Maximize ROI by streamlining document management

Every day you and your clients spend a lot of time on tedious tasks like printing, faxing, mailing, copying or even simply finding relevant documents. This can, on average, use up to nine hours per week per employee. It can take up to 18 minutes for a professional to find a document manually and can spend almost half of their working days trying to find the information they need to do their job. All of this time can equate to up to 468 hours per year.

When you take paper out of the equation, your company workflow automatically improves. Collaboration between team members and clients becomes more simple, and information is at your fingertips no matter where you are. When you’re able to work more effectively, clients will likely notice the difference in the speed of service provided.

“Access to tools and documents that enable good job performance” ranks No. 2 on the list of the top five most broken processes, according to a survey in Nintex’s Definitive Guide to America’s Most Broken Processes. That’s why you or your firm may have a pretty big margin of improvement. The survey found that 43% of respondents reported trouble with document approval requests and document sharing, and just over 30% said they struggle managing different versions of documents.

Another recent survey from McKinsey & Company found that 40% of respondents will either need to be fundamentally retrained for the challenges of their job or replaced to make up for their organization’s skills gap.” However, only 15% of respondents plan to address this issue within the next two years. They also found that organizations that don’t use technology for their business workflows have an even harder time finding talent. About 42% in that group reported they’ve “stuck with the status quo because it’s difficult to source the talent they need.”

Further, document management is particularly sensitive in the accounting industry, as documents are central to the profession.

Improve workflow by going paperless

The average worker in the U.S. uses 10,000 sheets of paper annually, making up around 70% of a company’s total waste. Paper is also one of the largest business costs with around $120 million spent on printed documents every year — just on paper. When moving to a paperless office, a big percentage of that expense is removed and as an added bonus, it gets a lot easier to keep track of important documents.

After making the decision to go paperless, transitioning to the cloud is the next step, which can have unexpected challenges like unreadable uploaded documents. What is even better than sharing scanned documents with clients is sharing fillable PDFs so they can fill in information and sign directly from their devices — without printing.

Following the three steps below is a really good way to start a paperless environment at work:

• Invest in a cloud-based software program. Cloud technology will permit you to build an effective document management process. It provides the ability to access files remotely to work from anywhere, anytime with a more flexible schedule.  

• Scan and upload your essential documents. Digitizing your documents is a necessary effort upfront, but it will bring a clear improvement in the long run. 

• Shred old documents. Once papers are in the cloud and easily accessible online, there’s no need to keep a hard copy. To stay organized, be sure to shred copies you no longer need.  

Recognize the importance of security precautions

Each week, an average of five to seven accounting firms report a security breach. Keeping client data secure has always been a top priority for an accounting firm, and that’s especially true if you’re moving to a digital document management system. However, even firms still using paper need to take security very seriously. Hard copies can easily end up in the wrong hands because of an innocent mistake.

As mentioned above, be careful with paper copies and shred sensitive paper versions of uploaded documents. It’s a great idea to look into hiring IT professionals and experts to keep you up to date on the latest tech trends and keep your firm safe from cyber attacks and security breaches. If budgets are tight, you can perhaps hire a contractor to help.

You can also create a document security process with your team. Here are some best practices to help you get started:

• Restrict document access to authorized personnel only. Make sure to regularly check who has access to what documents, especially for sensitive client data.

• Change passwords often and don’t use the same one for everything. Be sure to never use a personal password to protect professional data. 
• Update passwords and access after employees leave or retire. Never leave passwords written on papers around the office — instead, consider investing in password manager software that will help keep important information in the hands of the firm and be easily located. 
• Regularly back up your documents. This will ensure you don’t lose updated versions of important documents and your files won’t be deleted if you lose a device. They will be available in the cloud and not solely stored on a certain laptop or phone. 
• Use a virtual private network. When you are using a wireless network that is not habitual, using a VPN can be a great way to encrypt your data and keep it safe.
• Look into endpoint security software. Endpoint protection provides security at the entry point of all firm devices like desktops, laptops and mobile devices. It can alert firms if a document gets shared outside, stop external cyberattacks, and more. 

As an accounting firm, finding the document management system that works best for you should be a priority since it will shape how your entire firm runs. By investing in the right tools, the ROI will be evident.