5 Reasons to Use an Electronic Document Management System
Published: 23/07/2020
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We want to discuss the key benefits companies get when digitalising their documents. Moving to an electronic document management system is the first step in initiating the process of digital transformation. If you’re a business owner looking to innovate, in this article, we will explain why this is the best starting point.
Do you still run most of your business admin work in a traditional way? Physical contracts, multiple versions of proposals, copies of employee documentation - all nine yards. If you largely depend on a paper-based system, here’s your sign to abandon it today. Upgrading to an electronic, paperless setup can bring a multitude of benefits to your company.
Going digital is proven to help boost the efficiency of a business. In a highly competitive environment, it helps to make sure you don’t get left behind while your competition marches forward. Trust us: you’ll wonder why you didn’t upgrade sooner. Let’s take a look at just some of the many advantages of moving document management online.
Often referred to as EDMS, an electronic document management system is a software dedicated to storing and organising digital versions of documents. Here is what makes it useful to business:
Minimisation of physical clutter
Better accessibility
Amplified security
Easier navigation
Team management
Below, let’s look into each of these benefits in greater detail.
On a practical level, removing paperwork from the office can save tonnes of space. Space that’s costing you in rent. Freeing it up will allow you to utilise it in a way that drives productivity and better performance. For instance, by adding desks to accommodate more employees or creating breakout spaces for your staff to help support their well-being while at work.
And speaking of your people, no one wants to work in an office that looks like it’s stuck in the early noughties. Get rid of those bulky cabinets and your workspace will become a more spacious and inviting place to work and visit. It has also been proven that decluttering the workspace can improve overall performance and drive productivity. In other words, something as simple as a clean-up can give your business a massive boost.
The rise of flexible and remote working means that many businesses rarely find themselves with a fully staffed office anymore. Though flexible working is closely linked with increased productivity, this can cause complications. For example, if a remote worker is in possession of documents that are urgently needed in the office. With an electronic document management system, there’s no risk of this happening.
Authorised people can simply log in to access the necessary documents anytime, anywhere. As long as they have internet access. This also facilitates greater collaboration and flexibility. With permissions, employees are able to upload their own documents into the electronic system, cutting out the middleman and making for a more efficient system.
Documents often contain sensitive information about policies, processes and people. By storing them on a secure platform online, you can restrict and better control who has access to them. A note on this, though. It’s vital that you pick a respected and recognised platform that takes security seriously.
As well as improving security, storing documents online means they’ll be protected in the event of a fire, flood or other disasters. These are, of course, rare circumstances but knowing that all of your key documents are safe should give you that extra peace of mind. Depending on the software, you may be able to recover certain versions of a document. That could come in handy if changes were made to a document that weren’t authorised or meant to happen.
The biggest shortcoming of physical documentation is that it can be time-consuming to find the one file you need. Depending on the volume of the files it’s buried within, it may be as effective as trying to retrieve a needle from a stack of hay. Given there are situations when a specific document needs to be found instantly, this can downright endanger and not just inconvenience your business.
Centralised digital file storage allows you to find the document you’re after within seconds. All you have to do is either type its name or some of the content unique to it. Quicker accessibility to documentation and knowledge will allow you to become swifter in decision-making as you won’t waste time looking for relevant files.
Having an electronic document system in place makes it easier to onboard new staff. Be they full-time workers on contractors. Instead of dealing with bureaucracy and admin work, they are required to upload their documentation straight into the server, with no additional steps in between. When combined with an onboarding system, it can also be set to automatically pinpoint which documents have been uploaded and which are still missing.
Further down the line, an electronic document management system will also help you ensure the documentation is up to date and in accordance with regulations. This is a particularly handy feature if your employees are required to have certificates to work. Using this approach to document storage will keep you aware of when the said certificates are expiring, ensuring the employees have time to renew them.
There are many reasons why you should store your documents on a cloud-based EDMS, ranging from accessibility to security. Although we have only listed the top five reasons to convey the benefit of digitalising document storage, there are many more. In fact, there is no reason why should this approach not be used.
Centralised digital storage can also be easily integrated with other solutions, streamlining your processes only further. For example, in recruitment, this is a handy tool to integrate with a candidate tracking app. At Timesheet Portal, we integrate ours with an e-signing platform, meaning you can sign the documents can be signed right inside the platform.
The sky is the limit. Curious what else can you do for the remaining list of benefits? Give us a call.