary for in-person interactions overlooks the hidden costs and inefficiencies of paper-based processes.
Signority eSign facilitates In-Person Signing while simultaneously handling data entry and transfer. This integration eliminates the need for manual data backup to backend systems, reducing both costs and the likelihood of errors.
All data and signatures are securely tracked. For customers using APIs, Signority enables seamless synchronization with other platforms, ensuring efficient, error-free operations.

Application 2:
In the insurance brokerage sector, brokers rely on the timely signing of agreements for their payments. eSign expedites this process, ensuring brokers receive their dues promptly without the delays common in paper-based transactions.

Application 3:
Sales teams leverage eSign to close deals swiftly. The technology’s speed and efficiency in processing agreements facilitate faster decision-making and turnaround, crucial in sales environments.

Application 4:
Medical clinics use Signority Link Sign as a customer acquisition tool for patient onboarding and treatment processes. This streamlined approach not only improves patient experience but also ensures clinics receive payments more quickly.
For sensitive medical information, Signority’s HIPAA-compliant eSign solution provides a secure platform for patients to submit their health information, enhancing the overall efficiency of medical services.

Application 5:
Businesses, especially medical clinics, are leveraging Signority’s Linksign feature for effective customer engagement and data collection. With an easy-to-use onboarding template embedded on their websites, they capture essential information from interested visitors efficiently. This tool is particularly valuable for medical clinics adhering to SOC2 and HIPAA standards, as it securely facilitates the submission of sensitive health information through eReferral and contact forms, ensuring data security and compliance.

Each of these applications underscores the flexibility and efficiency of Signority eSign, demonstrating its effectiveness in both conventional and innovative use cases across various industries. Please contact sales@signority.com for detailed use cases and template setups.

Discover the clear benefits for yourself. Contact our team at sales@signority.com to discuss solutions tailored to your business needs.

Batch Signing: Signing Hundreds of Documents with One Stroke!

Batch Sign:
One Signature for Hundreds of Documents

Batch Signing: Signing Hundreds of Documents with One Stroke!

September 26th, 2023

Remember all those documents you sent out? Those hundreds of recipients of the same type of document that now you have to sign as well.

Signing a pile of documents can be a tedious and time-consuming task, especially when you have a mountain of paperwork to go through. But what if I told you there’s a game-changing feature that allows you to sign hundreds of documents with just one swift action? Enter the world of “Batch Signing,” a revolutionary feature that will transform the way you handle paperwork. In this blog, we’ll delve into the concept of batch signing, its benefits, and how it can bring a dynamic and fun twist to your document signing process. Get ready to save time, streamline your workflow, and unleash your inner efficiency expert!

First things first, what is Batch Signing?

Imagine a scenario in which you Bulk Send documents to be signed, hundreds of volunteer forms or even contracts, maybe even a handful of invoices and now it is your turn to sign them all. Normally, you would have to sign each document individually, taking up a significant amount of your valuable time. What if all these documents are due within one day or one hour, your recipients could have taken their time to sign one document but you can’t hold off on all of them. Your wrist is sore just thinking about all the repetitive clicks.

However, with batch signing, you can sign all those documents at once, eliminating the need for repetitive actions. It’s a game-changer for individuals and businesses alike, not to mention a huge time saver and let’s face it, carpal tunnel syndrome preventive measure.

So, how did this help? Here are some benefits of Batch Signing:

Batch signing utilizes modern technology to simplify the signing process. Here’s how it typically works:

Find your Bulk sent documents (batch signing only works for documents that were sent in bulk)
Review the contents of each of them, none of them or spot check a few. Since these documents were sent for bulk signing, they should all have roughly the same content. Even so, you still have the ability to go through each as needed ensuring they were properly filled out.
From the list of documents you have reviewed you get to choose which one to include in your batches sing. This makes it easy for you to choose which ones to leave out if you have doubts or a couple have yet to be signed.
Read the acknowledgements and continue to bulk signing all the documents you chose.

Four simple steps that have saved you a mountain of paperwork and endless repetitive actions!

How Does Batch Signing Work?

Time-Saving: Batch signing allows you to sign multiple documents simultaneously, saving you valuable time and effort. Instead of signing each document individually, you can complete the task with just one action.
Streamlined Workflow: By automating the signing process, batch signing streamlines your workflow. You can focus on other important tasks while the software or platform takes care of the signing.
Increased Efficiency: With batch signing, you eliminate the risk of missing signatures or signing the wrong document. This reduces errors and increases overall efficiency in your document management process.
Enhanced Security: Digital signatures used in batch signing are often more secure than traditional ink signatures. They can be encrypted, authenticated, and traceable, ensuring the integrity and authenticity of your documents.

Have Fun with Batch Signing:

Who said signing documents has to be dull and monotonous? Batch signing can bring a touch of excitement and playfulness to your paperwork routine. Here are a few ideas to make it more fun:

Speed Challenge: Time yourself to see how quickly you can complete a batch signing process. Aim to beat your previous records and challenge yourself to improve your signing speed.
Signature Styles: Experiment with different signature styles, DIY or choose from our preselected fonts for each batch of documents. Get creative and add a personal touch to your digital autographs.
Celebratory Dance: When you’ve completed a particularly large batch signing task, why not celebrate with a victory dance? It’s a great way to inject some joy into the process.

How to send 500 documents to be signed in one fell swoop: Bulk Send

How to send 500 documents to be signed in one easy swoop: Bulk Send

In today’s fast-paced digital world, efficiency and productivity are paramount for organizations, especially nonprofits. Time-consuming administrative tasks can often hinder progress and divert valuable resources away from the core mission. One such challenge that has plagued nonprofits for years is the laborious process of sending hundreds of documents, often the same in content, to many different recipients. Not to mention the process of signing those documents only after a recipient has already done so. However, the tides are turning with the advent of innovative eSignature platforms and their groundbreaking feature: BULK SEND.

Nonprofits frequently find themselves grappling with the monumental task of having numerous documents signed, ranging from donation receipts and funding agreements to volunteer waivers and partnership contracts. Traditionally, getting everyone to sign such documents required significant manpower, countless hours, and extensive administrative coordination. This tedious process often resulted in delays, errors, and increased costs, diverting focus from the organization’s true objective.

Recognizing this pain point, eSignature platforms like Signority, decided to adapt and evolve, seeking innovative solutions to streamline the signing process for nonprofits. Enter BULK SEND, the game-changing feature designed specifically to alleviate the burden of sending hundreds of documents with repetitive content for eSigning.

How BULK SEND Works:

BULK SEND is a powerful feature that empowers nonprofits to send multiple documents swiftly and efficiently, all with just a single click. The process involves a few simple steps:

Step 1: Document Preparation

Using the intuitive interface of the eSignature platform, nonprofits can easily upload their documents into the BULK SEND module.

Step 2: Template Creation

Once the documents are uploaded, nonprofits can create a master template. This template serves as the foundation for all the documents in the bulk signing process. It contains common fields, such as the organization’s name, address, and contact details, which are identical across all documents, it also contains all the tags that will be personalized for each recipient.

Step 3: Automating Signatures

With the template in place and the tags included, it is time to get your recipient list imported. This can easily be done through a CSV file. By leveraging intelligent automation, the BULK SEND feature swiftly populates these fields across all the documents, eliminating the need for manual input.

Step 4: Preview and Verify

Before initiating the bulk signing process, you can preview the finalized template to ensure accuracy. This step allows organizations to review and make any necessary adjustments or corrections before proceeding.

Step 5: One-Click Bulk Send

Finally, with everything in order, you can initiate the BULK SEND process by simply clicking a button. Signority will then apply the pre-specified signatures and fields across all the documents, effectively sending each document only once. The process is quick, efficient, and frees up valuable time and resources for the nonprofit to focus on their core objectives.

You can track each of these documents and see when they have been signed individually, which allows organizations to use these documents at their leisure.

Benefits of BULK SEND for Nonprofits:

Time and Cost Savings: By automating the signing process, nonprofits can significantly reduce the time and effort required to send hundreds of documents to be signed. This time-saving feature translates into cost savings by allowing organizations to allocate resources more efficiently.
Enhanced Productivity: With BULK SEND, nonprofits can redirect their focus to high-impact activities, such as fundraising, community outreach, and program development. The streamlined signing process ensures that administrative tasks no longer hinder productivity.
Reduced Errors and Increased Accuracy: Manual data entry is prone to errors, potentially leading to legal and financial implications. BULK SEND eliminates the risk of mistakes by automatically populating fields across all documents from a single template, and sending them out to your recipients.

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.

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.

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: 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.

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How to send 500 documents to be signed in one easy swoop: Bulk Send

How BULK SEND Works:

Step 1: Document Preparation

Step 2: Template Creation

Step 3: Automating Signatures

Step 4: Preview and Verify

Step 5: One-Click Bulk Send

Benefits of BULK SEND for Nonprofits:

How to choose an eSigning solution for NonProfits

eSigning solutions: why are there so many?

Our 4 step framework

Step 1: Define your needs

Document related questions:

Sender related questions

After a document is sent

Customer support needs

Step 2: Evaluate options based on your needs

Step 3: Look for a culture fit

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

The recap

The Story Behind Signority's AI Development

A challenging Ecosystem

An Innovation Ally

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

thriveFORWARD: The Program that Revolutionized Signority

Our NCFDC Experience