Eliminate Your Paper Problems with Document Management
Has your organization gone paperless? If not, you could be wasting a lot of time, money, and resources. Unfortunately, studies have shown that 82% of companies are still spending billions of collective dollars on paper. Meanwhile, it is estimated that businesses across the United States waste around $8 billion each year simply trying to manage their paper documents.
The good news? With the right document management system in place, your organization can cut back drastically on paper clutter while keeping better track of your important documents in a secure and reliable digital format.
What is Document Management?
What is a document management system, anyway? The concept is really quite simple and refers to a software program that can help to automate the way your business tracks, stores, and manages its paperwork. A document management system focuses on transferring your paper documents to a digital format and tagging them for easier retrieval when your employees need them.
There are many different types of document management systems, ranging from those that rely on cloud-based servers for file storage to those that upload content directly to a private, on-site server. The specific type of document management system that is right for you will vary based on your organization’s particular needs and budget.
What Can It Do for Me?
There are many benefits of switching to a document management system. Not only can document management make your employees’ jobs easier, but these systems can keep your client and customer data more secure as well. Explore some of the advantages of using a document management system and consider how these could affect your own business.
Increase Employee Productivity
Increase Employee Productivity: How much time do your employees spend filling out paperwork, creating new documents, filing paperwork, and retrieving it manually? If you don’t have a paperless system in place, there’s a good chance that your employees are wasting a lot of time on these tasks daily. This can hinder productivity, which can drastically affect your bottom line.
By making the switch to a document management system, your employees will have a much easier time locating the documents they need when they need them. Rather than having to physically search through cumbersome filing cabinets and folders to find the documents they need, employees can quickly and easily locate these files digitally with a few clicks.
Cut Down on Missing/Lost Documents
The cost of a missing or lost document can be monumental, especially if the document ends up needing to be totally recreated. Unfortunately, with paper-based systems, missing documents are a very common problem. By upgrading to a document management system, your business can essentially eliminate the chances of an important file or document going missing.
Improve Overall Data Security
These days, data security is a very common concern among business owners and customers/clients alike. Unfortunately, paper-based documents are much more likely to fall into the wrong hands and result in a potentially massive data breach within your organization. Such a data breach could tarnish your reputation and/or cost your company big time.
By moving your documents to a digital format, you can keep them more secure and enjoy some added peace of mind. This is especially true if you opt for a document management system that enables user access, which allows you to control which employees have access to which files and documents for an added layer of security.
Free Up Square Footage
Physical copies of business documents take up valuable square footage that could be put to better use in other ways. If you’re ready to ditch those bulky filing cabinets and streamline organization in your office, upgrading to a document management system is the best way to do just that.
Choosing the Right Solution
Now that you understand the key benefits of using a document management system at your workplace, you may be wondering where to begin when it comes to selecting the right system for your organization’s needs and budget. There are a few specific things you’ll want to look for as you explore your options.
Easy Scalability
As your business grows, your document management system will need to as well. Make sure the option you select has the ability to scale and change as your company’s document storage needs do.
A Smooth Transition
Making the switch from paper-based document storage to digital storage can be daunting, especially if your business has years’ worth of files to convert. This is where taking the time to select a document management system that will be easy to implement will pay off big time.
User-Friendly Design
Your employees will need to be trained on how to use the new document management system, so a user-friendly and intuitive design will go a long way in cutting down on necessary training hours and errors. Ideally, you’ll want to see a full demonstration of any document management solution before you select it for your own company.
Security Features
Don’t forget to ask about specific safety features designed to keep your files and documents safe. If your files are being stored in a cloud-based server, make sure you know what security measures are being taken at the server’s data center to keep your files secure. Meanwhile, you’ll also want to look for features like automatic data back-ups and recovery services to give you some added peace of mind and protection.
The Bottom Line
The right document management system can really transform the way your business handles its document storage, freeing up valuable time for your employees and saving your organization money in the long run. The key is choosing a document management solution that best aligns with your company’s needs and goals not just now, but as your business grows and scales well into the future.
Ready to start exploring your options for document management systems? Contact DTS today! We’d be happy to walk you through what we have to offer and answer any questions you may have.