An article outlining the positives of using a good document management system to a business.
Regardless of the size of your business, you are bound to generate a significant amount of documentation. It is inevitable that documents will be required by all sections of the business, from HR to client facing.
It would be easy to assume that this only applies to office-based businesses, however, this is not the case. Even if you work in a manual profession, you will not be able to get away from paperwork; whether providing an estimate for a job, submitting an invoice, or filing a tax return, there will be documents involved.
With the creation of documents comes the need to manage them properly, which will require an efficient system that works to your benefit.
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Stay Organized
It will be difficult to maintain a successful business if you are disorganized. For example, you can imagine the negative results of repeatedly missing appointments, forgetting to chase up an invoice, or failing to submit your tax return on time – it wouldn’t be good.
This is not different when it comes to dealing with documents – it is a good idea to do what is necessary to be organized. You don’t want to be in the position of having to scramble to find an essential document. Fortunately, the use of a good document management system can help you to stay organized.
Different documents will be relevant to different departments within a business, and even within any given department, there may be further sub-divisions. Accordingly, being able to create suitable files and folders within a document management system will make it easier to keep track and determine where the documents belong. All relevant documents can be kept together and will not be mixed up.
You’ll get peace of mind from always knowing where your documents can be found and that you will be easily be able to access them when you need to. This will be especially helpful when you need to review an old document for the purposes of something you are currently working on. For example, if you are calculating projected sales, you may want to use previous numbers to guide you so you can easily refer to these documents.
Being able to maintain good records is an important part of running a business and a good management system will make this a simple process.
Keep Them Secure
The security of documents is important, not only from the point of view of preventing them from going missing, but also from being accessed by unauthorized people.
Losing a document that you require can be highly frustrating, especially when you only realize that you don’t know where it is because you need it at that moment. It is easy to misplace hard copy documents, such as by filing it in the wrong place or failing to ensure it is returned after being used by a different department. This problem can be avoided with the use of digital documents stored on a quality document management system.
In addition to securing the documents against loss and damage, a good management system can also prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. There will be no need to maintain an ever-growing number of cumbersome filing cabinets for an increasing number of documents that need to be kept under lock and key. Instead, you can go paperless and rest assured that your documents are password protected and will only be accessed by those with the right to do so.
Make Them Searchable
When you need to find something specific, it may seem like an insurmountable task when you have a vast amount of paperwork. Leafing through multiple pages that – at first glance – all look the same can quickly become frustrating and make you want to give up entirely.
The idea of going to a storage room and searching through packed filing cabinets in order to find a single document is enough to put anyone off, but this does not need to be the case.
By creating a database of documents within a management system, you can use a search term that is relevant to the document that you require. Using this method, it will also be possible to find multiple documents with a search term, which will make the task for which you need the documents even easier to achieve. All of this can be achieved from the comfort of your desk.
Eliminate Hard Copies
The need to deal with documents can often seem like a daunting prospect when it is presented in the form of a pile of papers. However, the need for documents doesn’t necessarily equate to physical paperwork.
Once you make use of a document management system, you can work entirely on a digital basis. This will negate the need to maintain hard copies of any documents and keep them digitized instead. You will be able to take advantage of the documents being on an efficient management system and be able to access and transfer them easily without needing to take further steps, such as scanning.
In the event that you do need hard copies, this will not be a problem as they can simply be printed out when necessary.
Keep Up with the Competition
When it comes to giving your customers the best possible service, you don’t want to be behind the times, especially if your competitors are forging ahead and taking advantage of new technology. The Techwalla will describe the advantages and disadvantages of new technology here. If you competitors are offering invoices by email, for example, you want to be able to do the same thing. This offers convenience on both sides and prevents the need to rely on snail-mail.
Not only will you be able to offer the same service as your competitors, but you will also be able to meet the needs of official organizations. For example, it is common practice to file tax returns online and any subsequent information sought by the IRS may also be required digitally, accordingly, having these documents readily available in a format that can be sent online will prove useful.
When it comes to official organizations, not being able to provide documents requested in a timely manner can have dire consequences. For example, if the INS demand documentation to prove that all your employees have the right to work in the US, then you had better make sure you provide them quickly as they are not likely to accept excuses about the documents being misplaced.
A document management system can assist you in streamlining your operation and making the best of your business.
Of course, one aspect of running your business will be to demonstrate a high level of professionalism. This can be portrayed through the use of a good document management system. You can have all your documents within easy reach and in the same format, so you will benefit from uniformity. You will be able to use a system that is capable of keeping up with your business and works for you.
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