If you tried document management solutions in the past but were dissatisfied with them, it’s time to look at your options again. Newer document management solutions are much more reliable and can help you achieve your goal of reducing your company’s reliance on paper to route, approve, and manage documents.
The ROI of Document Management Solutions
Everywhere you go, there’s an article or a story about the paperless office. Document management solutions offer a cost-effective means of reducing paper expenses. But they also add to your company’s return on investment in many other ways.
What Is a Document Management Solution?
A document management solution or system helps companies manage, retrieve, and store documents. These may be documents that are internal to a company, such as approval paperwork or budgets, or they may be external documents scanned into the system, such as invoices or receipts submitted for reimbursement.
Document management systems help companies improve efficiency in many ways. First, they reduce the amount of paper you need to manage in the office. The time that was once spent copying, managing, and routing paperwork can now be spent on other tasks. They also make finding documents easier since electronic documents can be accessed from any location and can be shared with the click of a button.
Assessing the Return on Investment of a Document Management System
There are three areas in which document management systems help companies save money.
- Save money on office supplies.
With an electronic document management system, you’ll save a great deal of money on office supplies. It’s not just the paper expense that is reduced. Photocopying and printing expenses are reduced, too. Other areas where you can save money include the cost of folders and hanging files, and the cost of file cabinets. In fact, some companies have been able to reduce the physical footprint of their records storage to the extent that they have additional space for workers. Over time, your company can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on office expenses by adding document management systems to its software suite.
- Time savings.
How much time you’ll save depends on how much time you are currently spending managing records. But most offices report considerable time savings once they fully adopt digital records management.
The accounting department alone saves countless hours by utilizing a document management system. Accounts payable, for example, can find all records online when preparing for audits or monthly reconciliations. Routing invoices, sharing documents and other tasks becomes a matter of seconds when everything is digital.
- Faster invoicing and billing.
Lastly, moving everything to electronic documents means your company can invoice customers faster. Emailing invoices to customers saves days of waiting for invoices to be mailed, reach their destination, and get paid. Generate invoices, email them directly to customers, and receive payment on the same day. It’s a great time saver and helps you manage your company’s cash flow faster and easier.
Put the Right Document Management Systems in Place
As you can see, with the right document management systems in place, your company will be well-positioned to save time and money and improve efficiency. ALTEC DocLink provides excellent software that easily integrates with major ERP systems to provide a seamless transition a paperless office.
Emerald TC
Emerald TC provides software and consulting for manufacturing companies. We can help you choose the right ERP system for your needs. Contact us or call 678-456-6919 for more information.