Benefits of Implementing Electronic Document Management System

In any business organization, the document management system is one of the crucial parts of the core management processes. It ensures that all the documents are stored, managed and used properly by the authorized people and no unfair leverage of confidential information happens. However, the job is tougher than you think as there are countless documents to be managed, such as employee documents, client documents, official documents, licenses, property documents (office building) and banking documents etc. This is a very broad classification of the various types of documents and of course, there are many sub-categories in each one of them. So much so, that any SMB would have to allot a room to store them. The traditional filing and cabinet system crumbles down in such circumstances, especially when you have to find out a document dating back to a specific date and with specific particulars on an immediate basis.

Well, enough about the woes of the physical document storage and management. Let's talk about the solution now!

As the title of the post is self-explanatory, an electronic document management system is one commendable and reliable solution for managing, storing, processing, filing and accessing all types of documents as and when required.

Here, we explore the various benefits of using an electronic document management system to help our readers understand what makes it a reliable and robust solution for firms and business enterprises of all types and all scales. For finding the best electronic document management system you just need to do some research to analyze the industry leader in this sector.

Now, take a thorough read and bring more order and more optimization to your core business processes.

1. Version Control

One of the most challenging aspects of document management is controlling the version of the documents. One such document is the product specifications, which keep on changing from time to time and you have to store and manage them efficiently with dates and in the exact sequence of their inception. While it creates operational overload and confusion in the physical DMS (document management system), it is also highly probable to place them in the wrong order. An electronic DMS can solve this problem entirely via automated timestamps that are accurate to seconds in some cases.

2. Convenient Retrieval of Documents

An electronic DMS facilitates convenient retrieval of all the documents at any time. So, if you need a document dating a few years back, you can access it with just a few clicks that span over seconds. On the other hand, this process is lengthy and complicated in the offline DMS where it is highly probable to lose the old documents.

3. Authorized Access at all times

Maintaining authorized access to documents in the physical DMS is hard and effort-consuming. The person in charge has to ensure the safety of the key at all times and is vulnerable to various crimes, such as frauds, key compromise and loss of key results in entirely different chaos. On the other hand, the electronic DMS doesn't suffer from such problems. The documents are stored in electronic or digital forms and there are various levels of access that can be set by the software provider. You can access the documents based on the rights decided and perform only those operations that are allowed at your level. Further, the access is password protected and proper reports are generated to show the access times, modification time and fields modified by the user.

So, authorization is universal and absolute in this case.

4. Document Security

As access to the central repository of all documents requires stringent authorization and verification of identity, the documents are always secure and safe. This allows you to store and manage all types of confidential documents such as financial documents, client documents, invoices, and certificates etc. Business proposals, contracts and tenders are vulnerable to theft and security breaches. Having a robust electronic DMS allows you to ensure their safety and security at all times.

5. Improved Workflow

In every business organization, the documents move from one department to another and lead to the additional operational workload that is redundant and must be minimized. Furthermore, several persons are involved in this transfer and it is hard to maintain the confidentiality of the documents as well as to focus on the other important work. The speed of the entire process depends on the persons involved.

However, an electronic DMS overcomes all these issues and allows you to accomplish the task online, anywhere and at any time. This takes out the redundancy from the workflow and streamlines the operations.

6. Regulations and Compliances

Adhering to the government regulations and certificate standard compliances is a must. If not, you can land in hot soup and your business might even shut down. The compliance requirements are complex and are updated from time to time. An electronic DMS ensures compliance at all times via checklists, standard forms, and automated organization. Thus, your documents are always updated and ready to be used.

7. Reduced Operational and Management Cost

The paper-based DMS consumes many resources, such as paper, ink, cabinets, filing systems, colors, stickers, and robust termite-resistant storage that needs proper cleaning from time to time. Further, a number of people's resources are also employed in the entire process. This amounts to operational and management overheads.

While the resources are also consumed by the electronic DMS, such as the computers, storage, and system management staff, these resources are not additional and are inherent or pre-built in every business organization. Hence, the operational and management costs are reduced.

Further, they are green, don't generate paper or electronic waste, such as printer cartridges etc.
Hence, an electronic DMS is a reliable, efficient and smart solution to all your document management tasks.

We hope that all our readers find this post helpful. For more information or to start your migration to the electronic DMS, please schedule your demo today with DocuSign.