Advantages of a Good Document Management System

The archiving of documents is by no means the only thing that a good document management software, DMS software for short, can do. With a DMS system it is also possible to archive, control and sort data - often even completely automatically. Such a system can help to connect individual systems and teams with each other and to provide the information you are looking for at any time.

Advantages of a Good Document Management System

Order and Structure thanks to Modern DMS Systems

In many offices, they are still part of everyday life: the large piles of files and paper on the desk. There is no trace of structure and order here. But what if the mountains of files no longer take up valuable space on the desk in their physical form, but were all neatly managed in a digital system? DMS makes this possible. Within one software all information and documents are arranged, managed and, if required, made available in the shortest possible time. This article shows which immense advantages a DMS software offers.

Information and data quickly available

Even today, many companies and businesses still use a variety of different systems. The search for an e-mail, a contract, a quality report or an invoice can become a real challenge. With a document management system it is possible to combine the different software programs in use, which are also called isolated applications, and thus replace them in a single document management software. The document organization is thereby facilitated a whole lot easier. Here it is only necessary to simply enter into the respective search mask what is to be searched for within the DMS software, for example a certain protocol of a working group. All digital information and data are now scanned and searched through the document management software. The corresponding protocol is then made available by the document management system in a very short time.

The prerequisite for the DMS software to be able to work so efficiently is, however, that in the DMS software all data are correctly tagged with their appropriate metadata.

Access to all information and documents - no matter from which location

Employees who work in the home office from time to time will know it all too well: They cannot perform certain tasks from home. The reasons for this include the fact that in many companies the majority of processes are still paper-based, and the documents required for effective work are stored in the office or that the systems used do not allow external access.

The ideal case, however, is that teams can work independently, both in terms of location and time. This requires that all information in the system is available in digital form and not scattered on many desks. A good document management software easily meets this challenge. Efficient document organization using DMS software makes it easy to work from any location.

Continuous information of all involved employees and interdisciplinary work

Regardless of the industry in question: As a rule, different departments are always involved in an order or operation. Even today, it is still common practice for different departments to use different software programs.

When information on a specific project or its status needs to be obtained, many telephone calls and e-mails often follow across several departments. It is much more efficient if every employee involved can have a complete overview of a process. In a document management system, all important information can be found compressed in one place. The DMS software makes it very easy to retrieve information about past projects in a short time or to adequately replace a colleague who is on vacation.

In combination with many optional modules, the document management software can also function as a fully comprehensive CRM program through extensions. Then it is possible to use the document management system to carry out project management, processes, tasks, customer files, tickets and document organization.

Always comply with regulations and laws

Active action on the part of the company is made necessary by a large number of legal regulations and ordinances. These include e.g. ISO 9001, the GoBD or the GDPR. Without appropriate technological support, small and above all large companies can hardly guarantee clean handling and audit-proof working with personal data. In the industrial sector, for example, all controlled documents, such as work instructions and the associated orderly processes including versioning must always be able to be verified. A document management software offers the ideal solution to always conscientiously comply with these obligations of proof. By means of a clever archiving concept, an overview of all deadlines can be maintained, and the respective document organization can be prepared chronologically. If, in addition, an optimal back-up concept is also implemented in the company, then they are always on the safe side with regard to revision security.

Process automation

Processes that run recurrently, for example in the area of accounting, are particularly well suited for automation. The result is faster processing times and constant monitoring of discount periods and payment terms - document management software makes these automations possible. The document management system also handles the reminder of certain due dates. With the conventional processing of invoices by hand, transmission errors can quickly occur - a much higher level of security is provided by processes that are automated by the document management software. Of course, this does not only apply to the accounting department, but also to all other departments in a company.

Not every document management system is to be evaluated equally

A document management software can differ strongly from another document management system in the scope of its services. Here the range starts with a very simple DMS, which is only used for archiving, and extends to an individually adapted document management system, which has been adapted exactly to the respective needs of the company. With the appropriate optional extensions, a good document management system can replace many other programs. The advantages of a DMS software show that in today's digital times, no company, no matter what size, should do without a good document management system.