Document management software consolidates information storage that allows employees to access it whenever required. This facilitates faster responses to customer inquiries and accelerates the completion of important business processes, and lets companies to adapt quickly when their needs change. Document management systems are also able to help to prevent hidden time sinks that drain productivity. They enable document management people to collaborate across offices, departments and even locations.
Modern document management systems can handle a wide variety of formats of documents, both paper and digital. Typically, these documents are scanned into the system, or uploaded manually or automatically. Many systems are equipped with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, which converts text from images into editable and searchable content. Depending on your specific requirements, look for the ability to search by document type index values, keywords, and full-text.
Many systems also provide versions control. This allows you to see a complete history on all changes made to documents. It’s easy to identify who made the change, what time they did it, and why. This is particularly helpful when you have multiple team members working on the same document.
Most systems also allow you to connect with your accounting software, enterprise resources planning (ERP) and other software. You can manage the entire lifecycle of a document from beginning to end with just one tool. This ensures compliance with all laws and regulations that govern the preservation of documents within your company.