Document Management for Your Small Business – THISDAY Newspapers
Every business will generate valuable documents that should be stored effectively for reference purposes. It doesn’t matter the size of the business; there shall always be new files to be stored after some time. These documents include the compliance files from the government or client files that show the transaction details that have taken place during a specific period.
With technological evolution, document management has been digitized, unlike in the past when filing cabinets typically line the walls of the post offices. Below are tips on document management for small businesses.
Digitize documents
The advancing technology has paved the way for the creation of different document management systems. That means that you can easily convert your documents into digital format and store them effectively. To achieve a better document management system, you will need to import most of your records into a centralized system to quickly and safely retrieve the documents.
Upon receiving records, you can quickly scan them and send them directly to the centralized system for storage purposes. If possible, you can assign one of the employees the duty to carry out these activities. You can even use PDF to Word converter online for online documentation processes. PDF is best in terms of retaining quality, editability and file size for the purpose of transferring so knowing how to convert Word to PDF is an important aspect of documentation.
Use efficient security means
Nowadays, cases of data breaches have become rampant in different institutions. That’s why the issue of security should be on the top list to ensure that your digital storage system is protected from fraudsters. When handling document management tasks, you should be mindful of every step that you are taking.
The digital storage system contains all critical documents, not limited to the sensitive ones used for marketing and transaction purposes. Make sure that you look for the data management systems configured with firewalls, SSL technologies and active directory authentication.
The system should also be able to provide a comprehensive and non editable record of all documents that are to be stored.
Customize access to your small business documents, especially when multiple departments are using the same folder.
Make use of collaboration features
After digitizing your documents and storing them in a centralized system, you will need to adopt collaboration tools to help you work with your team together within the document software. That means that the selected team members should be able to access the documents quickly without creating a contradictory edit on the files. The systems used should be able to allow multiple access and track all versions of the contents that were stored.
If a single edit is performed on one of the documents, you should get notified or get a notification of authorization access before the edits the document. Collaboration tools are essential for the teams that are frequently revisiting and reworking the business documents of your business.
Choose the best storage option
There are widely two options that you can use to store the documents of your small business. You may choose to use either cloud storage or use the device storage with an added portable external storage depending on the capacity of the files to be stored.
Storing your documents on your devices gives you great control over them, and they all fall under the umbrella of your security measures put in place. On the other hand, cloud storage of documents removes the burden of maintaining the storage system at a generally lower cost.
It’s tough for documents to get lost when stored on cloud based-systems but don’t forget that you trust a third party to manage the data. That creates an additional vulnerability to your documents as you never know whether the third party will sell your data to other investors on the market.
Organize your documents
Organization of the different files of documents is essential for easy retrieval of the documents. Just as you wouldn’t have to search in multiple cabinets for a single document, ensure that you don’t pore over files of the disorganized digital archive.
Make use of folders to organize the documents into named digital folders that are easily retrieved. In that way, you won’t have to be overwhelmed by multiple disorganized folders. Make sure that you have a valid nomenclature standard for arranging your files in different folders logically.
You can also divide your documents into different types or categories of folders depending on the purpose of each document. If possible, you can use the house subcategories to store documents that are almost related under the same category.
Conclusion
Having a well-secured document management system plays a vital role in ensuring the safety of the business data. It will also declutter your office and make sure that all your files are secure online. Also, it solves the risk of lack of accountability for the lost files in a paper-run world.
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