Whether you’re just getting started with document management, or looking to improve your current system, these best practices can help you ensure your document management system is meeting the needs of your business.
1. Set specific and measurable goals
To know if a document management system is working for you, you need to have goals in mind. Goals should be both specific and measurable. A goal such as “decrease storage costs” or “process an invoice more quickly” can be measured using your current system, and again after utilizing your document management system, to show improvements.
2. Automate and eliminate steps where it matters
Your goal shouldn’t be to eliminate paper entirely, or automate every process. Rather, identify areas where automation can simplify the process and deliver superior results. This may be customer service response times, eliminating gatekeeping, or another mission critical area. Focusing on these key processes will provide the biggest return on investment.
3. Capture data close to the point of origin
The more you pass the data around on paper, the more it costs you, and the higher the chance for errors. Use e-forms whenever possible to automatically gather data and populate whatever systems are necessary, right from the start. Virtual printers that can save right to your storage system – rather than having to print and then scan a document – also help speed up the process and eliminate errors and inefficiency.
4. Make the user interface easy to work with
You want your user interface to be easy and straightforward to use. A document management system that allows you to customize the user interface can help eliminate the clutter of features that are unnecessary to that employee, and make it easier to use.
5. Utilize the cloud
The cloud has revolutionized how data is stored and applications are accessed. By utilizing these cloud-based services, you can have the benefits of employees being able to access what they need, no matter where they are, while the cloud provider handles the IT side of things.
Document management can transform your business. These five best practices can help you get started!vWant to learn more? Give us a call and let’s start a discussion!
