Every day, companies have dozens of documents (or even hundreds in large organizations) signed by employees, partners, customers, prospects, etc. Traditionally done by hand, the signature process delays deadlines, wastes time, and slows down the productivity of everyone involved.
With company processes being digitized and the increased use of electronic signatures, organizations are relying more and more on this method to get documents signed. Electronic signatures have the same legal value as handwritten signatures. The electronic signature features offered in the Odoo ERP are equivalent in this regard and come with some additional advantages as well.
Signing contracts, estimates, amendments... How do you manage this when working remotely?
Signing contracts, quotes, amendments... all of these time-consuming tasks have become even more cumbersome with the growth of remote work. Companies would usually print out documents, send them by email or mail, and then wait for a response or return in order to complete a task or get documents signed.
But there are several problems with this approach: not everyone has a printer or scanner at home, which increases the time needed to process a document. Emails and letters can get lost... You have to track every shipment closely to make sure you don't miss anything... The turnaround time for this type of process-and its tediousness-is even worse in a remote work environment. In this context, electronic signatures are an essential tool! Some businesses recorded 200% more subscriptions in spring 2020 after deploying electronic signatures.
Electronic signatures in Odoo ERP
Odoo comes standard with electronic signature features. For example, it’s built right into the quotation and order modules. Each time a quote is sent to the customer, they can sign it immediately without downloading anything or using a specific plug‑in.
The Odoo ERP has a dedicated module for other documents as well. The user-friendly system lets you sign PDFs directly and initial pages without any hassle.
It’s a module that is widely used for signing quotes, invoices (for example, after a boiler installation or pest control service), important documents and certificates directly from a smartphone or tablet. Electronic signature is also very useful for employee contracts, agreements, and other internal documents.
Reduce administrative burdens, go paperless, and improve conversion rates…
Integrated into your Odoo ERP, electronic signature allows different core company processes to be automatically updated. For example, once a quote is signed, it automatically becomes an order. A project is then created so that the relevant teams can be informed of any further actions that need to be taken.
The greatest advantage of electronic signature lies in its ability to reduce administrative burden. No more printing documents, sending them by email or regular mail, and scanning them afterward. Your teams save time and company performance improves, thanks to the reduction of unnecessary back-and-forth.
Another significant advantage, especially for sales teams, is how Odoo improves conversion rates. By making it possible to sign quotes or order forms immediately, prospects procrastinate less and move through the sales pipeline faster. This improvement has an immediate impact on your company’s business activity.
Electronic signatures can also bring significant time savings to the human resources department. This is especially true with the increase in remote work (for example, signing off on changes to employment contracts). Employees no longer need to be on site to review and approve important documents.
Electronic signatures also cut down on paper usage, thus reducing your company's environmental impact. Reducing environmental impact, as part of a CSR strategy, can in turn enhance a company's image.
Finally, Odoo's electronic signature module is certified at both European and American levels, giving it global legal validity.
Electronic Signature in Numbers
- By 2025, 95% of contracts will be signed electronically**
- Reduced invoicing time: from about 10 minutes to less than 3 minutes**
- Cost: $20.46 for a handwritten signature / $10.47 for an electronic signature***
- ROI: 48.8% savings***