Entrepreneurs, by nature, are willing to take risks and work to turn a vision into reality. These “big picture” inclinations often form the heart of a new business, inspiring those who work with the entrepreneur and giving the venture a necessary vitality. However, that energy on its own is not enough to ensure success. The entrepreneurial spirit must combine with a sensible approach to document management and organizational methods. In the modern business world, entrepreneurs must eke out every advantage possible, so it’s impossible to get away with an inefficient document management structure.
The Internal Benefits of Improved Document Management
A business’s success starts with how well its team can work. Whether you’re just starting and working with a partner or leading a small office with employees or contractors, the way you manage your documents can affect the way that your team functions. The most effective systems deliver improvements in two categories: efficiency and reduced costs.
- Efficiency - It takes time to fill out paper forms and store them. For each form, you can lose anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes, multiplied by the number of people who must complete these forms and the number of forms in question. Over the course of a week or month, that time adds up to hours of lost productivity. Additionally, those forms must be stored physically and accessed as needed. Even if you’re completing these forms digitally but storing them physically, it takes time and space to keep those documents in a protected location.
- Reduced Costs - You also spend money on a physical infrastructure when storing paper documents. The storage units, paper, ink, and printer maintenance all cost money that you’ll never see again. Instead, you could spend that money on marketing efforts, additional equipment for the job, and training your employees. If you can redirect those funds, your team will be more productive without increasing your costs.
The benefits listed here are general categories. As you consider your business, there are countless ways that you can improve on your organizational structure to streamline your operations. Don’t overlook the most significant way, which is making the transition to a fully digital document management strategy.
Reaping the Rewards When Considering External Conditions
There are two core ways that effective document management will change the way your business interacts with the outside world: security and customer satisfaction.
- Security - It’s no surprise that inefficient or faulty organizational structures are vulnerable to security threats. Physical papers may be stolen or copied, data that isn’t adequately encrypted is vulnerable to hackers, and viruses may compromise open networks. As you improve your networks with the high-end security features found in Microsoft Active Directory and Azure, you need to protect the documents themselves.
Power PDF integrates with these approaches to digital security and ensures that your team has access to your documents, but not anyone that you don’t want to allow. Whether you need to redact specific sections of documents or leave portions of your network inaccessible to those without proper credentials, modern document management with Power PDF gives you the results your business needs. - Customer Satisfaction - Your customers expect things to move quickly, and any moment that they must wait before receiving their product is a moment that they can consider using a different business in the future. With an efficient internal organization, your team can move more quickly to deliver the results on which your clients depend.
In addition to improved productivity, you can also streamline your business outreach. Power PDF empowers your team to use fillable PDFs to collect information from your clients in a simpler way than was previously possible. You can also use the signature authentication options to hasten the process of acquiring legal permissions and signing contracts. The result of these enhancements is an improved client- and all-around experience.
When you experience the added security and increased satisfaction that comes with using programs such as Power PDF, you’ll know firsthand the way to drive your business to future success.
Essential Programs for Organizational Management Success
Kofax offers a suite of programs designed to help entrepreneurs succeed against difficult odds. Our software focuses on helping you streamline document management. Programs such as Power PDF and PaperPort are your keys to future success. When you incorporate these programs into your business, you’ll reap the rewards of a more efficient, more success-oriented operation. Contact us to learn more about how these programs work and see which edition is correct for your business.