As the workforce has slowly yet steadily moved towards a reliance on computers and the internet, the types of documents available have grown in variance and scale.

Throughout the years, you’ve likely accumulated a massive amount of documents that you are expected to edit, interact with, keep track of or even just locate.

As the years of an unchecked and unintentional organization strategy continue, it can be easy to lose track of your document space and feel overwhelmed with the state of your desktop.

Thankfully, there are solutions to this problem — namely, document management software. This software has become quite popular in the workforce lately, and when you look at all the benefits they provide, it’s easy to see why. Read on to learn more about document management softwares (DMS), the benefits of using it and a short list of some of the top DMS systems!

What is Document Management Software?

A document management software is an automated system used to organize, file, digitize and manage all sorts of documents and business files. It’s a communal space where people across multiple computers and systems can share their files with one another in an organized and collaborative way.

These file management software systems control documents while incorporating content into an information-based retrieval system throughout the entire business or server. This makes it easy for users to search for documents based on keywords or attributes and find them quickly and easily, which can save workers and businesses a large amount of time.

Top Benefits of Using Document Management Tools

Some people may use a hard copy filing system and may feel like they couldn’t benefit from a document management system. However, there are a plethora of benefits of document management tools that make them a preferable solution to their hard copy counterparts. These benefits include:

• Speed: Using a DMS system will allow you not only to file documents more quickly, but it will also help you to access the documents you need more quickly and efficiently.
• Cost Effective: How much money do you think your business is spending on paper, printing, filing cabinets and the time it takes to physically file all of your documents? With a document management system, these costs are eliminated completely, which is why it’s becoming more and more favorable for businesses to go paperless.
• Improved Security: With a traditional filing cabinet, the best security you can get is a lock and a key. With file management softwares, you can use security features such as user access rights, passwords and encryption boosts to determine who can and cannot see your files. It’s a new step in security for you and your business.
• Increased productivity: How much time in a workday are you spending searching for a document? A DMS system saves you an immeasurable amount of time in the long run, which you can then allocate to being more productive with work-related tasks.

How to Use a DMS System for Your Business

There are so many different ways that a digital filing system can help your business out. They are designed to be an all-in-one solution for all your online document needs — here are just a few of the main ways that it can help you out.

Document Capturing

DMS systems will store all incoming documents and each document’s metadata in the initial document capturing process. Within the metadata, the system will pull and store information such as page titles, date of production of the documents, text within the document, keywords and more, making it easy for you to search out each document by a certain attribute.

Digital documents are captured automatically once they’ve been added, and if you have some paper documents you want to add, you can do so by scanning and importing them into the system. This means that no matter how old your documents are, you can get them organized within a DMS system.

Access all Types of Data Immediately

After the metadata has been imported into the system, you can utilize it to gain access to archived files using the system’s text recognition functionality. For every process you do for your business (such as payroll, content, invoicing, etc.), you’ll have the ability to pull it within seconds just by searching for certain terms or variables.

Sometimes, you can even use these softwares in conjunction with different softwares in order to further enhance your digital organization process.

Workflow Management

If you work within a team, you understand the importance of seamless communication and collaboration. That’s one of the most popular features of document management tools — they allow you to quickly and easily move documents between team members based on given parameters and boost internal workflow throughout the business.

To simplify things, you can limit access to different files based on certain job responsibilities. Any employee who has access to the necessary file will be able to find it themselves without needing to go through different channels to collect the documents. This allows people to carry out their business needs and do their job much more effectively and efficiently, which boosts productivity and helps your business get more results.

Archiving

One of the hesitations people have about document management software is the worry that someone will go in and edit important documents after the work is done. Fortunately, that is not the case, because a DMS system allows you to properly archive your documents with revision-safe guards.

Because of this, you can rest assured come audit time or tax season that your documents will be safe from any edits or malpractice. This sense of security will save you time and worry, which will allow you to focus more of your mental energy towards the business tasks at hand.

5 Types of Document Management Systems

While there are plenty of great document control softwares out there, these are our picks for some of the best solutions available for you and your business.

1. Docuware

Docuware is built for you to digitize and secure your information effortlessly between all of your devices, regardless of where you are in the world. It’s designed to fully automate your processes so that your team can work in an effective and efficient way. 

2. eFile Cabinet

“With a focus on organizing documents, easy auditing, and administration control, Rubex by eFileCabinet is a fairly comprehensive DM solution that can help SMBs towards their goal of modernizing and evolving into an efficient paperless office.” – PC Mag

If you want one home for all your documents, an easy auditing process and a modernized and paperless office experience, then you’ll love eFile Cabinet. PC Mag gave it a 4 out of 5 in its review, and it’s helped plenty of businesses to expand and automate their processes. 

3. Optix

At $36.72 per month, you can expect more from Optix than a typical free document management software. Optix is a powerful data management softwares that is filled with workflow automation solutions, SOP management and plenty of modern features that you can use to customize and design your business process.

4. Hightail

If you’re looking to totally customize your experience, then you may want to look into Hightail. With plans ranging from free to $36 per user per month, you can choose the plan that works for you based on how much data you’ll need and how much collaboration you intend your processes to contain.

5. Templafy

The main feature of Templafy is the emphasis on content enablement. It’s designed so that you can create on-brand and high performing business content quickly and easily. The issue of disconnect between team members will be long gone with Templafy — it’s built on collaboration and comprehension between your team.

Organize Your Digital Life

As time goes on, it’s starting to become more obvious that our relationship with technology isn’t going anywhere. The Internet will inevitably be a part of our life for the foreseeable future, which is why it’s important to organize aspects of your digital life as much as you do with your physical life.