We have said it many times and we’ll say it again, “Startups already have too much to worry about, they shouldn’t have to worry about managing their documents”.
As someone managing or working at a startup, you already have a lot on your plate. One minute you are creating social media posts & the next you are designing a pitch to showcase during the investor meet. Hence, managing documents should be the absolute last thing in your daily schedule.
But as most of you already know, documents are very important for businesses. And improper management of documents can result in heavy losses for the company. So, the best thing a startup can do is employ a good document management system for managing their documents. A document management system or document management software (DMS) lets you perform all document management functions like scanning, classifying, storing, tracking, retrieving & protecting documents, under one roof. Document management systems use process automation to reduce document handling costs and improve efficiency & productivity. Here are a few more reasons why your startup should invest in a quality document management system.
5 reasons why startups should invest in a document management system
Central Repository
How many hours would you take to dress up if all your different clothing items were stored in different closets or rooms? That’s the same with documents. The primary reason why people take hours finding documents is because they are stored in a thousand different locations like internal drives, external drives, emails, Google docs & more. A document management system simplifies this problem by acting as a single universal repository of all business documents. Plus, document software like SOHODOX & Microsoft Suite also provides multi-format file support for document formats like doc, xls, pdf & more, allowing you to directly view Microsoft Office & Adobe files within the system. A central repository of documents doesn’t just reduce document retrieval time, it also reduces the chances of misfiling & losing documents.
More Features
A simple document editing or storing system will not have the kind of features that have become a mainstay in the current business world. Such features include private folders, Dropbox integration, email capture & more. Whereas, most document management systems provide these essential features within their basic subscription plan itself. Some other exclusive document management system features include full-text search, optical character recognition (OCR), document linking, tagging, etc.
Automation
Document management systems are designed to reduce your work. But how do they do that? Through process automation. Let’s say your job is to manually extract key data from incoming invoices like client name, amount, date, payment status, etc, and store it in an excel sheet for further review. A document management system with built-in Zone OCR automatically indexes every incoming document for this information and stores it in the indexing field, allowing you to access it anytime. Some other document processes that can be automated by document management systems include document imports, archival, disposal & more.
Secure Sharing
Being able to share documents only with the intended audience is a critical aspect of every business. This is called secure sharing. Secure sharing restricts information from falling into the wrong hands and protects against thefts & leaks. One way of securing information sharing is by having a user ID-based login. A user login process ensures every user logs in to their respective accounts and restricts them from accessing information meant for other accounts. Another way of protecting documents is by using private folders. Think of private folders as a vault. Only people with a key or access code can access a locked vault. Similarly, only people assigned access to private folders can access them, thereby protecting the information it contains from other users.
Tracking
Document tracking refers to tracking every activity undertaken on the document like when the document was created, accessed, edited, shared or deleted, and by whom. Document tracking is a critical component of compliance filings & audits. Most industry compliances like ISO 9001, HIPAA & GDPR require you to submit document activity to ensure their authenticity. Document activity is also mandatory to be presented during tax audits to show that the documents haven’t been edited or tampered with. In some cases, document activity also acts as evidence during conflict resolutions & payment delays.
Final Words
Document management systems improve business operations by reducing documentation delays and improving client satisfaction.
Investing, learning & getting used to a document management system can be time-consuming & tedious, but it is worth every minute you will save once you are able to use the software to its full potential. So, go online, research some good document management systems, subscribe to the one you think is best for your business and get digitizing.
