No matter what type of business you own or manage, a document management system (DMS) is essential to running your business. Simply defined, it is a set of standardised practices that control the creation and authentication of documents. A DMS helps you manage the safekeeping of documents in a way that makes it easy to retrieve them when needed, and many other benefits can be expected from it, including the following.

Improving workflow

Improving workflow should be the focal point of any business. A DMS ensures well-organised and efficient movement of documents which can significantly increase the speed of your business processes, resulting in a smooth, quality workflow.


Document version control

If your business processes involve several  different versions of a document, you should be able to easily identify the latest version, including the sequence of all the versions available at any given time. An efficient DMS can prevent the scenario of being unable to locate a specific version of a document.

Securing documents

Documents can contain very sensitive data, such as employees’ contact details or business critical information such as product formulas or recipes. This makes it essential to ensure these documents are kept secure. If unauthorised people gain access to them, it can result in serious consequences for the business, such as legal damages. When you have a quality  DMS, you can rest assured that only authorised employees can access particular documents. If you have an electronic DMS you can view an audit trail of who has viewed a document, when it was opened, and where changes were made.

Reduced storage space

With the increasing costs of commercial property, the costs of storing paper documents are also increasing. An electronic DMS can eliminate the need for file cabinets and boxes, giving you more office space. If you have documents that have to be kept as hard copies, you could have them stored in locations that are not as expensive.

Easier retrieval

Searching for and retrieving documents can take up a lot of your precious time – and all business people know that time is money. A DMS, suitable for your line of business, can be a great, time-saving tool. It can retrieve files by a phrase or word in a document – giving you instant access over what could have taken you some time to retrieve. A DMS also allows you to access documents from wherever you are, as long as you have an internet connection.

Better collaboration

A DMS makes information sharing and collaboration so much easier. Several people can work on the same document at the same time even if they are all in different locations. This also allows for better workflow monitoring. You can authorise access to external users and this can be controlled.

Implementing a document management system won’t only save your business both time and money, but you can expect increased productivity. Nashua can help you digitise your document processes to make your business more efficient.