Common Challenges of Managing Records

Could you imagine running your business without documents? Many companies create countless documents every day because they’re essential for passing on information. However, every new document you produce makes it that much harder to store and track each individual record. Thankfully, document management has made storing and tracking a lot easier.

The Challenges of Managing Records

Document management has come a long way since the days of keeping everything in file cabinets. But at the rate we create documents today, simply having a document management tool is not enough. It needs to be a solution that can evolve with the speed and scale at which you’re generating files. Without such a solution, your organization will experience common document management problems like:

Lost Files

One of the biggest problems caused by poor record management practices is missing documents. It’s not uncommon for someone to accidentally misname or lose a file. If this has ever happened to you, then you know how long it can take to find the lost record. In some cases, you may even have to recreate the document from scratch.

Lost Time

Although it might sound cliché, time is money in the business world. If you’re spending several minutes searching for a document you need, then that’s taking away time you could be using to complete other projects. This is especially a problem for older document management systems that rely on paperwork, which is more common than you might think.

Inadequate Security

It may not be the case for every document you create, but a lot of your company’s files likely contain some sensitive information. If someone from outside the organization were to see that private data, it could spell trouble for your business. In a time when cyberthreats exist everywhere on the net, it’s important to do whatever is necessary to prevent data leaks. Poor record keeping makes it that much easier for the wrong people to access documents that should be secured.

Multiple Document Versions

When a document is first created, it’s likely to see some edits before it reaches its final state. In the process, new versions of that document are going to be created. Numerous versions of the same document can lead to confusion and frustration. Imagine how it would feel if you spent an hour working on a document only to discover that you were working on an older version of the file you were supposed to be using.

Lack of Accessibility

Today’s world is more mobile than ever, and businesses have begun taking advantage of that fact in a number of ways. One of the most notable examples of this is the implementation of hybrid work environments. However, any company that wants to be more mobile needs to have solutions that allow it. If you have centralized solutions, like a paper-reliant document management system, then your virtual employees won’t have access to the records they need.

Permission Confusion

This could be seen as an extension of the security problem. Some of your files are going to contain information that only a select number of people are authorized to see. If you have to rely on one or two people to determine if you’re authorized or not, that could eat up a lot of your precious time. Additionally, if the person in charge makes a mistake, the wrong person could end up seeing something they shouldn’t.

The Solution

You can avoid each problem listed here by using an electronic document management system offered by a provider like Americom. A digital system sorts your documents neatly so they can be quickly retrieved whenever you need them. Any document in the system can be accessed and edited from anywhere, with all the changes and who made them recorded in the document’s history. Electronic document management systems can also be outfitted with a variety of protection tools.

Find a Better Document Management Solution

Americom specializes in document and print services, so we understand the challenges of managing records. If you want to save time, keep information secure, and have access to your files at all times, we can help.