A messy workstation, file cabinets taking up every available space in the office, stacks upon stacks of file folders, and piles of documents that never seem to end!
That’s how an average office looks like.
But why be average when you can be extraordinary by letting go of those file folders and papered documents and implementing a document management system?
In this article, we’ll tell you what document management software is, why you should go for it, and which are some of the best document management systems out there to get you started.
What is a Document Management System?
As apparent from the name, a document management system or document management software is used to organize, store, edit, share and secure important documents.
It is usually cloud-based and is one of the essentials that help you go paperless.
But how is an electronic document management system better than the traditional papered system?
Let’s have a look!
Why Should You Go for Document Management Software?
1. It Saves Space
2. It Acts as a Backup/Recovery
3. It Offers Foolproof Security
4. It Streamlines Your Workflow
5. It Aids in Team Collaboration
Our Recommendations for the Top Document Management Software
1. Wondershare Document Cloud
2. Bitrix24
3. Microsoft SharePoint Online
4. DocuWare Cloud
5. OnlyOffice
6. Legito
7. Confluence
Why Should You Go for Document Management Software?
Many people find it hard to make the switch from paper to paperless. If you’re one of those people, I’m sure the following reasons for opting for a document management system will help you make a definite decision:
Why Go For a Document Management System? | ||
1 | It saves space | |
2 | It acts as a backup/recovery tool | |
3 | It offers foolproof security | |
4 | It streamlines your workflow | |
5 | It aids in team collaboration |
1. It Saves Space
Did you know that physical documents stored in an office take up almost 15% of the space? With file cabinets and folder storage boxes gone, you’ll be able to save up space in your office, making it more spacious and breathable. However, not all documents can be digitized; therefore, you can allocate a separate room to store them.
2. It Acts as a Backup/Recovery
One of the biggest risks of keeping hard copies of important documents is to lose them to fire, flood, earthquake, or theft. And believe me, it’s quite difficult to recover such documents and can put your business at tremendous risk.
Keeping all your files stored in an electronic document management system is the way forward. It acts as a backup and recovery option in case you lose your data.
3. It Offers Foolproof Security
With paper documents, you cannot keep track of who accessed them or made changes.
And with 41% of the companies having over 1000 files with confidential data like credit card info, security is a major concern.
However, using a document management system not only provides bank-level security but it lets you know who viewed the files, who accessed them, and who modified them, complete with the date and time.
So, everything is traceable, which is a huge plus!
4. It Streamlines Your Workflow
Managing documents physically is not only a hassle, but it also leads to unproductivity.
Here’s the proof:
An average employee spends almost 40% of their day looking for printed documents.
And that’s not all!
A recent survey shows that 49% of the employees had a hard time searching for documents, while 43% faced issues while sharing them.
With so many roadblocks, inefficiency is imminent!
On the other hand, a document management software streamlines your workflow, makes finding documents a breeze, and sharing is as easy as pie.
So, what’s it going to be? Hours upon hours of looking for documents or finding them with a single click? The choice is yours!
5. It Aids in Team Collaboration
Collaboration between a team is quite important for success, and just because it gets difficult to work jointly with printed documents, 75% of cross-functional teams end up being counterproductive.
The solution to this is simple! Get a collaborative tool, a document management system that helps teams work together on the same project, and stay updated on the progress.
No need to pass around a single piece of paper and waste precious work hours!
So, what are some of the top document management systems available that can help you save space, keep your files secure, and improve workflows and collaborations?
Our Recommendations for the Top Document Management Software
You’ll find plenty of document management systems out there, but not all are as resourceful as the ones that we have shortlisted.
Top 7 Document Management Systems | ||
1 | Wondershare Document Cloud | |
2 | Bitrix24 | |
3 | Microsoft SharePoint Online | |
4 | DocuWare Cloud | |
5 | OnlyOffice | |
6 | Legito | |
7 | Confluence |
1. Wondershare Document Cloud
Our first pick for the best document management solution is Wondershare Document Cloud.
It is a cloud-based tool that helps you edit, sign, share, and track documents. The cloud storage provides you 1GB of free storage and up to 100GB for a small price.
The feature this tool is known for is the electronic signature, using which you can easily sign or obtain signatures from others to bind documents legally. The best part is that you can access the documents from any operating system without going through the hassle of downloading any software.
However, if you want to edit PDFs on your desktop, you can get PDFelement Pro DC which has Document Cloud embedded in it. In short, you can quickly download PDFs from Document Cloud directly to PDFelement, edit it and upload it right back!
Wondershare PDFelement Pro DC
Simplify your Workflow with the Document Cloud for PDFelement.
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2. Bitrix24
Another document management software that caught our eyes is Bitrix24. It offers cloud storage as well as on-site storage (private and personal cloud storage). Other than storage, this all-in-one platform offers file sharing, file syncing, multi-user editing, and offline access to files.
Moreover, you can also use it for conference calls, chats, and streamlining and clocking your projects.
In short, it acts as a virtual office for your business. So, if you want all your day-to-day business tasks to be in one place, where the whole team can collaborate and work simultaneously, you need to get Bitrix24.
3. Microsoft SharePoint Online
If you’re a large-scale business looking for a document management solution that’s a bit towards the high-end, go for Microsoft SharePoint Online.
Available for Android, iOS, and Windows, you can use this app to share and manage documents while being able to collaborate with your team across the organization. It’s an all-rounder tool that not only takes care of document management and storage but also enables you to organize your tasks and work on projects simultaneously with your colleagues.
4. DocuWare Cloud
DocuWare Cloud is one of the oldest document management systems around. It has many impressive features that set it apart from the others, including importing documents, handling forms, processing invoices, and entering data fields.
Not only this, but it also helps in workflow automation which is essential for a productive business.
5. OnlyOffice
OnlyOffice is a business-grade document management system designed specifically for small to mid-sized businesses. Although, it has much more to it than just cloud storage, like a whole virtual office, we will stick to the basic features that provide document management solutions.
Companies can use this amazing tool to create and edit files that are fully compatible with MS Office formats. It also offers the features to co-edit documents, review them, discuss them via chat, and leave comments. The version history feature is also quite useful when it comes to restoring older versions of a document instead of starting all over again.
So, this feature-packed productivity software is all you need to get going.
6. Legito
Legito is a complete document management system that enables you to store, analyze, automate, draft, sign, manage, and share your official documents with utmost ease and convenience.
It is a web-based tool that allows you to save your documents as templates for future use, which helps reduce drafting time by 90%. The audit trail feature makes the document history visible to you to see who did what at when. Also, you can make a list of your tasks with deadlines, so you’re always on time.
With so many innovative features, I don’t think a price slightly towards the higher side is a deal-breaker.
7. Confluence
If you’re looking for a document management solution to store and share data across your business efficiently, you should give Confluence a try.
It has an advanced search feature that helps you locate documents effortlessly.
There’s more!
When creating a new document, you could choose a blank page or from the library of 75 customizable templates, including reports, planners, forms, etc. As far as collaboration is concerned, you can edit documents alongside your team in real-time, leave comments, and even have discussions using emojis and GIFs to add an element of fun during work.
Hence, Confluence is not only a document management system; in fact, it’s a whole workspace to bring together the entire organization, no matter where they’re located.
Final Words
A document management system is highly effective to run and grow your business, whether small-scale or enterprise-level. It helps you go paperless, provides robust security for documents containing classified information, and acts as a disaster recovery option.
With so many benefits, it also helps streamline your workflow for boosted productivity.
Therefore, invest in a feature-filled document management software to be more efficient, and improve your business overall.
FAQs
What are the types of document management systems? ›
- Content Management. Often referred to as web content management, this type of document management system focuses on creating, modifying, organising, and delivering content to users. ...
- Workflow Management. ...
- Record Management. ...
- Document Imaging. ...
- Enterprise Content Management.
PDF Readers are the best example of a Document Management System through which you can access the PDF file offline and store it to view and even print and publish it anytime at any place.
Does Microsoft have a document management system? ›Does Microsoft have a Document Management System? Yes, it does. Microsoft Office 365 provides various software solutions including SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics and OneDrive for document management.
Is SharePoint a document management system? ›SharePoint is a great document management tool, but it requires a lot of work to maintain, especially for large and growing companies. You can use it effectively for a while by setting up an intuitive site structure and maintaining clear, logical content governance guidelines, but that will only take you so far.
What is document management system? ›Document management is a system or process used to capture, track and store electronic documents such as PDFs, word processing files and digital images of paper-based content. Document management can save you time and money.
Is Google Drive a document management system? ›Google Drive is a cloud-based program that allows you to create, edit, store, and share documents. Many businesses use it as a file management system; documents sit in the Cloud as well as synchronising with users' local versions of the system.
How do companies manage documents? ›Document management is the process by which a company transfers paper documents into a digital format before placing them into organized categories in an electronic filing system.
What is a digital document management system? ›Document management, often referred to as Document Management Systems (DMS), is the use of a computer system and software to store, manage and track electronic documents and electronic images of paper-based information captured through the use of a document scanner.
What are document management skills? ›- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Basic understanding of laws and regulations regarding document management.
- Excellent analytical and technical skills.
What is a document management workflow? A document management workflow is the process you use to store, share, delete, edit, categorize, and manage the documents in your organization. The process aims to provide clear guidelines on how to complete a task in the document management life cycle.
Why do you need a document management system? ›
A document management system is used to automatically organize, secure, digitize and classify company documents, making them easy to access, edit and share.
What types of document controlling programs do you know? ›- Server-based DMS. ...
- Database DMS. ...
- Cloud-based DMS. ...
- Web-based DMS. ...
- Document Storage & Organization. ...
- Collaboration & Sharing. ...
- Version Control. ...
- Workflows.
- Filing by Subject/Category.
- Filing in Alphabetical order.
- Filing by Numbers/Numerical order.
- Filing by Places/Geographical order.
- Filing by Dates/Chronological order.
Document management and collaboration
The central benefits of SharePoint include a streamlined flow of information and cloud storage that can be accessed by mobile devices. Informed employees make better decisions, meet deadlines, understand the shared business strategy, and contribute better to it.
Is OneDrive for Business a Document Management System? The short answer is, no. OneDrive for Business is a cloud-based solution that is designed to help businesses collaborate, share and store files more easily and on the move.
What should you not use SharePoint for? ›- 1 Cost. There are so many things that SharePoint can do beyond file storage. ...
- 2 Poor Usability. ...
- 3 Document Visibility. ...
- 4 Document Duplication Woes. ...
- 5 Data Integrity. ...
- 6 URL Issues. ...
- 7 Navigation. ...
- 8 Can't Sort or Filter.
Microsoft Sharepoint : currently the best EDM software for easy and efficient document management ! All documents are stored in one single location, collaborators have access to up-to-date relevant information concerning invoices, quotes, customer data, price lists, etc.
Is SharePoint good for Records Management? ›SharePoint Server includes features that can help organizations implement integrated records management systems and processes.
What are the features of a good document management system? ›...
Document Management Software Features
- Web access. ...
- Document Search. ...
- Drag and drop Features. ...
- Embedded viewer and editor. ...
- Versioning. ...
- File Locking. ...
- Sharing and rating.
- Reduces Costs.
- Improves Workflow.
- Better Collaboration.
- Advanced Search.
- Reduces Storage Space.
- Easier Retrieval.
- Enhanced Security.
- Disaster Recovery.
What are the different types of documentation? ›
- learning-oriented tutorials.
- goal-oriented how-to guides.
- understanding-oriented discussions.
- information-oriented reference material.
The biggest drawback to Google Docs is the presentation program. It is not the strongest presentation program and, in my opinion, is not close to being equal to PowerPoint. Google Docs' presentation program does not have a variation of styles/themes, templates, charts/graphs, and slide transitions.
Is Dropbox a document management system? ›Dropbox is an online software solution that manages electronic documents for both individuals and teams. It can serve as your document repository, but it can also simplify how you organize, find, and work with digital files.
What are the pros and cons of using Google Drive? ›...
- Security Risks.
- Requires Internet connection.
- Has a limit of file size you can upload in a day.
- File size limits.
- Downloading and uploading speed.
- Google broses content save in Google drive.
The key components of a document management system include document capture, storage, metadata, versioning, security, indexing, and retrieval features.
What is enterprise document management system? ›Enterprise document management (EDM) is a strategy for overseeing an organization's paper and electronic documents so they can be easily retrieved in the event of a compliance audit or subpoena.
Which software is used for digital documentation? ›Both paper documents and digital documents are created using a simple text editor like Notepad or any word processor like MS Word or OpenOffice Writer.
What is the difference between document management and document control? ›So while document management generally refers to the storing and handling of documentation, document control specifically refers to the control and management of documents normally for the purpose of submitting them to a customer at the completion of a project.
How can I improve my documentation skills? ›- Minimize Passive Voice. Time for a quick grammar lesson: ...
- Use Catchy Headings and Bullet Points. People today are constantly inundated with content. ...
- Reduce Buzzwords and Acronyms. ...
- Invest in Visual Content. ...
- Organize Your Documents Appropriately.
Documentation systems are tools by which one participant in an academic discipline, or field of study, acknowledges the work of another. Using one is much more than a professional courtesy: it is a requirement.
What is the purpose of a workflow diagram? ›
A workflow diagram is a visual layout of a process, project or job in the form of a flow chart. It's a highly effective way to impart the steps more easily in a business process, how each one will be completed, by whom and in what sequence.
How can document management be improved? ›- Say goodbye to papers. Consider moving beyond the traditional means of paper documentation. ...
- Get professional input. ...
- Establish clear roles. ...
- Automate the processes. ...
- Integrate with Training.
- Identify Documents. Identify all the documents that the document control system will handle. ...
- Establish Quality Standards. ...
- Name Your Documents. ...
- Create Revisions Procedures. ...
- Manage access. ...
- Establish Archiving Procedures. ...
- Document Creation. ...
- Document Review and Approval.
“Documented information required by the quality management system and by this International Standard shall be controlled to ensure: it is available and suitable for use, where and when it is needed; it is adequately protected (e.g. from loss of confidentiality, improper use, or loss of integrity).”
How do I choose a good document management software? ›- Usability. One of the most important elements of any software is usability. ...
- Document Sharing and Collaboration. ...
- Version Control. ...
- Image Scanning and OCR. ...
- Electronic Signatures. ...
- Workflow Automation. ...
- User Permissions. ...
- Mobile Functionality.
Google Drive is a cloud-based program that allows you to create, edit, store, and share documents. Many businesses use it as a file management system; documents sit in the Cloud as well as synchronising with users' local versions of the system.
What is document management system? ›Document management is a system or process used to capture, track and store electronic documents such as PDFs, word processing files and digital images of paper-based content. Document management can save you time and money.
Which computer programs work best for organizing a filing system? ›Some of the popular cloud-based file management solutions include Google Drive, Dropbox, Apple iCloud, and Microsoft OneDrive. Be sure to check this Apple iCloud vs Microsoft OneDrive guide to learn how the two platforms compare.
How can document management be improved? ›- Say goodbye to papers. Consider moving beyond the traditional means of paper documentation. ...
- Get professional input. ...
- Establish clear roles. ...
- Automate the processes. ...
- Integrate with Training.
So perhaps the best solution comes in the form of today's popular Cloud services like Google Drive, OneDrive, and DropBox. These services let you keep your filing system on your own computer, but then mirror your computerized files onto the Cloud, maintaining the same folder structure and layout.
What are the 3 types of filing systems? ›
Filing in Alphabetical order. Filing by Numbers/Numerical order. Filing by Places/Geographical order.
What are the disadvantages of Google Docs? ›The biggest drawback to Google Docs is the presentation program. It is not the strongest presentation program and, in my opinion, is not close to being equal to PowerPoint. Google Docs' presentation program does not have a variation of styles/themes, templates, charts/graphs, and slide transitions.
Is Dropbox a document management system? ›Dropbox is an online software solution that manages electronic documents for both individuals and teams. It can serve as your document repository, but it can also simplify how you organize, find, and work with digital files.
What are the features of a good document management system? ›...
Document Management Software Features
- Web access. ...
- Document Search. ...
- Drag and drop Features. ...
- Embedded viewer and editor. ...
- Versioning. ...
- File Locking. ...
- Sharing and rating.
Document management, often referred to as Document Management Systems (DMS), is the use of a computer system and software to store, manage and track electronic documents and electronic images of paper-based information captured through the use of a document scanner.
What are document management skills? ›- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Basic understanding of laws and regulations regarding document management.
- Excellent analytical and technical skills.
- Google Drive. Google Drive is Google's file sync app that lets you store all of your files online alongside your Google Docs documents, and keep them synced with all of your devices.
- Dropbox. ...
- OneDrive. ...
- Amazon S3. ...
- Box. ...
- CloudConvert. ...
- ConvertAPI. ...
- Citrix ShareFile.
Various File System Types
Disk/tape file systems, network file systems, and special-purpose file systems are the three main categories of file systems.
Windows Explorer helps you manage your files and folders by showing the location and contents of every drive, folder, and file on your computer. Creating folders is the key to organizing files because folders keep related documents together.