Few things waste more productive hours than document management. Navigating to the correct shared drives, sticking with naming conventions, finding the right documents, and maintaining version control on collaborative documents all eat a significant amount of staff time.
Moreover, done badly, poor document management can see important information lost, audit trails impossible to maintain, and inadvertent violations of data protection laws and compliance regulations.
Document management systems that automate the process of collecting, storing, managing, editing, archiving, and categorizing documents are now being widely adopted to face this challenge. But how exactly do these systems work, and what is the potential beneficial return on investment for your business?
What Is Document Management?
In general terms, document management refers to how we create, organize, save, and retrieve documents, both digital and analog. This is nothing new and has been around since the days of the humble accounts ledger. But as businesses are creating more documents, are seeing more collaboration between teams, and having to worry about data protection and regulations, document management has become more complicated.
These are some common document management challenges in modern business.
- Imagine writing an official memo. How is it shared and stored as an official record of a decision?
- You need to check a contract for a specific client. How do you find and retrieve that document?
- You scan paid invoices for your financial records. How do you make sure they are available for the finance team or an audit?
- How do you archive outdated documents, ensuring they are stored correctly but aren’t accidentally accessed by team members seeking the most current version of the document?
While this might seem simple enough, the more documents your company produces, the more challenging this becomes. Studies suggest that only about 3% of knowledge workers are happy with how their business manages documentation. According to a 2019 report:
- 46% of employees struggle to find the information they need to do their jobs
- 83% recreated files that already existed because they couldn’t find them, and they lose time every day to document versioning issues
- 78% of organizations say that increased variety, volume, and velocity of information production is a top challenge
What Are Document Management Systems?
A document management system (DMS) is software that facilitates and automates the organization and control of documents. The system provides tools for capturing, indexing, storing, and retrieving all types of documents. They can also enable collaboration, version control, and documentation workflow where needed.
The four main functions of DMS are:
Document Capture
This is how the system acquires documents, both digital and physical. A good system captures digital documentation, often through automated saving to secure cloud storage, and the digitization of physical documentation through scanning and text recognition using technology such as OCR. It will also include the physical storage of paper documents, possibly with a location record.
Organization and Indexing
The system should then logically organize documents so that they are discoverable and retrievable, plus connect related documents. For digital documents, users or the system usually generates metadata tags such as department, document type, project, etc.
Search and Retrieval
Indexing then allows users to search for documents based on their metadata tags and often a full-text search of the documents. Users can then retrieve the documents they need, and a permissions system can be put in place to control access to sensitive or confidential documentation. You can also set up automated workflows that notify key team members being notified when relevant documents are submitted, sent, or updated for information or approval.
Retention and Archiving
The system also securely stores documents for ongoing access and for regulatory compliance as needed. This also includes archiving, which moves out-of-date documents into less accessible, more affordable long-term storage that is still compliant with rules around retention. Automated backups moved to a separate server also allow for disaster recovery in case of crashes or cybercrime.
Benefits of Document Management Systems
While all these steps required for document management can be managed in-house, to do it well, it relies on every member of the team remembering to complete every step in the process every time. Human error becomes a major issue, and this is one of those situations in which software can do it better. Here are just some of the benefits of implementing a comprehensive document management system.
- Automating document management saves your team time on routine administrative tasks such as filing and version control, which are often a source of stress.
- Automated systems reduce the chances of human error, when a tired team member hits the wrong key and makes a document incredibly hard to find again.
- Document management systems with tagging and deep search functionality make it easier for team members to find what they need, when they need it.
- Version control allows team members to always know that they are accessing the most up-to-date version of a document.
- Version control also supports a strong audit trail, letting you see who is making what changes and when, which enhances trackability and accountability.
- Collaboration tools enhance teamwork as multiple people can work on a document simultaneously, even when working in different locations, as is increasingly common with remote work.
- Real-time collaboration saves time and boosts creativity as team members can exchange ideas and give feedback in real time.
- A combination of robust and secure cloud storage with strict access controls allows you to restrict who can access documents that contain sensitive or confidential information.
- Archiving features, audit trails, and indexing help you properly retain and store critical documents, ensuring compliance with data protection laws and industry regulations.
- Storing documents in the cloud instead of keeping local copies reduces paid digital storage needs and delivers significant business savings.
Does Your Business Need a Document Management System?
Effective document management is now something that all businesses need. Proper document management can boost productivity and efficiency by about 25% of the workweek. That is why 77% of businesses are accelerating their adoption of document management software. Clearly, a document management system promises a strong return on investment.
If you are looking for document management services in Burnsville, the Twin Cities, Fargo, Duluth, or St. Cloud, contact the team at Metro Sales to find affordable, effective, and scalable solutions for your business.