A Document Management System or DMS is set of standardized practices that involve controlling the creation/authentication of documents, managing the storage of records in a manner that aids simplified and specific retrieval, exercising version control of records, ensuring the safety of documents, ensuring the recovery of documents, and establishing the policies concerning archival.
A DMS, back in the day, was a manual system that relied on manmade and man-managed processes. However, thanks to technology, we have eDMS today. eDMS stands for Electronic Document Management System.
An Electronic Document Management System offers significant advantages compared to a manual system. Let’s look at some of these advantages.
Improved Collaboration Among Employees
A DMS solution allows employees to share, access, view and change files seamlessly. Apart from that, the system enables management teams to identify the current owner of a document or who might be reviewing and approving the report.
DMS solutions can also help reduce the number of emails employees receive and send out concerning updates. Typically, this process can be time-consuming and a hindrance to real productivity. However, with the ability to collaborate, it becomes easier for employees to update documents that are in-progress.
By making documents available as and when required, data management solutions boost productivity.
Another significant advantage is that time and geographical barriers do not inhibit employees. A DMS solution allows remote access, which means collaboration can be achieved at any time and from any location.
Enhanced Security
Security is a significant concern for businesses today an this is where an off-site, cloud-based eDMS solution stands out. Most cloud DMS providers offer advanced security features that can prevent most forms of cyber-attack.
Needless to say, this allows your business to operate in peace. You also have reliable backups of your documents in place, which can come in handy in the event of a disaster.
You can also establish controlled access for specific employees, which ensures that data isn’t access without authorization. In the case of IP theft, you will gain the ability to trace the people who have gained unauthorized access by looking at timestamps, audit trails, and document custody data.
Easy Retrieval
One of the biggest challenges with manual data management is easy retrieval. Not being able to retrieve data on time can prove to be a significant problem. According to a study conducted by PWC, there are significant costs associated with traditional methods of document retrieval.
The study found that it costs about $20 for filing a document and $120 to see a misfield one. It requires much more to refile a missing document.
Businesses spend $20 on labor for filing a single document and $120 on work for finding a misfiled one; around $220 on labor for refiling a lost document.
An estimated 7.5% of documents go missing on average. 3% of the remaining documents go misfiled.
Professionals spend more time looking for documents than reading the information – 50% as opposed to 5%.
You Save Paper Costs
When it comes to manual documentation, you’ll find yourself spending most of your money on paper. Paper is an expensive utility. Today, technology diminishes the need for paper, and that’s in line with other demands, such as a sustainable operation.
Plus, managing paper documents is a complex process that requires significant investments of time and money. You’ll be needing an entire team purely meant for this process.
An electronic DMS solution overcomes all these challenges with ease. You can create and store documents digitally, making them accessible at any time and from anywhere.
Regulatory Compliance
A DMS solution also helps you avoid trouble in terms of regulatory compliance. We all know how much of a challenge regulatory compliance can be. It’s one of the most significant challenges and one that can put you in serious trouble if you don’t follow the rules.
Government regulation demands that your data is compiled and maintained in a particular fashion, which included documentation. A data management solution can help you adhere to the complex requirements that come with data security compliance.
DMS solutions provide features, such as standard forms, checklists, and automatic organization.
Intangible Benefits
There are certain intangible benefits as well, such as improved client relations, peace of mind, flexibility, and competitiveness. Such intangible benefits allow us to save time and protect the reputation of the business.
For instance, efficient document retrieval can boost your relationship with clients and save time. This is great for your brand image. Also, it can help with improving staff morale as well. Employees don’t want to work in organizations that make life harder than it has to be.
So, to conclude, a DMS solution that is specific to your business can prove to be very useful. Depending on the exact configuration, you can retrieve files with ease (even retrieve particular bits of information within the document), apply index categories to your folders and files, achieve easier integrations with the rest of your business applications, and access your documents remotely.
On the whole, you can make processes much smoother and drastically increase productivity levels, which, in turn, helps boost the bottom line.
For our Document Management and Electronic Billing, Contact Us at Dovetail!