According to a report by Mckinsey & Company, working smartly by automating work could raise global productivity by 0.8 to 1.4% annually. And in today’s fast-paced world, businesses will only survive if they work smarter. Manually filing papers is not smart work. Not only is it stressful, but it also reduces productivity. Employees can spend hours searching for appropriate files and documents, and many documents could be misplaced in the process. Unfortunately, despite all these lapses, many businesses still use manual filing systems today. This is especially true for small businesses that believe they need to scale to go digital. But the first thing every business needs to know is that document management is an effective system for all kinds of businesses. It doesn’t matter the size or industry; you would be better off filing your documents digitally through an effective document management system.
What Is Document Management?
Document management is the process of creating, saving, updating, sharing, locating, and tracking documents digitally or electronically. It is basically all the necessary activities required to create, save, and find a document.
Manually, document management would require paperwork and files. However, with technological advancements, all the processes required to create and use a document can be done electronically and more efficiently. This way, you can find documents easily, collaborate on them in real-time, and share them without hassle.
But in case you still need convincing, here are the benefits of document management to your business.
Benefits of Document Management
It would be hard to pinpoint which benefit of digital document management system is the best. There are eight main benefits, and each company can reap the most benefits from at least a few of them.
Increased Productivity
Document management increases your business productivity because you can do more in less time. You can automate your processes without spending so much time and energy handling them manually.
For instance, you can duplicate a whole document without writing them out all over again. And you can copy and paste parts of one document to another document within seconds. All these would be difficult with a manual filing system.
Increased Speed and Accuracy
As established earlier, you can do more in a short time with document management. The time spent will be greatly reduced when you manage your documents digitally than when working manually. You would be able to complete tasks in minutes that would have otherwise taken hours.
Besides that, document management also ensures accuracy. There is always room for human error when you are dealing with a lot of documents manually. This is because the work can be really tedious and overwhelming, but also because humans are subject to mistakes. There is also the issue of proofreading through papers; mistakes can accidentally pass through the human eye.
But all these can be avoided when you manage your documents digitally. Computed processes are less subject to errors as you have several features to help ensure accuracy.
For instance, you can use spelling checkers on digital documents to speedily correct errors instead of browsing through every document yourself. And you can automate calculations of several numbers within seconds online.
More Secure Documents
If you file manually, your documents are subject to theft, loss, and damage. Important paperwork can be easily stolen or damaged by a fire outbreak, leading to issues in your business.
But digitally, you are more assured of securing your documents without fear. You can find documents saved years ago by searching for them by what it is saved or even by using keywords. You also don’t fear losing documents to a fire outbreak.
Apart from that, you can restrict access to only the parties that should have access to the document. That way, you can protect your document from unauthorized parties. This is unlike a cabinet that can be broken into.
Easy Access
You can access your documents anytime, anywhere, and across different devices. Documents saved electronically are usually synced across devices accessed by collaborators’ email addresses.
So once you are signed in on any device, you can have access by simply searching out the document. With paperwork, it is not as easy as you might have to look through several files and papers to find the exact document you are looking for.
Collaborate on Documents
Collaboration becomes easier with document management. And with the online process, you can do it simultaneously and in real-time. Different collaborators can save time on a project by preparing the document together without waiting for one to be done with the document if there is no need to.
That way, businesses can have fewer issues with bureaucracy and implementing policies as documents can be prepared faster.
Track Changes and Updates
Documents saved on the cloud can be tracked easily. Apart from updating the documents, you can also track the changes on them and identify who made what changes.
Plus, you can restore a particular version if the most recent is unacceptable.
Reduced Cost
You would save much money with electronic management compared to manual documentation. The average cost of 500 sheets of A4 paper on Amazon is about $9. Now, consider that with the number of sheets a business would need every month, not to mention those that would be discarded because they are damaged.
All that would be greatly reduced with a virtual document management system.
Contributes to Protecting the Environment
More papers mean cutting more trees, and fewer papers mean cutting fewer trees. So, by going paperless, your company would reduce its carbon footprint, and you would be contributing to saving the environment.
It’s Time to Go Paperless
With all the benefits of using a digital document management system highlighted above, you can see that your best bet at improved productivity is going paperless. However, you must also ensure the best system for your business needs, as there would be no point if your system is not the right fit for you.
Luckily, businesses in the Sacramento area do not need to stress finding the right vendor. Buckmaster has proven to be an effective document management service for businesses over the years. Contact Buckmaster today to start your journey to a paperless and more productive world.