The recent pandemic saw the largest transition to remote working. This shift forced various business operations that were previously conducted offline, online. This included functions like team meetings, hiring, and contract management.

Electronic signatures are legal, reliable, and secure. Electronic signature software has long been the medium of conducting business with international clients. The pandemic forced larger widespread adoption of this online signature software. Find out which tool adds the most value to your startup by comparing the diverse features they offer. Read ahead to learn more.

What should an early-stage founder look for in an e-signature solution?

Before we get into comparing DocuSign and Hellosign, let’s first examine what an early-stage founder needs in an e-signature solution:

• E-signature functionality - The bare minimum for any e-signature tool is to enable you to send and receive legally binding signatures and contracts. Additionally, signature reminders, multiple signatories in a single agreement have all become must-have features. These features are table stakes.
• Intelligent document storage and data platform - The information you input into your documents can and should be structured to be available for quick use in other legal agreements.
• Automatic document classification - Whether it’s an NDA, hiring contract, or ESOP agreement, you want a system that can automatically detect and classify all of your documents for you, so you can focus your time elsewhere.
• Integration with HR, Legal, and Finance tools - Your e-signature solution should directly integrate with your tech stack saves you a lot of valuable time by automatically ensuring all company data is synchronized across all your tools. 
• Pre-filled fields - Efficiency and productivity are paramount for any founder. You want your e-signature solution to pull out key information from your HR, finance, and legal tech stack without you having to manually copy & paste data into templates.
• Powerful search - This is an absolute game-changer. You want robust, fast searchability that scans through the text within these documents and helps you find what you’re looking for within seconds.
• Flexible permissions - Contracts and agreements often require multiple stakeholders’ signatures or inputs. You want to be able to collaborate on and share these documents with specific people (e.g. your lawyers, hiring managers, cofounder, etc.) whilst controlling access.
• Compliance advisory - State compliance can be very tricky as it varies from state to state. You want accurate and relevant information to streamline your compliance process.
• Ease of Use - All the leading online tools have an easy and intuitive user experience with a simple and swift process to send online agreements.