The majority of businesses already recognise the value of scanning and archiving their papers to make them readily available to everyone in the company. Many people, however, think that establishing such a system would be an enormous challenge. You can better determine the best online document management solution for your company if you answer these 5 questions first.
Where do employees in your company often retain records?
Paperless offices must be able to reliably collect their documents and provide quick and easy access to those papers so that employees may use them to make informed business choices. Accounting and human resources are two departments that rely heavily on paperwork to make important choices for the company. The filing practises of each division must be assessed. How many files are expected to be added to the archive on a daily basis?
Who in your company needs to see the scanned papers and why?
Determine how often each user and from where they are accessing the files. You may be a tiny company where everyone works out of the same office, or you could be a giant corporation with satellite locations. Does it make sense to provide these outposts access to the files? Sending paperwork between headquarters and branch offices costs money. Is this the first time they’ve scanned and emailed the paperwork? If that’s the case, your company is already ahead of the curve compared to others. You should also think about whether or not your suppliers and customers need to see these records.
It will be more efficient and cost-effective to keep this data in a single, easily accessible location. One must consider the users who will need access to the document management system before making a decision. An online document management system might save you the trouble of installing software on each distant site if you have many of them that need access.
Do you need to scan and index a big number of daily files and archived files?
It’s important to weigh the benefits of regular scanning versus going back and scanning older files. When you outsource your document management to a company, they’ll handle scanning and indexing for you. This will free up your employees to concentrate on other important tasks. Hiring temporary help to do the scanning and indexing is something else to think about. One option is to keep daily file processing in-house while outsourcing historical file processing. Know your available tools and ask the right questions of your document management vendor.
You’ll also want to know how long your particular documents will be kept. However, this number can range from 7 years for some businesses to 14 years for others. The costs associated with supporting the volume can be estimated if we know how many files must be held and for how long.
Do you have the funds for an internal solution?
You will need to invest in both the software and the storage devices needed to run an in-house document management system. Online document management systems typically include a one-time installation fee followed by recurring monthly payments. How much you pay could be tied to how many customers you have or how many files you have on file. You can always begin on a small scale and progress to a larger one later.
Do you have the information technology personnel necessary to set up and maintain a system for managing documents?
When trying to decide on a document management system, this is the single most important question to ask. If you decide to build your own system, expect your IT department to be swamp with work throughout the setup phase. Whenever there is an upgrade to the support system or an issue with the support system, they will need to be involve. They’ll also have to supply the gear required to house the voluminous files. Document management online uk have the advantage of requiring less input from the IT department.
Once you have all the facts, you may determine whether you want an in-house system or an online solution. Both options are available for consideration, but after weighing your demands, you should have a solid notion of which one is best for your company. Having settled on a system, it’s time to compare the available document management software options. You need a document management system that can adapt to your business’s changing needs.
Next, you’ll want to get together with potential suppliers to make sure they can back up your company. Get a sense for the product and the vendor by calling some of their clients and speaking with different users inside the organisation. You shouldn’t treat this choice as if it were easy. After committing to a system’s implementation, it will be tough to switch vendors. When necessary, can the files be quickly exported and transferred to a new system, and how are they stored in the meantime? Make sure the online document management system you’re considering has secure servers, all your filing in one place, around-the-clock accessibility, and a failsafe system in place before committing to it.
