Digital document management can be a tedious and complex process if it’s not done systematically and thoughtfully. Lost documents, disorganized folders, incomprehensible names – does this sound familiar?
PricewaterhouseCoopers research indicates that:
The statistics clearly outline the biggest mistakes made in document management processes. In reality, just a few simple techniques can help make your daily work more efficient and your document management more productive.
Consistent Document Naming Conventions
Choose a consistent document naming convention that is easy to understand and replicate. Use short and precise words along with unique identifiers that will not only help you find documents easily and quickly but also understand their content. A uniform naming convention will make document searching and filtering more efficient, thereby reducing unnecessary time wasted on information retrieval.
Different Folders for Different Types of Documents
In daily work, you might encounter various types of documents – invoices, contracts, applications, etc. This specific parameter is what you can use as a document classification parameter, creating separate document folders for each document type. This will make it easier to find the necessary information and reduce the probability of documents getting lost. Additionally, within each document type folder, you can create further subfolders by year, by purpose, by client, etc., which will help create an even more detailed and structured document storage system.
Relocating Obsolete Documents
“In daily work with documents, it can happen that the volume of information becomes too large, and navigating it becomes increasingly difficult. Because of this, searching can take a lot of time or even yield no results. Therefore, it is important to move documents that are no longer current away from active folders so that only up-to-date information remains there. Of course, not all documents can or need to be deleted, but they can be archived and stored for the necessary period.
Document Management System
The greatest advantage of digital documents is that they offer the possibility to automate various business processes, thereby leaving more time for more important tasks. A document management system provides this opportunity, alongside the aforementioned recommendations for successful document management. The system will serve not only as a unified document repository but also as a platform for collaboration, working with e-Address (eAdrese – a Latvian secure electronic delivery system), electronic signing, transparent task management, and even automated document generation.
Organized and structured document management is one of the cornerstones that helps a business grow and develop, thereby providing an opportunity to compete. Just a few small improvements in daily work will help you make document management more effective. However, a document management system is an investment that will help not only manage documents but also create, coordinate, and even send them.