Data and keeping track of key documents are essential to businesses as turning a profit or breaking even is. Records are kept of clients and transactions, as soon as the business came into being, and more records are being made every day, replacing, overwriting the old ones. Maintaining these records while constantly adjusting the newly made ones, can prove to be quite a conundrum. A virtual copy of all the records of different files and documents is kept not only to promote virtualization but to also create a digital record along with its physical counterpart.
Keeping track of the documents being created in the shape of records, while managing the previous one requires using a document management system. While a document management system takes care of your electronic documents by organizing, storing, tracking, and managing them, some companies might be reluctant to rely on them. Some reasons could either be the complexity of the document management system, the additional costs, or the size of the company may seem to be too small to invest in such a system. Regardless of the size of the company, there are many indications that a Document management system is required that companies might not be aware of, and some of the prime reasons for having a DMS are stated below:
Faster Retrieval
Retrieving a specific document from a bundle of hundreds or thousands of documents under the same keyword can be very time-consuming along with being impossible in some circumstances. One of the primary objectives of using a Document management system is to retrieve a document as quickly and conveniently as possible.
Boosting Workflow
The constant demand for sharing certain documents, while retrieving some of them along with deleting or updating the old ones can be quite a hassle without a Document management system at work. DMS improves the overall workflow, by increasing communication. It transfers documents from person to person, department to department, and even to third parties.
Maintaining Document Security
A company’s documents contain sensitive data, whether it is about their investments, the clients’ information, secret formulas, plans, or employees’ personal information. If this data were to fall into the hands of any unauthorized personnel, then the company can face a great loss. To ensure full security, a DMS only gives access to the authorized employees; this mitigates any frauds & scandals from happening.
Regulatory Compliances
Any business entity is obligated by law to maintain certain documents, if these documents or if the record of these documents is misplaced or compromised anyhow, the company will suffer dire consequences, even being forced to shut down. The requirements stated by the government can be very complex and require high maintenance, such as provided by a document management system.
Cost reduction
Maintaining a high volume of documents either physically or virtually requires a lot of aftercare, making it quite expensive to manage. Looking at a physical record, maintenance demands a room, cabinet, paperwork, ink, files, paper, and the cost associated with physical labor and the fixed costs of the room. Storing data digitally isn’t free of cost either, computers, storage devices, and system administrative costs make DMS a cheap and effective solution.
Version Control
A single document can be updated multiple times, having a new version of the updated document helps in differentiating it from the previous and helps in keeping a record of the changes being made as well. However, multiple versions of different documents exist, making it hard to identify the one needed at that particular time, DMS ensures version control, making it the most effective solution to your problems.
Competitive Edge
A document management system also gives companies a competitive edge in the market as human resources that were previously ordered to maintain records can better invest their time for the betterment of the company. Also, mitigating any losses that might have occurred by the traditional record-keeping
Faster Updating
Documents being modified while using the document management system can be organized according to their modification date, along with being allocated separate tags, such as “removed by” or “achieved by” by their respective dates.
Digital Storage and Signatures
The documents being modified or stored under the DMS can be authorized by containing a digital signature, enabling it to be an authenticated document. It can be stored separately from the regular documents as well. This eliminates the need for keeping a physical record of the Government or company-issued official documents.
Collaboration
Document management system comes with a special built-in feature that allows multiple users to work on a single document at a single time. This feature comes with the tag “Check-Ins” and “Check-Outs,” it also mitigates the user from overwriting on the other users’ data while simultaneously editing the document. It also allows the document to be forwarded while being edited, for evaluation, making DMS the perfect program to handle all your documents.
