Running a Business: Setting Up a Document Management System

Do You Have A Comprehensive Document Management System for Your Business?

When you ask an employee for a bank record or a phone bill, do they know how to find it easily? Thomas huckabee, CPA knows the importance of keeping a filing system in order to help you find important documents like bank statements from 3 years ago. If for some reason you were to run into a situation that would require your business to provide this information, getting it from the bank would cost you about $1000 because the bank archives this information and it’s not easily accessible. This is why we recommend setting up a document management system that will allow you to retrieve important information about your business should you need to access it a few years in the future.

By setting up a record and document management system, you will increase your productivity and improve your record keeping. Setting up a document management system involves a couple of key steps; create a plan to manage documents, set it up, document the guidelines for using the system, and train your employees.

One of the first things you need to figure out is what guidelines will apply to different types of documents. By figuring out how documents will be treated or filed, you will be on your way  to begin getting organized. Businesses accumulate a variety of paperwork; on one hand, you have bills and invoices and on the other hand you may have templates or frequently used items that will help your staff produce everyday business documents.

How do you get documents uploaded into the system?    

In many systems, there are several ways to add files, including by uploading them from your computer and by scanning paper documents directly into the system.

“Nowadays, scanning takes just seconds, and if you get the right technology package, you can automatically create editable, keyword-searchable files in a universal format, like PDF, while you scan,” said Thomas Huckabee CPA.

If you’re a small business, setting up one main folder to handle all documents might be the easiest way to get started. Under this folder, you may then set up subfolders such as bills, templates, client documents, internal communications, and other documents important to your business. Since bank statements, phone bills and other bills are now paperless and easy to download, then it’s easier to move toward an electronic file and document management system..

Is your company drowning in a sea of documents? Larger companies may have an internal document management system that may have become complex through the years. When files are not stored in a central location, the result is often poor organization, mismanaged files and lost productivity.  If finding a document takes hours, and you’re having to go through several systems, it’s time to update your document management system. There are a few third party software document management systems for enterprise that allow you to easily search for, save, and collaborate on documents with an easy user interface. Some systems allow you to manage and control document preservation, archival and deletion schedules.

Storing documents

When considering how you are going to access your electronic files, you may run into a few questions: Where will you store them? How will you retrieve them? Will the documents be secure from hacking? Luckily, due to the rise in cloud technology, it is easier now, more than ever to obtain secure, 24-7 web access to your important business files. The benefits of hosting documents in the cloud include  access from anywhere at any time, lower up-front costs, files and documents are automatically saved in the cloud. Cloud storage also allows your employees to easily collaborate and access documents, especially in a office-free work-from-home business culture or while your sales staff is traveling.

Popular cloud storage services include Google Drive, dropbox, amazon drive cloud storage, box, and more sophisticated systems like M-files for enterprise document sharing and management. Whatever solution you choose, make sure to document it and make folders accessible to your staff.

Train your staff on your filing system.

Once you’ve set up a system, make sure to document your system.. This way, when you have new staff, you are able to train them and they are in turn able to train the next employees. You and your employees time is best spent on helping you run your business, not on tracking down documents.

Enterprise Document Management Systems        

An enterprise level document management system like Box or other solutions can use a collection of technologies or custom apps that integrate with each other to provide a comprehensive secure file sharing solution for managing the creation, capture, indexing, storage, sharing retrieval, and disposition of records and information assets of the total organization.

Running a business is made easier by the processes you implement.  

A company’s financial state is affected by many elements that initially seem to have nothing to do with money. Poor time management, stress, and subsequent missing document errors can be costly items that hurt businesses and undermine other efforts made to strengthen their financial standing. Setting up business processes efficiently will help you and your staff be more productive and will eventually allow you to make more money. This is why it is important to understand what a comprehensive file management system integration is and how to best leverage it for your san Diego small business.

Does your company have a comprehensive document management system in place? If not feel free to contact us for consultaion to discuss you companies need and option that avaliable.