Digitize the Stress Away with Document Management

There are a lot issues that businesses face, but few can be as frustrating misplacing a document that you need. When a manufacturer’s billing department has two versions of a customer’s receipts or a school’s records department has to dig through years of boxes of paperwork to find a student’s records, that's time wasted that could be eliminated. Did you know that the time spent digging for a document is also costing you money?

That’s right, productivity does cost! It's a cost that can't be seen but has a detrimental effect on the success of any business. When you throw in the security risks involved with access to these documents the idea of managing documents electronically becomes a no-brainer.

However, the issue becomes more complex than just going digital with how you manage and store your documents. Some companies can even mismanage their documents electronically too. The exact same problems associated with paper roll over into the digital realm. If you do decide to go digital with your documents, it's important that you put proper planning in motion. The use of personal files, USB drives, or email as your way of managing your documents can be as ineffective as the paperwork piling up on your desk.

When you think about how Document Management (ECM) could help your business, ask yourself these questions:

• Do your current document workflows consist of paper being pushed throughout the office?
• Are you aware of any industry-specific risks or regulations associated with the security of your documents?
• Are your employees certain they have the most current versions of their documents?
• How much time does your staff spend attempting to access paper documents and do you know who is accessing them?
• Do you know what the exact cost associated with storing your documents in paper format and what the potential loss of those documents would cause?
• What types of documents are your employees scanning and do you know where they are scanning to?

When considering Document Management, you should be thinking about the costs and risks you cannot see:

• Potential fines for being out of compliance
• Document workflow interruptions
• Lost or stolen paperwork
• Cost of paper and storage
• Suffering a blow from a breach of information
• Productivity costs due to filing, assessing, and editing documents
• Natural disasters (think about fire sprinklers too!)
• Miscommunication between your departments

It’s almost unheard of today that a business would be operating without any insurance for its building and its employees. Why wouldn’t you do the same for your business's documents? Fortunately, there are many options that can be customized for just about every business. If any of these problems ring true to your organization, the document management experts at SumnerOne are here to help.

Originally published June 19, 2018, updated May 6, 2019