Secured Signing Adds Up for Bookkeepers

MELBOURNE, Australia - May 20, 2015 - PRLog -- Bookkeepers need their clients to sign an authority to lodge before submitting their business activity statement (BAS).  It sometimes means a trip into the office to sign the authority.  Alternatively, the paperwork must be mailed out to be signed and returned. If the document is emailed, it forces the client to print it, sign and then either return it by post or scan it and send it back by email.

Whichever way it is happening, this necessary routine task is taking up far too much time and energy in too many practices.  Dianna Gorham of In Balance Bookkeeping Solutions found that delays in getting the authority returned was holding up lodgement of the BAS. This experience was all too familiar to Julie Wyborn of Essential Bookkeeping Solutions who also found that she was spending a lot of time chasing clients to get the paperwork signed and returned.

Like many bookkeepers, Ms Wyborn and Ms Gorham turned to local digital signature solution provider, Secured Signing for a quicker and easier way to get documents signed.  “Inviting my clients to sign their authority to lodge online is much simpler and quicker and has completely removed the paperwork from the process,”said Ms Wyborn.

Client acceptance of the change is high with Ms Gorham reporting that only one of the 60 people she invited to sign online preferred to stick with paper.   Such high acceptance of change is due to the fact that Secured Signing is also quicker and easier for the clients.  Once the document is added to Secured Signing, the system sends the invitation to sign by email.  All the client needs to do is click the link in the email to see the document and simply click to sign.

Using Secured Signing has drastically reduced the turnaround time with both practices reporting that the majority of documents are signed the same day.  “Before making the switch we’d need to chase up the paper copies to get them back.  The automated reminders in Secured Signing and just the fact that the client can do it online makes it much easier for everyone,”noted Ms Wyborn.

Secured Signing returns the signed PDF document by email; “which has completely removed the need to file the paper coming back,”said Ms Wyborn.  “I just pop the signed PDF document into the client folder.”

Secured Signing delivers one of those rare win-win situations with the convenience of signing online also delivering an improved compliance outcome for these practices.  All documents are signed with a personalised, PKI digital signature (http://www.securedsigning.com/).  The advantages of a PKI based digital signature, over simpler electronic signatures, is that changes to the document will invalidate the signature.  The digital signature also provides strong methods of verifying the signer’s identity.  It is the most secure method of signing electronic documents available.

“Everything we do complies with the full PKI digital signature standard,”said Mike Eyal, the Managing Director of Secured Signing.  “This is really important as it means the digital signature can be verified off line using any software that supports the digital signature standard.”  This is an important consideration to avoid vendor lock in and to be sure you can verify signed documents over the long term.

Ms Wyborn has no hesitation in recommending Secured Signing to anyone, saying, “It is well worth it.”  Ms Gorham agrees, saying,“All bookkeepers should be using this service, it is reasonably priced and will improve the efficiency of your practice.”

Secured Signing offers an evaluation account to try out their service free of charge. Register (https://www.securedsigning.com/register-account?planType=...) for a Freeway Account. The Australia Institute of Certified Bookkeepers and NZ Bookkeepers Association members have a special plan to register click here (http://www.icb.org.au/Products--Solutions/For-All-Businesses/Secured-Signing).

About Essential Bookkeeping Solutions - Essential Bookkeeping Solutions service the entire Illawarra area including Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama and offer a friendly professional service comprising a full range of bookkeeping services tailored to suit your small business needs.  Essential Bookkeeping Solutions has been operating in the Illawarra since 2000 and is the Illawarra's small business bookkeeping specialists. They are a registered BAS Agent and specialise in Xero and MYOB for small businesses and sole traders.

About In Balance Bookkeeping Solutions - In Balance Bookkeeping Solutions has been servicing the needs of Perth Southern Suburbs area for over 15 years and offers a range of in house and location based services.  Dianna Gorham is an MYOB Certified Consultant, Xero Certified Partner, Registered BAS Agent and Member of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.  Dianna and her team offer a commitment to provide quality advice, a professional and flexible service while developing a relationship based on trust through a personal and friendly approach with clients and their external accountants.

About Secured Signing - Secured Signing provides a comprehensive and secure SaaS digital signature service that delivers a full range of form completion and eSigning capabilities combining advanced personalised X509 PKI Digital Signature technology with easy-to-use, simple-to-deploy, compliant solutions. Secured Signing enables its users to utilise smartphones, PCs, any tablet device and any browser, to capture their graphical signature, fill-in, sign, seal and verify documents anywhere, anytime. The solution streamlines business processes, cuts back on expenses, expedites delivery cycles, improves staff efficiency and enhances customer service in a green environment. For more information please visit: www.securedsigning.com