We, at The Filing Room, care about efficient management of records and documents. That care expands beyond the records you store with us. We want your whole process streamlined. We know about this stuff and thought we would share some of the thoughts we have had on the different features of effective document management software.

So, our team of records management professionals have taken a look at the best document management software available right now. With our experienced eye surveying the options currently available, you don’t have to.

 

What is Document Management Software?

 Document management software or, as industry professionals call it, DM is your business’ prime organization tool. That is especially true if you are running a small to midsized business.

It is the software on which you store and organize all your documents. Different document management providers will provide different features. So, it is worth considering each of them individually in order to see which features your business will benefit from most.

That means Security and Backup features, Sharing, Collaboration and Approval-giving features and, of course, lots of Storage.  

 

Storage, Backup and Security

At its most rudimentary, document management software should be able to store all your files. Furthermore, it should be able to back them up effectively, maintain their protection from those that shouldn’t see it, and ensure that, if something terrible happens, your business does not lose all its records.

Its not worth considering software that doesn’t allow for these features.

A more complex system of DM software should be able to ensure you can store your records in a number of ways. Some of the free software, Google Docs, for example only allows for a small variety of file storage templates.

 

Limiting access and Sharing Effectively

 Storage means more than just ensuring the file exists. It is about having access methods that are effective and easy to use. Your business will run smoother if everyone who needs access to a file can find it easily.

Microsoft SharePoint Online has a great storage feature which allows you to define how your doc. is classified or tagged. That means those that want to find all the documents with the same tagline can do so easily.

Your records are only helpful if they can be accessed by the right people. Some documents need to be kept from certain members of your workforce. Others need to be shared company-wide.

With features such as the classification feature offered by Microsoft’s service, you can ensure that this is accomplished effectively.

 

Collaboration

Another part of the sharing faculty of good document management software is that, when it has been shared, different people can work on it.

It is always worth considering how this function works on different pieces of software. That is because some businesses require different departments to work on the same project. Some businesses will want all this work to happen at the same time. For others its important they happen in a step-by-step method.

You know your business best. So, when you choose your DM software make sure you consider how the collaboration element of communal file adjusting works.

 

Compliance

 We have talked about the importance of compliance and liability to records management in a previous article that you can access here. Making sure your contracts and obligations are well recorded is a big reason the document management industry exists.

For companies that handle sensitive data but also require collaboration on documents, it can be important that compliance considerations are made.

That may mean limiting access to certain employees. It may also mean hiding certain elements of a document. So, choose wisely and with your business’ well-running in mind.

These are some of the considerations you should make when you choose your document management software provider. The software itself comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, and for a variety of different prices, so make your decision wisely.

Softwareadvice.com offers a good review of existing DM software companies. Feel free to have a look if you want to take a closer look into the options you have available to you.