If you’re one of the many businesses or entrepreneurs who have recently started working online, you’ll eventually need to gather electronic signatures from clients, contractors, or employees.

How do you plan to gather e-signatures? Or, how do you gather them currently? Does your method take time or cause frustration? If so, Box might be the solution you need.

If you haven’t used Box to collect e-signatures yet, here are four reasons to try it out.

1. People can sign your documents with just a link

When you need to collect signatures on your PDF documents, there are a few different ways to get those signatures. You can:

• Ask someone to download special software to sign your document
• Have someone print your document, sign it, scan it, and turn the file into a PDF again
• Ask someone to use a common application like Adobe
• Ask someone to use an online form filler that requires a browser extension or account to access

The above methods have been used to collect signatures on PDF documents for a while, but it’s much easier with Box. All you need to do is send a link to your intended recipient.

Your recipient won’t need to download any software or log in to an account to sign your document. Your document can be signed and saved right inside of your Box account.

Best of all, signing your document with an e-signature creates a legally binding contract. However, as Box explains, the rules governing electronic signatures vary by country. In several countries, including the United States, it’s just as good as an inked signature.

If you live in the EU, however, you might need to use digital signatures. Digital signatures include verification of the signer’s identity.  Before relying on electronic signatures, be sure to check your local laws. Digital signatures have come a long way since they first began, and the laws are still changing.

2. You won’t confuse old versions of documents

When you’re constantly downloading, altering, and uploading different versions of the same PDF file, it’s easy to lose track of the most recent file. If you’re using a good naming convention, it’s easier, but most people just overwrite the original file.

Things can get messy when you have multiple versions of the same file, and that’s one problem Box solves. Once you upload your file, your recipient can sign it, and since there’s nothing to download, you won’t end up with multiple copies of your file just because you needed a signature.

3. Your clients won’t need to upload or email a signed document

Some clients have no problem uploading or emailing a freshly signed PDF document. For these clients, it’s easy. They send email attachments all the time, and if a file is too big, they know how to use file transfer programs to get the job done.

That’s not the case for less tech-savvy clients, especially older clients who didn’t grow up sending attachments over email. For these clients, you need a simpler solution because it’s often difficult to explain the process, even over the phone.

By using Box, you’ll bypass the need to ask clients to fumble around with attachments and downloads. Just prepare your document to be signed, send them a link to the file, and they’ll be prompted to sign.

4. You’ll get secure file storage, too

Box is primarily a secure cloud-based file storage system. Signing up for an account gives you access to some pretty amazing file storage features and benefits. For instance, you can share files with people using links that expire, and you can share files in a read-only format while preventing downloads.

Ideally, if you’re sending clients contracts, you’ll want to keep those contracts secure. Box has built-in security features that encrypt your files on their server. Encrypted files are much safer than sending files over email or through web-based file transfer programs.

If you only need to store documents to collect electronic signatures, you’ll be fine with a free account. However, if you also need file storage, you can get an account with more space and larger upload limits.

Electronic signatures should be easy

Whenever you need to collect a signature, the process should be easy. If you want to avoid the hassle of downloads, multiple file versions, and confused clients, try using Box to collect your electronic signatures.