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Finding and Using Office Documents – The Basics

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Today, finding the right information (or even have that information proactively delivered to you) when you need it is key to business success.

How often do you spend 10, 20, or even 30 minutes irritably flipping through manila folders in a filing cabinet looking for that misfiled customer invoice? Or how many times have you been frustrated by not being able to find the correct version of an important document?

Using documents to get your work done shouldn’t and doesn’t have to be that frustrating.

Today, finding the right information (or even have that information proactively delivered to you) when you need it is key to business success.

Document management is one of the most effective and stable tools you can use to enable your office to find and us the appropriate information.

Document Management Definition

Document management enables companies to improve accessibility, usability, and security all while maintaining control over documents. The software is designed to help organizations better manage the creation, revision, approval, and consumption of electronic (and sometimes paper) documents.

Often times you’ll see document management used interchangeably with workflow, enterprise content management, document capture, collaboration (or enterprise file share and sync), records management, or content management. While there is overlap amongst these different types of software tools, they each are their own product categories (but that’s a topic for another day).*

Getting Documents In – The Repository

Documents enter the software repository most frequently in one of these three  

  1. Saving directly into the repository – working within the document management software itself.
  2. Via capture technology. This could be from capturing an electronic document, such as a fax or an email or scanning a paper document via your scanner or copier, and adding directly to the repository.
  3. Uploading existing electronic documents.

Automated software (as well as manual keyword additions by workers) is used to index documents for later retrieval. 

Find Documents

For easy and fast retrieval via a simple search, documents are stored in a single repository. Documents can be searched via full text (like you would search with a search engine like Google, Yahoo, or Bing) if optical character recognition (OCR) technology is used to capture and index documents. You can also index documents by keywords – e.g., invoice number, customer or company name.

Version Control – Work on the Right Document

Check in/check out functionality prevents changes from being overwritten. It allows workers to lock their content while they are working on it – checking it “out” of the repository.

Version control allows everyone to see and compare previous versions of the document.  

Audit trails provide insight into who accessed a document and what they did with it. Permissions can be established to restrict access to sensitive files, folders, and documents.

Content on the Move – Workflow

Basic workflow will be included in the software of many document management packages (more sophisticated workflows are almost always an additional layer of software, from the same company or integrated with workflow software from a different vendor). Workflow moves your documents through your office for established business processes.

Documents will be captured, indexed, stored in the repository, and added to a workflow for further action. Workflow queues work for employees so they know what they need to complete, the deadline, and the next person in the process - automatic rerouting can also be set up to allow work to “skip” someone sick or on vacation.

To identify bottlenecks and streamline the process further, administrators can view the entire process.

Documents in Your Pocket

Thanks to mobile apps, many document management packages can now offer secure access to documents and workflows. Through remote access via a Web browser, Web access will allow anyone to work from anywhere – tablet, laptop, or even a smart phone. You can’t connect to the Internet in your favorite local coffee shop? No problem – your work can be done offline and synchronized once reconnected to a network.

Integration With Other Software

Larger companies will often need to integrate the document management system with existing systems, while smaller offices and companies are generally better off with a single product. Look for products that will integrate into your current IT environment – and your multifunction copiers.

Stop relying on paper. It’s time for you to look into how electronic document management can save you time.

*Good starting points to learn more on the different types of technologies can be found on the AIIM and Laserfiche websites.

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Topics: Document Management