95% of employees with digital signatures: how “Agrobudivny Alliance Astra” transitioned to digital document signing

The gradual transition to electronic document management has allowed the company to scale the use of digital signatures far beyond the scope of individual financial or accounting processes.

Today, digital signatures are used not only for external document management. Vacation requests, business trip documents, internal orders, occupational safety documents, and transfer records for inventory between warehouses all go through the digital signature process.

Obtaining a Vchasno QES has also become part of the onboarding process: new employees register for a key at the start of their employment if it is required for their duties.

In the process, it became clear that individual tools were insufficient: the business needed a solution that could be scaled to accommodate various processes and teams. It was during this period that the company turned its attention to Vchasno.

However, the large-scale transition did not happen overnight. For the first six months, Vchasno was primarily used by teams for whom electronic document management was essential for their daily work — in particular, finance professionals who interacted with banks and leasing companies. Gradually, employees from other departments began using the system.

Before switching to electronic document management, the lifecycle of a single document included: printing, signing, stamping, scanning, sending it to the counterparty, and entering the information into the registry.

After that, it was still necessary to verify whether the counterparty had received the document, signed it, and returned the original.

This process was particularly challenging for a company with a regional structure.

For example, warehouses might ship dozens of consignments of goods to different regions every day. Acceptance and transfer acts and other documents accompany these transactions, but the paper originals might remain at the receiving desk, get lost among other documents, or be waiting to be returned to the office.

This created an additional burden for personnel responsible for inventory and employees in charge of document management.

A separate challenge was tracking “outstanding” originals. Designated employees had to monitor registries and determine which documents had not yet been returned by counterparties.

The transition to electronic document management allowed the company to move documents to a digital environment and establish a new workflow for handling them — from creation and approval to signing and monitoring compliance.

An important part of this transition was the qualified electronic signature (QES), which enabled employees to sign documents without having to refer back to the paper originals.

The company did not attempt to switch its entire staff to electronic document management all at once. The transition began with preparing employees for the new way of working: they needed to create accounts, obtain digital signatures, configure access permissions, and learn how to use the new tool.

To help the team adapt, the company conducted training sessions. Employees were shown not only the technical aspects of working with Vchasno, but also the practical results achieved by their colleagues: how many documents they had already processed in the system and how this simplified their work.

At the same time, the company gradually expanded the list of documents that needed to be signed electronically.

First, paper vacation requests were replaced with electronic ones. Then, documents related to business trips, internal orders, occupational safety documents, and transfer records for inventory between warehouses were added to Vchasno.

Thus, the electronic signature gradually evolved from a standalone tool for the accounting department into an integral part of the daily work of most employees. Today, over 95% of the company’s employees have a digital signature certificate and use the electronic document management system.

Read also: How to obtain a QES for a legal entity online

The company decided not to stop at simply transitioning current employees to electronic document management.

Obtaining an electronic signature key and access to Vchasno has gradually become one of the first steps in onboarding a new employee. Along with a company laptop or car, an employee also receives an electronic signature key if it is necessary for their work.

Employees themselves also note the convenience of this system. You can sign a document with just a few taps in the app:

Read also: Signing documents from your phone: how to sign a document with an electronic signature when you don’t have access to a computer

Even if a counterparty does not use Vchasno, the company can send documents to them for signature via email. This has made it possible to gradually transition external document flow to a digital format without requiring all partners to be connected at the same time.

At the same time, legal and administrative processes have also been adapted to the new format: the ability to work with electronic document management is taken into account during the negotiation and drafting of contracts.

The next stage of digitization was the integration of Vchasno with the company’s accounting system.

It automatically checks for signed documents and removes them from the debt registry once the originals are on file. As a result, the employees in charge do not need to constantly check the status of each document manually.

If a counterparty has not signed a document, the company can also receive reminders. For example, for documents that have remained unsigned for a certain period, the responsible employees receive a notification that they need to contact the counterparty.

As a result, document workflow management has become partially automated: instead of constantly checking the registers, employees can focus on the documents that truly require their attention.

Today, electronic document management spans various departments within the company.

Sales managers and document management administrators handle the largest volume of documents. They work with invoices, reports, expense documents, and other documents related to the sale of equipment and services.

For example, in the spare parts department, about 50 managers in various regions handle documents: they generate invoices and expense documents, and receive and sign documents from contractors. And thanks to electronic signing with Vchasno QES, this happens without delays.

The administrative department, which handles procurement, and the accounting department also use the electronic document management system for internal documents, HR processes, and travel expense reimbursement. Documents are conveniently signed using Vchasno QES keys — in just a few clicks and without switching between different services.

In total, approximately 5,000 documents pass through Vchasno each month.

Read also: QES Security: A Checklist for Sole Proprietors and Companies

The transition to electronic digital signatures has changed not only the way documents are signed, but also the very logic of working with them.

Previously, a document could take weeks to physically reach a counterparty. After switching to electronic document management, it can be signed much faster.

At the same time, the company eliminated some of the associated processes: monitoring the physical movement of originals, maintaining debt ledgers, searching for documents, and sending constant reminders to counterparties.

Electronic approval workflows also help managers work with documents regardless of their location.

For example, the CEO can sign documents according to a configured workflow, where the document reaches them only after passing through the necessary approvals. If the manager is on a business trip or cannot sign the document in person, delegation to responsible employees can be configured.

This is especially important for companies where a delay in signing a report or other document could postpone payment, the transfer of equipment, or another transaction. In a paper-based process, such a situation could arise simply because the required signatory is not in the office.

For “Agrobudivny Alliance Astra,” the transition to the Electronic Signature Certificate (QES) was more than just replacing a paper signature with an electronic one.

The company has gradually digitized its external document flow with clients and suppliers, internal HR processes, business trips, orders, occupational safety documents, and warehouse operations.

As a result, electronic document management has become part of the company’s daily operations — from onboarding new employees to interacting with business partners and internally approving documents.

Among our future plans, we are considering implementing Vchasno Kadry as well as using AI-powered document recognition. This will allow us to expand document workflow automation and make synchronization with the accounting system even more convenient and efficient.