5 Significant Benefits of Digital Document Circulation

Working outside the office and labor shortages encourage entrepreneurs to use every opportunity to make work processes as efficient as possible. One of the proven and successful ways in this direction is document digitization and automation of their circulation. Not just because digitization is modern and suitable for the internet age. It provides at least five practical benefits.

Although the entrenched belief that the best way to store documents is to print them on paper and lock them in a safe still holds strong positions in the business environment, in the modern world, this is no longer true. By summarizing the experience of many companies using automated document circulation, at least 5 advantages of document automation have been identified.

Faster Data Processing

The speed of data processing is undoubtedly one of the most visible benefits of digitization. If a company has established a digital document circulation system, the document management computer system will automatically sort incoming documents, record them, and store them in the required archive folder. This happens faster than a person can do it, and more accurately. No matter how hard it is for an accountant or another financial document processor to accept, statistics show that a computer system makes fewer errors in document processing. It only tends to get confused in rare cases when it receives a non-standard document, requiring human intervention. However, such situations are very few, so the accountant no longer has to spend time entering data and can focus on more important tasks. For the company, this allows for more efficient use of each employee, which is extremely important in conditions of labor shortages. 

Improved Team Collaboration

Document management systems significantly facilitate team collaboration. Every document instantly appears on the computer screen of the employee who needs it. All meeting participants can simultaneously read the necessary materials on their devices, instead of passing around a single printout. As a result, it no longer matters whether the meeting is held in person or remotely. Everyone can access all the necessary information, look into materials from previous years at any time, and no one needs to be sent to the archive for stacks of papers. Moreover, involved employees can make notes, edit, and save digital documents without damaging the original. Many document management systems even provide built-in team collaboration features. Using these features makes it easier to manage projects and improves collaboration within the company. Additionally, the ability to access files in the cloud and work on them means that every employee can access contracts and project files, even if they live in different locations or cannot work in the same office.

Higher Document Security

Although cyberattacks on government institutions and companies are a current topic, documents stored in secure digital repositories are actually safer than paper copies, which are occasionally scanned or photographed and sent via email. The thing is, document management systems offer better control over confidential documents. Different groups and individuals can control access to materials placed in different folders and see who and when has viewed each content. As a result, every unauthorized access attempt is documented, and company managers know exactly what information might have fallen into the hands of unauthorized individuals. This allows them to take appropriate actions to reduce the risk of the obtained information causing harm to the company. Document management systems can also alert owners in real-time if someone unauthorized has opened a confidential document. 

On the other hand, paper documents can only be protected by an alarm system installed in the archive room or by hiring a guard. But if an unauthorized person manages to enter this room, company representatives can only guess which documents they have seen or taken. Stolen ones will be revealed by a massive audit, but those viewed or photographed will never be known. Moreover, paper documents can suffer irreparable damage in accidents such as fires or floods. They can even be affected by prolonged exposure to overly humid conditions or excessive light, as ink fades over the years.

Data Analysis for Better Decisions

Extracting data from paper documents is a time-consuming and complex task. First, the necessary pages must be found, then the correct fields located, and the data copied. Only then can analysis begin. Machine-readable digital documents do not have such problems. A few keystrokes, and all the necessary data, even from the last 10 or 20 years, appears on the screen. The computer system analyzes them from various perspectives and prepares clear, visually appealing graphs. Looking at them immediately provides an idea of trends and the impact of various decisions on the company's operations. If something is still unclear, additional parameters can be added, and data can be extracted from a slightly different perspective. And all this happens in minutes, while working with paper documents can take hours or even days. Clearly, such extensive analysis capabilities allow for more thoughtful, information-based decisions, which can play a crucial role in the company's future. By analyzing data and key performance indicators, organizations can improve their processes to address weaknesses and inefficiencies.

Space Saving

When a company is new, document storage is not a concern. Initially, paper sheets fill one shelf, then a cabinet, but after some time, it becomes necessary to maintain an entire archive room. Moreover, documents are usually sorted and placed in folders, the purchase of which costs tens or hundreds of euros annually. This becomes challenging. When moving company premises, all this wealth must be transported to a new location, and a special room must again be set up for the documents, where a favorable temperature for paper storage must be maintained. 

Document digitization eliminates these inconveniences. Even tens of thousands of pages can be stored in digital format on a single external memory device or server. Even several separate devices for backup storage will take up relatively little space, and there will be no need to worry about data carriers at all when choosing a reliable data center cloud service. Then it only remains to remember the passwords needed for access.

Complete Digitization in 6.3% of Companies

Despite the fact that computers have been a daily part of companies for more than 20 years, document digitization in Latvia is still at a relatively low level. Our survey shows that only 6.3% of Latvian companies have fully transitioned to digital document circulation, while all others still prepare reports and statements on paper, even though accounting laws no longer require it. 12.8% have not implemented any digital solutions at all.

The most popular digital solutions are electronically prepared invoices – last year, 66.2% of companies exchanged such invoices, 60.8% of surveyed companies used electronic signatures, and 52.6% of respondents also signed and stored contracts in computer systems.