MSPNetworks Blog

Every person has documents that they need access to, so it stands to reason that a business has hundreds. If you and your staff are tired of sifting through dingy file cabinets to find that the document that should be in a certain place, isn’t, considering a document management system may be right for you. Today we will give you five good reasons why moving to document management can be a benefit for your business. 

#1. Cost per Square Foot - Business space can get pretty pricey. The more physical documents you have, the more space you need to file them away. If you have a small business, you may not need a lot of space to do business, but the longer you are in business, however, the more documents you accrue. Installing a document management system--a software-based system that provides the ability to scan and store physical documents so they can be stored digitally--can really cut down on the amount of space you need. It gives you the ability to store your hard copies in a less expensive location, while still having access to the document and its contents.

#2. On Lock Down - Document management provides the ability to better secure your documents. You may think access to physical information would be more limited than in a digital environment, but costs to secure physical space are far greater. Any solid DMS will allow you to control documents at the folder level, providing a level of access control that’s on par with a typical business physical security system. More than that, documents inside a DMS have an associated audit trail, giving administrators the transparency needed to manage system security.

#3. Access and Speed - The time it takes to file and find physical documents costs businesses a lot of capital. In fact, according to one study it costs upwards of $20 for organizations to file a single paper document and those costs increase substantially if the file is mismanaged in some way. With fast, reliable access to all of your documents, the ability to print documents in seconds, and the ease of use of most DMS platforms, your business moves faster and saves money.

#4. Better Collaboration - Solid collaboration is one of the keys to building a successful business. With a DMS, sharing information is much easier. There’s no one trying to thumb through 50 folders trying to find a receipt. The receipt is there within seconds, and there is nothing to refile!

#5. Regulatory Compliance - Almost every business has to deal with some type of regulatory compliance standard that’s there for a reason, but seems to hinder progress. With a DMS, your organization can reduce the risk of non-compliance, even for the most complex regulations. Avoid the headaches (and possible expense) from fines and other penalties, as much of the reporting can be automated and secured through the DMS.

When you consider these benefits, and others, switching to a software-based DMS might just be right for your business. To talk to one of our consultants about the prospect of outfitting your business with document management, call MSPNetworks today at (516) 403-9001.

Consider for a moment how many documents are floating around your business at any given point. Memos, notes, invoices, receipts, and whatever else you happen to accumulate in the course of business, all floating around the office. This isn’t a great approach, and unfortunately, the classic solution for this, the filing cabinet, isn’t the most effective solution anymore.

However, there are now alternatives to the classic filing cabinet and other now-antiquated document management options that are much better suited to the needs of the modern office. In fact, these solutions are what enable businesses today to effectively go paperless.

As printing has become a more costly endeavor, its associated expenses have begun to absorb a larger piece of a budgetary pie chart. Between the costs of the printers and other hardware components themselves, the materials they use up as they operate, and the costs associated with your staff filing all of this information away, businesses have seen their budgets whittled away. Furthermore, it can be very difficult to locate information that has been filed this way - especially if it was filed incorrectly.

Let’s review some of the solutions that we now have access to, that resolve exactly these pain points.

Document Management
Let’s face facts - one of the biggest weaknesses inherent of hard copies how difficult they can be to find (especially if they’ve been misfiled). However, a document management system makes that much simpler, as digitized copies can be stored in the cloud and searched for. Furthermore, while the reduction of printing costs offers a considerable value to a business, the time saved by this solution assists in making it a worthwhile investment, as all documents are turned into searchable PDF files.

While the initial implementation of a document management system may come at an intimidating cost to some, it quickly proves its worth. This is only made more apparent by the fact that, once the solution is in place, the only costs it creates are the ones needed to support the hosting platform.

Document Digitization
Digitizing documents has been widely adopted in recent years, as it makes it much easier to store and organize them. Not only does this approach make it simpler to store vast quantities of data, it also allows certain documents to be much easier to locate. If a member of your staff ever needs to view a document, all they will need to do is search for the right keywords and there the document will be.

Security
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss how your documents are able to be secured within your document management solution. As it is a cloud-hosted solution, it simply wouldn’t be complete without some kind of access control. Many platforms come with this access control baked-in, some even using biometrics or two-factor authentication. More complete control over your document management system is possible, if you are willing and able to invest in a private cloud database. Once implemented, you and your staff can confidently and securely access any document needed from anywhere that has Internet access.

To learn more about a document management system, or other solutions available to you to assist your business’ operations, reach out to MSPNetworks by calling (516) 403-9001.