Electronic Document Management System or Paper-based - Which is Better?

Have you found yourself surrounded by a countless number of documents when it's time to file your income tax returns? Probably most of us have. Take that situation to your small office and it doesn't look very different. If anything, the amount of paperwork you handle is probably far more!

What you need is a document management system (such as infoRouter) that helps you manage vast amounts of paperwork so that you meet your business goals as smoothly as possible. You have two options here: a paper-based system and an electronic document management system.

Paper-based system

For ages, businesses have been following a paper-based document management model. Decades ago, the documents may not have been as detailed and the document management systems not as elaborate as they are now; but they still were systems.

Advantages of a paper-based system

A paper-based document management system does have its positives, such as:

• Easy handling: As paper is physical by nature and therefore tangible and visible, a person who need not have any knowledge of computers to handle and work with paper-based documents. Such documents can be stored systematically in files, folders, cabinets etc.
• Reproduction: You can copy a document by using a photocopier machine.
• Recognised and required by law: Paper-based document originals are recognised by law as being 'official' and can be produced as evidence in court. In fact, the law may even require you to have certain documents only in paper format for them to be considered valid.

Disadvantages of having a paper-based system

A paper-based document management system has several shortcomings, or else electronic document management might not have seen the light of day.

• Storage space: As paper is by nature physical, it takes up a lot of storage space. With its limited resources, a small business may not be able to afford to rent or purchase storage space onsite or offsite.
• Recurring cost of supplies: If you store most of your documents in paper form, you need to keep purchasing several packs of blank paper every month for varying needs: photocopying, printing, fax paper, writing pads, invoice books, accounting books etc. Add to it the cost of other stationery items and you begin to wonder if there is a better alternative to the paper-based system of managing documents.
• Limited mobility: No doubt you can courier or fax a paper-based document, but how can it match up to email or sending it as an attachment to an instant message?
• Editing messy: Editing a typed or handwritten document will leave marks on paper. Also, the only way to preserve the pre-edited copy is to make a photocopy before editing it. This process has to be repeated every time you edit or revise the document. All it does is add more copies to your paper archive and leave the original document in bad shape.
• Collaboration difficult: If your firm's departmental heads in different corners of the office want to collaborate on a paper document, an assistant will first have to make copies of the document and distribute them. Then each head will have to make notes. To be able to see each other's notes, they will need to gather anyway for a meeting before they finalize the action plan. Compare this with an electronic document management system where you can simply share the document (grant access to it) with your departmental heads; each of them can add their notes and save the document. The document can then be seen by all with everyone's notes on it. A face-to-face meeting is not required, thereby saving the time of your busy senior executives.
• Vulnerable to damage: As paper is exposed to wear and tear through frequent handling, exposure to adverse weather conditions etc., a document management system that is purely paper-based is not a stable one. In the event of a disaster, you could lose your documents as they may not be backed up. Documents that are not in digital form cannot be backed up online.

Electronic Document Management System (EDMS)

While a small business may not be in a position to introduce advanced electronic document management early on in its existence, it definitely helps to switch to one in a phased manner sooner than later.

An electronic document management system overcomes all the limitations of paper-based systems discussed above and also offers several other advantages.

Document Genetics' document management software infoRouter helps you find, share and organise the information you need to succeed in the cutthroat world of modern business. In the past, many document management software solutions have been complex, expensive and difficult to deploy. Our infoRouter DMS can be deployed in hours and all you need is a web browser - simple!

Use infoRouter to:

• Save Time and Resource - scan and electronically approve supplier invoices
• Eliminate Paper Filing - automatically store PDF copies of all your business documents (POs, Invoices, Statements)
• Improve Customer Service - give customers access to the documents they need (e.g. Order Confirmations, Delivery Notes etc)
• Find Documents FAST - provide instant access to important Emails, MS Office Documents and faxes
• Quality Control - only let employees see what they need to see and apply version control to control document revisions
• Compliance and Records Management - DoD 5015.2 STD, Sarbanes Oxley, GDPR Compliance, ISO Document Control, HIPAA and SEC-compliant Records Management
• Improve Communication - allow collaboration between employees and partners
• Instigate a Culture of Co-Operation - create an intranet/portal with all important company info (company notices, HR info, etc)
• Build a Creative Framework - Manage marketing information, collateral (images, brochures, artwork) and ideas
• Receive Real-Time Updates - Subscribe to documents and folders and automatically get a notification email when anything changes
• Eliminate Islands of Information - Allow each department in the business to create and maintain their own repository of information whilst sharing with other areas of the business
• Security - Replace uncontrolled network drives with infoRouter and enforce corporate policies with user permissions
• Portals - Build instant Employee, Vendor and Customer Portals.
• Promote Knowledge Sharing - Secure your valuable documents, records and digital assets

If you wish to find out more about infoRouter, please get in touch with us on 01604 671177.