Is your business ready for document management?

Tired of sifting through filing cabinets, desk drawers and office storage rooms to find the documents you’re looking for? The trend towards a paperless office is stronger than ever, and a document management system is the best way to get there. Whether you’re a large corporation with thousands of physical documents or a small business looking to improve your document retrieval process, a document management system can help you achieve your organizational goals.

Let's take a look at the various ways a document management system can help grow your organization.

What is a document management system?

Simply put, a document management system (DMS) makes it possible to more efficiently store, organize, search, share, and distribute many types of documents throughout your organization. 

A DMS can be seamlessly integrated into regular workflows. This provides users access to tools and automated processes that make creating and converting documents less time-consuming and more reliable. A DMS also helps carve a path to faster and easier collaboration within those documents, storing and accessing files, and securing and verifying these documents.

What are the benefits of using a document management system?

When you use the right document management system you can automate document processes, saving you and your employees valuable time, as well as helping you clear and declutter existing physical and digital storage spaces. A document management system provides many benefits for businesses.

• Simplifies remote work. Paper can’t move from one home office to another at the speed you need it to. Files stored locally on PCs must be found, emailed, or uploaded to be shared. Working in this way minimizes productivity for everyone. Those sharing the file need to interrupt what they are doing while those needing the file must wait. Document management systems eliminate this problem. The file resides in a single, secured repository anyone can reach from anywhere, meaning no more waiting and fewer interruptions.
• Increases productivity. Whether your people work in the office, at the home office, or on the road, everyone can access the files they need, when they need them. Productivity isn’t just about getting more work done though. Sales representatives can get the answers they need while in front of a customer, speeding up the sales process. Automated workflows can accelerate processes like AP, increasing the speed by which you get paid.
• Improves workplace safety. Digital documents eliminate the need to move physical paper, creating touchless document sharing. They also make it much easier to implement a hybrid workplace with a mix of remote and on-site employees.
• Reduces paper usage. You will likely still receive paper documents and may need to print some too, but the bulk of office printing will decrease as a single digital document can serve the entire company. When everyone has access, there is much less need to create copies. And new documents can be printed directly into the system, for immediate use and access by everyone who needs to use it.

How can document management systems help my organization shift to a paperless or mostly paperless format?

Nowadays, most documentation exists digitally and without a physical paper trail. In fact, many companies and organizations are moving to completely paperless formats or trying to move in that direction. By going paperless or nearly paperless, they are significantly eliminating waste and cost and reducing their carbon footprint as well as adding extra layers of security to their digital files. From cloud storage services to email messages, a quality document management system acts as a control center for all documents within your network and across all devices.

The movement away from paper documents, rows of filing folders, and traditional paper filing cabinets towards digital document files and cloud storage solutions such as Google Drive allows your company to store thousands of electronic documents and digital files without sacrificing storage spaces and office space. Document tracking should be a breeze for both document creators and new hires.

How can document management allow me to expand accessibility features for my employees, clients, and other users?

Electronic document management also allows you to broaden accessibility and assistive features for your customers and employees, particularly seizure-prone users or users who have cognitive disabilities or visual impairments. When a user sets up an accessibility interface or accessibility profile, it helps your content meet compliance requirements due to the easily changeable nature of digital files. 

With a physical document, you might encounter risky color combinations that make it harder to read for users with sight impairments. With digital types of documents, you can enable access to documents from mobile devices and allow key features such as effective document management, content management, and blind user accessibility. 

This gives your organization a major leg-up in your industry because you can create different versions of documents to cater to the needs of many different people.

If your current document management system does not allow you to meet requirements for your users who have visual impairments or cognitive disabilities, you definitely need to look into another document management system. With the right solution for your organization, you and your users should be able to access documents, no matter the situation.

How can the right document management system allow me and my organization to retrieve documents faster and increase security?

Cloud-based software allows for the central storage of thousands of documents, which leads to better customer service and faster document retrieval. Gone are the days of endless file cabinets, file folders, and losing key documents. Moving from paper files to digital document storage such as Google Docs lowers costs, allows for more control and faster document creation, and improves document security. Paper documents lack advanced features that enable strict security, access controls, and password protection. The benefits of document management systems pay for themselves in a short amount of time, far outweighing the initial cost.

How can the right document management system help my company lower its costs?

When your organization uses the correct document management software, you will see a decrease in overall cost. With the right paperless document management system, you maintain control over your business documents while increasing your cost efficiency. Any additional costs that your organization used to spend on duplicate paper copies are gone, which positively impacts your entire organization. Using the best document management process for your organization will allow you to oversee all company documents, change your entire content library in a snap and effectively manage electronic files and other digital content.

What are some other factors my company should consider when choosing a document management system?

In order to pick the best document management system for your company's needs, you need to evaluate your budget, document use, and needs. When looking at implementing a new document management system, you need to look at what is and is not included. For example, is support included free or is it billed hourly? Does the document management solution make use of your existing hardware or do they expect you to foot the bill for brand new equipment? It's important to ask questions before you sign on the dotted line.

How can Milner help my organization meet its document management system needs?

Milner has helped automate the burden of document processing and organization for thousands of companies in a number of industries. Our document management systems leverage the latest technology processes for capturing unstructured content in any form. To see if your organization is ready to implement document management, take our free self-assessment or you can talk to an expert today. We will be more than happy to answer any questions you have about document management, how they can save you money, and keep your organization ahead of the competition.