WHY SHOULD MY ORGANIZATION CARE ABOUT DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE?
Streamlining business processes and increasing efficiency are fundamental concerns for any organization, regardless of its size or industry. By implementing document management software, business owners can realize many benefits that noticeably improve organizational efficiency.
Document management software revolutionizes the management of information, making it possible to:
- Manage millions of documents and retrieve the right one in seconds
- Share documents with colleagues while protecting confidential information
- Automate time-consuming manual processes
- Access documents on your smartphone or tablet while you’re away from your desk
- Back up files and records for disaster recovery
What Does Document Management Software Do?
The document management process begins with the conversion of paper documents, forms and records to electronic files. Conversion eliminates many of the obstacles created by paper: labor-intensive duplication procedures, slow distribution, misplaced originals and the inconvenience of retrieving files from off-site storage. Document management systems are software applications that capture paper documents and a variety of electronic files while providing for the storage, retrieval, security and archiving of these documents. All document management systems should have five basic components:
- Capture tools to bring information into the system
- Desktop, web and mobile apps that make documents easy to locate and edit
- Folder structures to organize, store and archive documents
- Workflow functionality that automates tedious manual processes like filing and approval
- Security functionality to protect documents from unauthorized access or modification
How Can Document Management Software Save Time?
A recent PwC study reports that the average worker spends 40% of their time managing non-essential documents. In addition, IDC estimates that employees spend 20% of their day looking for information in hardcopy documents and that, 50% of the time, they can’t find what they need. Document management software can help you save time by:
- Answering information requests from clients, citizens and auditors immediately, eliminating call-backs and phone tag
- Cutting time spent copying and distributing documents to staff, branch offices and outside contacts
- Eliminating lost documents that must be recreated and refiled—and spending less time filing them once they’re found
By implementing a document management solution, you stop spending your time handling paper and start spending your time doing what you do best—serving your clients, citizens and students.
How Can Document Management Software Help Improve Efficiency?
Every organization relies on repetitive tasks to accomplish business goals. And when you put the right information in the right hands at the right time, staff can make better decisions about issues that impact your organization’s bottom line. When it comes to document-based processes like contract renewal, hiring, and invoice approval, there are many ways a document management system can help your organization work faster and more effectively. Document management software can help your organization increase efficiency with business process automation tools that:
- Eliminate manual data entry, document naming and document filing
- Provide staff with information they need to quickly make decisions
- Alerts managers about employee action and inaction
How Can Document Management Software Help Me Be More Productive?
Estimates show that a typical worker will take 12 minutes to process a single document. Nine of these 12 minutes are spent searching for, retrieving and refiling the document—meaning that only three minutes are spent actually using the information they’ve found. This process, with its manual searching, faxing, photocopying and hand distribution, is costly and time-consuming. Its inefficiencies divert your staff from the crucial business of making productive use of the information. A quality document management solution doesn’t treat your valued staff as stations along an assembly line, but as responsible workers whose time is better spent on more productive tasks than making copies. Document management software helps increase productivity by:
- Making unstructured data (e.g. documents, emails, photographs, etc) accessible, searchable, available and relevant
- Providing the right information at the right time, making sure that no information is overlooked
- Enabling employees to share documents quickly and securely with clients
Your organization generates large amounts of paper and electronic documents. Traditional methods of storing paper and electronic records require a great deal of effort to manage, distribute and find those documents. As your business grows, so do files, and so does the time and effort required to manage them. Document management software simplifies business processes by allowing instant access to information, greater collaboration within and among departments and offices and enhanced security for files and records.
Learn how document management software can help your organization recapture lost hours, reduce overhead expenses and increase profitability.
Written by Melissa Henley, Laserfiche Originally posted: https://www.laserfiche.com/ecmblog/the-beginners-guide-to-document-management-software/ 
