Everyone is talking about document management these days, but do you really know what it is and if it's right for your office?
In a nutshell, online document management systems allow users to store paper and electronic documents together in a centralized, web-based repository. In the past, document management was more of a 'nice-to-have' software tool, but now it's becoming a business imperative, because missing documents, slow response times and non-compliance with record retention and privacy regulations can make or break a company these days.
Still not sure? Here are five signs that your office might be ready for document management.
1. Your employees cannot answer customer questions while they are on the phone. A client calls in and asks for a copy of their contract. How long would it take you to find it? How long would it take you to e-mail (or worse yet, mail) a copy?
If your answer is more than five seconds, you need document management. By storing files online in an organized manner, you can quickly locate - using keywords or index values - the right document and then e-mail it out. All while the client is still on the phone.
2. You have lost business or potential clients because documents have been lost or 'slipped through the cracks.' Have you ever misplaced a copy of a signed contract? Or lost a customer's quote request? When businesses have a document management system, new paper coming into the office is typically scanned in right away, so there is no chance you could lose an important piece of information. Additionally, electronic documents can be added to the online repository to put all documents in a centralized location for easy retrieval.
3. You open a file folder and find no less than five copies of the same document. This happens all the time. In fact, some estimates say more than 80 percent of information found in an office is redundant or unnecessary information. By scanning in paperwork and labeling it, you can immediately tell if you have duplicate information or what version of a document is most recent and delete the rest.
4. There is no room to add additional employees, because files and file cabinets are everywhere. If you have so much paper in your office that you can't add staff or in some cases, you have to move to a new location to support your files, you need a web-based document management system.
Whether you start scanning in your old documents and whittle away at the piles or merely stop adding to the growing mountains of paperwork, document management can help you eliminate the files and file cabinets in your office.
5. You've had to move some documents to an off-site storage location. This is a biggie. If you or your staff have to physically get up and drive to an off-site location whenever you need a document, you REALLY, REALLY need a document management system. By scanning documents into your online file cabinet instead of putting them in banker's boxes and driving them to the record storage center, you'll be saving money and time by making the documents accessible from any computer with an Internet connection.
In a nutshell, online document management systems allow users to store paper and electronic documents together in a centralized, web-based repository. In the past, document management was more of a 'nice-to-have' software tool, but now it's becoming a business imperative, because missing documents, slow response times and non-compliance with record retention and privacy regulations can make or break a company these days.
Still not sure? Here are five signs that your office might be ready for document management.
1. Your employees cannot answer customer questions while they are on the phone. A client calls in and asks for a copy of their contract. How long would it take you to find it? How long would it take you to e-mail (or worse yet, mail) a copy?
If your answer is more than five seconds, you need document management. By storing files online in an organized manner, you can quickly locate - using keywords or index values - the right document and then e-mail it out. All while the client is still on the phone.
2. You have lost business or potential clients because documents have been lost or 'slipped through the cracks.' Have you ever misplaced a copy of a signed contract? Or lost a customer's quote request? When businesses have a document management system, new paper coming into the office is typically scanned in right away, so there is no chance you could lose an important piece of information. Additionally, electronic documents can be added to the online repository to put all documents in a centralized location for easy retrieval.
3. You open a file folder and find no less than five copies of the same document. This happens all the time. In fact, some estimates say more than 80 percent of information found in an office is redundant or unnecessary information. By scanning in paperwork and labeling it, you can immediately tell if you have duplicate information or what version of a document is most recent and delete the rest.
4. There is no room to add additional employees, because files and file cabinets are everywhere. If you have so much paper in your office that you can't add staff or in some cases, you have to move to a new location to support your files, you need a web-based document management system.
Whether you start scanning in your old documents and whittle away at the piles or merely stop adding to the growing mountains of paperwork, document management can help you eliminate the files and file cabinets in your office.
5. You've had to move some documents to an off-site storage location. This is a biggie. If you or your staff have to physically get up and drive to an off-site location whenever you need a document, you REALLY, REALLY need a document management system. By scanning documents into your online file cabinet instead of putting them in banker's boxes and driving them to the record storage center, you'll be saving money and time by making the documents accessible from any computer with an Internet connection.
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