Electronic Original and Signature

An electronic original contains the mandatory particulars of the relevant document and an electronic signature where required by law or agreed by the parties. Law No. 2155-VIII establishes the rules for electronic identification and trust services. A qualified electronic signature has the legal effect of a handwritten signature and is used for contracts, applications, reporting and other documents within the authority of the particular person.

The director should decide from the outset which documents are signed personally, which may be signed by the accountant and which actions require a representative to hold a power of attorney. The electronic signature identifies the signatory; the right to act for the company follows from its charter, the Unified State Register, a resolution, an order or a power of attorney. This separation preserves corporate authority even where work is fully remote.

For certain transactions, the law requires a special form or notarisation. The electronic format must therefore be selected for the specific contract, property and parties involved. For ordinary B2B exchange, the parties can agree the service, signing method, official addresses and date of receipt without exchanging paper copies.

Document Exchange with Clients and Suppliers

Electronic form delivers the greatest savings for recurring documents: service acceptance certificates, invoices, delivery notes, orders, personnel forms and internal approvals. The manager prepares the file, the signatory completes it, the counterparty receives it through the agreed channel, and the accountant sees a completed copy ready for accounting.

For a sale, it is useful to link the contract, order, invoice, performance document and payment. For procurement, the set comprises the order, supplier's invoice, acceptance of the goods or services and the primary accounting document. When the whole set carries the same transaction or order number, the director and accountant can quickly find the required materials by client, date or amount.

A company may use one service or several systems depending on counterparties' requirements. The choice depends on pricing, supported formats, signing methods, export options, number of users and accounting integration. The most beneficial solution is the one that reduces staff time and allows the business to retrieve its own documents in a normal readable format.

For international clients, the parties agree separately on the electronic-document format and signing method. Ukrainian QES is convenient for domestic government services, while a foreign counterparty may use its own system. In a commercial contract it is sufficient to define in advance the permitted methods, official addresses and procedure for exchanging final files. This enables the accounts team to distinguish a manager's working email from a document that creates an obligation to pay for goods or services.

Storage, Copies and Employee Access

Final electronic documents are stored together with signature data, receipts and delivery statuses. The responsible employee must be able to locate a document by counterparty, contract or reporting period and provide it to the director, accountant, auditor, bank or court as required. A backup protects the company against losing access to a third-party service.

Employee rights are allocated by role. A manager sees their contracts and orders, the accountant sees primary documents, the lawyer sees texts awaiting approval, and the director sees documents requiring final signature. When an employee leaves or changes role, their access is closed while the corporate files remain with the company.

UBC can prepare contractual terms for electronic exchange, signatory authorities and internal rules for working with files. The client receives a practical system without unnecessary paper: a clearly identifiable original, a specific signatory, an agreed delivery channel, a backup and rapid retrieval of documents by transaction.

The retention period depends on the type of document and the rules applicable to accounting, tax, personnel or contractual records. The technical repository is selected so that the required file remains accessible throughout the prescribed retention period.

This also simplifies the handover of work between employees.