If you took a survey, what do you think would be the number one resource that most people feel they don’t have enough of? No, it wouldn’t be money. It would be time. Whether you work for a large corporation or have a small business of your own, you could increase your productivity at work tremendously if you had a tool that could save you time. A tool that could help you to manage paper documents as well as find those spreadsheets you spent countless hours making. Thankfully, there is a solution – Document Management.
According to the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), document management “is the use of a computer system and software to store, manage and track electronic documents and electronic images of paper based information captured through the use of a document scanner.” One of the biggest advantages of using a document management system (DMS) is the tremendous savings it brings in terms of time. Time saved can now be used to accomplish your core tasks. In any business, most resources are measured in terms of money. And time is money. Time saved can mean money saved and therefore money earned.
How you can save time using a document management system
Document management systems are designed keeping in mind tasks undertaken and documents managed in a typical office. Such software can help you save time through the use of various features, some of which are…
Windows operating systems allow you to organize your files into folders and sub-folders. But that’s all they can do. What if you do not remember the file name? That is when a document management system comes to your rescue. A good DMS allows you to even tag (label) your documents so you know what content they contain. Then when you need them, you can just search for the tag and come up with a list of all files with that tag. This makes finding documents super-simple.
A DMS normally has a Quick Search box where you can type key words and come up with results from which you can choose the file you were looking for. Advanced Search allows you to include multiple search criteria and get to that document even faster. The Full-text Search feature using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) indexes scanned documents, making them easy to search.
A good document management solution should also index information about the file. For instance, assign a document type (e.g. Invoice, Agreement, Check etc.) to a document, and store indexing information related to the document type (e.g. Agreement End Date, Check Number etc.). This helps you search for documents based on indexed information and find them real quick.
A typical DMS helps you manage almost all types of files. This means you do not need to install file conversion software and run the files you need through it. The result: your productive time saved.
A document management system is meant to make your life easier. Most software is easy to download, install, and set up. You do not need to run your office staff through days of intensive training. Typically, you can familiarize them with the system in a few hours – in fact, they can start using it from the very first day. Such programs normally have support and version upgrades free for a certain period as part of the deal.
So if you want to free up time and focus more on your core tasks consider investing in document management software, whether you are an independent professional, a small business owner, or work in a large corporation. The return on investment (ROI) it will bring will be worth the money you put in. personal document management software
