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When digitally transforming your business, it is essential to follow best practices for document lifecycle management. From contracts and invoices to marketing materials and employee records, documents are constantly being created, shared, and updated, but over time these documents can get lost, become outdated, or impact productivity of staff searching for them. Efficient document management has the power to transform your digital efforts and should be a number one priority for any future-forward business. What are Document Management Systems? You can’t fathom the benefits of a document management system without first knowing what it is. Think of it as a centralised digital hub for all your organisation’s documents made up of a sophisticated software solution designed to securely store, organise, manage, and track electronic documents and images of paper-based information.  Far beyond a simple digital filing cabinet, a DMS offers your business advanced features that streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and boost overall efficiency.  With innovative capabilities ranging from version control and access permissions to powerful search capabilities and automated workflows, the benefits of a document management system include giving your business a structured and secure environment for your critical documentation. Five key Document Lifecycle Management best practices to implement in your business Establish a clear and consistent classification system A well-defined classification system is a fundamental cornerstone of effective document lifecycle management. Take the time to create logical categories that can be easily understood by all employees, using consistent naming conventions that all employees adhere to and applying relevant metadata

You’ll only realise the benefits of a Document Management System when you want to stay ahead of the curve in business because information is the lifeblood of success. Unfortunately, documents are often scattered across filing cabinets, email inboxes, shared drives, and even individual employee computers.  An approach that is disorganised means that your business is consistently wasting time searching for documents, and along with that wasted time comes a massive loss in productivity. In fact, 48% of employees report struggling to find documents quickly and efficiently, while more than 1 in 10 say they spend more than four hours weekly searching for files online. The solution? A robust Document Management System (DMS). What are Document Management Systems? You can’t fathom the benefits of a document management system without first knowing what it is. Think of it as a centralised digital hub for all your organisation’s documents made up of a sophisticated software solution designed to securely store, organise, manage, and track electronic documents and images of paper-based information.  Far beyond a simple digital filing cabinet, a DMS offers your business advanced features that streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and boost overall efficiency.  With innovative capabilities ranging from version control and access permissions to powerful search capabilities and automated workflows, the benefits of a document management system include giving your business a structured and secure environment for your critical documentation. Six benefits of document management systems Greater organisationWith a DMS, you and any of your employees can locate any document you might

Unleashing the power of information—that’s how document management systems boost productivity. When files are scattered across folders, desktops, and shared drives, accessing the correct document at the right time can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Enter Document Management Systems (DMS)—the unsung heroes of workplace efficiency. Let’s delve into how these systems can revolutionise your productivity. What is a Document Management System (DMS)? A DMS is more than just a digital filing cabinet. It’s a centralised platform designed to capture, store, manage, and track electronic documents and images of paper-based information. With a DMS, you can say goodbye to chaotic file structures and hello to streamlined workflows. How Does a DMS Boost Productivity? Effortless Document Retrieval: Remember those frantic searches for that crucial contract or report? A DMS eliminates that stress. Advanced search functionalities, indexing, and metadata tagging make finding specific documents a breeze, saving valuable time. Version Control and Collaboration: Say goodbye to confusion over which file version is the latest. A DMS tracks every document revision, ensuring everyone works on the most up-to-date version. Collaboration features allow teams to work together seamlessly, even remotely, without the hassle of emailing files back and forth. Streamlined Workflows: DMS can automate routine tasks like approvals, reviews, and notifications, freeing your team to focus on more strategic work. Customised workflows ensure documents move smoothly through the proper channels, accelerating processes and reducing bottlenecks. Enhanced Security and Compliance: Protecting sensitive information is paramount. DMS provides robust security features like access

With the recent shift from office-based working to working from home remotely, going paperless seems more and more like a viable option. But then, why are there still businesses that are lagging behind and continue to use paper instead of going completely paperless? Human beings are resistant to change, collectively even more so When forced with no other option, other than to lock up the offices and find a way to seamlessly work remotely is one thing, but to implement a new process within the organisation is something else entirely. Taking an organisation into the future and allowing time for all involved to embrace the benefits of a paperless process requires a deep and realistic understanding of the benefits, challenges and best practices in making the paperless dream a reality. The main motivation for businesses to stop wasting paper is the potential for cost-saving How much is paper actually costing your business? You might think a rand here and there, but think again, paper is a massive waste of money for businesses, and it has nothing to do with the actual cost of the paper itself. Companies are concerned about the average cost of printing per page, which is valid. But what they should really be worried about is the cost of retrieving lost documents. Printing and retrieving lost documents are the two most prominent places businesses waste money To cut costs, it is essential to ditch the  paper. Going paperless removes all the tedious steps and wasted time associated

Legal IndustryDocument Management Needs Every business requires an effective mechanism for the storage and retrieval of documents, regardless of the size of the business or the industry, but the benefits of effective document management for the legal industry seem to surpass many others.  The legal profession is one in which enormous volumes of documentation are generated and need to be appropriately and strategically stored since Document Retention and Retrieval is an Ethical Obligation. Perhaps one of the most important requirements is for various documents to be associated to a particular client or matter.  With an appropriate system, each and every document can effectively be stored, not just once, but tagged multiple times.  If categories and tags are managed correctly, you will have no issues whatsoever in retrieving what you need, when you need it. ExecQDocs takes this management of documents to another level by incorporating a powerful Workflow element within the product providing full audit trails and tracability to all documents. History of DMS Before computers became mainstream, physical files were stored and appropriately labelled.  Documents were stored in a similar fashion to a library system so that they could be easily located and retrieved. As businesses began to shift to a more computer driven way of working, the benefits of online storage of documents far outweighed physical storage.  That’s not to say that physical storage became obsolete, but it was far more efficient to store and retrieve documents online. Unfortunately, with computer systems, the internet and cloud technology advancing

Companies can waste a lot of time on admin, and in today’s fast-paced office environments, it is crucial to save time when processing documents, and here are 5 steps to improving your company’s digital filing system that will help you do just that. Making changes to your current inefficient processes is achievable, and will ensure that you keep your clients satisfied and your business remains competitive. You want a filing system that will: Benefits of using a digital filing system Some of the benefits of using a digital filing system over a paper filing system include: If you want to pull up the entire folder for a specific client or employee, you don’t have to rummage through your filing cabinet; you just have to enter their name into the system. And there you will have it – their file at your fingertips. You need to ensure that your documents are kept secure and protected.  This can be from file corruption, flooding, fire etc.  You definitely want to make sure that your business critical documents will be stored safely. You get to save the environment as well as your pocket by storing the documents on your computer rather than printing them out.  You save time as well, especially when you need to find the document later. Read more benefits of a paperless office here: The truth about electronic document management and the paperless office How to organize your files You need to create a folder structure that reflects your business, and

ExecQDocs offers so many benefits to businesses, not least of which is the opportunity to improve business processes through its extensive workflow capabilities. All too often though, clients do not have the time to review their existing processes and we are often faced with the challenge of ‘if it aint broke, don’t fix it’.  Clients also fear that they may have to implement new software and train staff. Time and time again we have implemented workflow systems, using the client’s existing systems, that have resolved serious business issues as well as tightening security and saving time. We see the benefits daily.  We have previously shared a customer success story and continue to do so in order to inspire others to constantly innovate and improve their operations and service offering. Our latest example comes from a client who deals with daily support calls.  They came up with a great way to process the calls more efficiently, using ExecQDocs workflow system. They are using the system to automate a function that has been totally manual to date. The process is as follows: At this point, support contracts etc. could be consulted. While this may sound like any existing job card or ticketing system, it is important to note that this system has been created using existing systems that staff are already familiar with.  The only additional input required to get this fully operational is a workflow setup in ExecQDocs. This system then has the added benefit of being used to determine Resource

This mystical concept of complete electronic document management and a  paperless office has been spoken about for decades and is still something that could happen in the future.  It hasn’t happened yet.  Printing has not become unpopular, and people are not ready; besides the fact that most businesses rely on paper, and it is useful and easy to use. Some interesting facts about document management (taken from http://community.aiim.org) are: And those are just half of the facts listed – meaning that there is even more waste and inefficiency that occurs in business.  It is clear that a change in organizational workflow is needed; training on new processes and a change in behaviour required before we can reach this paperless office. How does your business work?  How many documents are generated for it to function on a daily basis?  Are you conscious of your workflow processes, and if any time and resource wastage occurs? In a previous blog,  we said that no fewer than 10 000 filing cabinets are delivered each month to businesses in the U.K. There is at least one filing cabinet for each of the U.K.’s 13.5 million office workers. The fact is that approximately half of all initial information searches fail to produce the correct document. This is such a waste of time; an inefficient way to handle documents, and there has got to be a better way. There is – electronic document management – but it involves new computer software, time to sort through those dusty

Workflow is often a best-kept secret within an organisation. This is because it works in the background and utilises tools that people are already familiar with, so most people do not even realise they are making use of these tools. For workflow tools to be effective, there must be reliable and robust manual processes in place. Workflow software optimises those processes by tightening up security and increasing productivity quickly and easily. There are some applications of workflow that are less obvious than others and we have decided to share some of our experiences with you in the hope that these may help you to build even more effective workflows into your business applications. How workflow blessed the baker Not too long ago, we were working with a large company who made and distributed bread to large and small vendors. As per the agreement, these vendors would return any bread that was beyond its sell-by date. The expired bread would then be accounted for to be utilised elsewhere and balanced against the Request for Credit from the outlet. At some point in time it became apparent to management that drivers were returning to the stores with very little damaged or expired stock, however, the figures did not show any related increase. On further investigation, it was established that the manual process was at fault. You see, it was easy for the driver to claim to have ‘lost’ the return advice slip, or to change the written numbers. The driver was supplementing

We’re frequently asked by customers to define the amount of space required for an Electronic Document Management System. When evaluating the benefits of electronic document management vs. manual storage of documents, one of the biggest differences is the amount of storage space required. It is obvious that the amount of physical storage space required for digital storage is negligible in comparison to the requirements for manual storage.  But how do we measure the amount of storage required for digital systems?  To begin with, we need a clear understanding of how digital ‘space’ is measured and consumed. Due to the popularity of smartphones, most people understand how much memory (or space) they have available on their devices for songs, documents, photos and videos.  Through using our devices, we get an idea of which file formats consume the most space.  We can also better visualize space consumption – for example, an hour long video (high definition) may take up about a Gigabyte of space. A little history When Personal Computers first became mainstream, most programs only took up a couple of hundred kilobytes. Back then systems were very basic.  For example, screens were monochrome (usually green text on black screens), with very low resolution and there was only one font.  So Kilobytes of information seemed like quite a lot. Storage space was, relatively speaking, an expensive resource. Only the coolest IT geeks spoke in Megabytes.  Back to the present  Today, with our high definition retina displays, sophisticated design packages and hunger for

Any organisation, regardless of size, is made up of a number of functions that need to be effectively carried out to produce a particular product or service to market. This therefore, requires that processes are implemented and adhered to. A one man show can usually be informal in the approach to process, but add more resources to the equation and your processes need to be documented and stored for reference. Processes will have different levels of complexity and as a company grows, so processes will become more and more comprehensive, and usually more complex. From a security point-of-view many steps in processes may require authorisation and this can cause bottlenecks. Processes also involve paperwork, and legislation usually demands the storage of said paperwork as proof and for auditing purposes. This is where document management and workflow solutions step in. So what benefits would a system bring to your organisation: With time being so limited in today’s world, can you afford not to implement a system that makes storing and retrieval of critical documents easy and efficient with automated workflow? Want to know more? Please call us and we’ll be happy to discuss your specific requirements

Electronic Document Management is a combination of system hardware and software that allows users to capture information from any number of derivatives used during the course of the business day, i.e. paper, fax, e-mail, photographs, computer generated data and even hand written notes. The captured documents are then scanned and stored digitally on a computer system, reducing storage costs and eliminating retrieval headaches. Users can file, store, copy, retrieve and integrate documents into their business applications. Whether for a single desktop or a multi-user environment, Electronic Document Management: Document Management exists to put businesses in control of the mountains of paper-based information that they have to deal with every day. It is estimated that 90% of information is in the form that computers cannot understand (e.g., paper documents, newspaper clippings and photographs). This is all known as documentary information. The other type of information, which accounts for the other 10%, is that which is stored in a computer. This is called coded information and can be defined as “factual data, structured data or data that can be analyzed using arithmetic and logical deduction” (ref: CIMTECH). Coded information does not, however, just emerge from thin air. It comes from documented information, which all has to go somewhere. However, more money has been invested in manipulating the information than in developing efficient methods of managing documentary information. Information Technology (IT) has become a vital component of most sectors of the global economy. To compete effectively, companies are forced to invest in technology