Perhaps you’re familiar with the adage that time is of the essence. That means it’s important to spend your time wisely. Searching for papers that are filed somewhere can be time consuming. At worst, this could cause you to miss a deadline; at the least you’ll spend valuable time that could be better spent on more productive tasks.
Successful document management is mandatory for your business. An unorganized office can cost your company hundreds of dollars every year due to lost time, lack of efficiency, and even duplicated efforts in recreating work you can’t find. It is estimated that people waste 150 hours per year just looking for lost items. Just think about what 150 hours per person in your company is costing. Organizing office paperwork is key.
Finding and implementing a simple, effective document management and filing system is so important for your business. You need to know exactly where to find what you’re looking for when you need it. Who can afford to spend valuable time searching paper-by-paper, or drawer-by-drawer trying to find a document?
Once you realize the importance of an effective system for managing your office documents, the decision becomes what kind of system to use. There are a few possibilities, but which one is best?
One relatively new filing system is to use a Rolodex and write down each item and where it can be found in the office. For each word you might search under, you would write out a card using that word. You would then file the cards in alphabetical order based on chosen keywords. While this may be viable for some, when you have a large number of documents to manage, it can quickly become a gargantuan task to handwrite all those cards.
Another option is to scan each and every piece of paper you need to keep and file them on your computer, or on CDs or flash drives. The problem with this system is disk space. In addition, it is very time consuming and you run the risk of losing everything, should there be a technical ‘glitch’ — they happen, you know.
As such, what happens if your computer crashes? Or what happens if your computer gets one of the millions of viruses available to you (for free!) on the Internet? You could lose everything in the blink of an eye! Not to mention that, as you upgrade your computer and operating systems change, you could face the problem of not being able to view your files anymore. This is what happened with all those floppy disks that were so common awhile back. New computers don’t even come with 3 ½” drives anymore.
It could also be difficult to search for needed files since some document scanning systems do not allow much flexibility or make it cumbersome to add keywords or search terms. You could keep a separate folder for every document, but then you need an even larger amount of space to store them all. This system simply isn’t feasible for a business with a large amount of paperwork. Plus, the entire effort is very, yes VERY, time consuming. Many documents do not lend themselves to being scanned (i.e. bound documents, original signature contracts, etc.)
Of course, you can always use an alphabetical filing system, which is what most companies resort to by default, simply because it’s all they know. After over 100 years, the alphabetic methods are firmly entrenched into our way of doing business. However, the alphabetic document management system has many flaws and starts to breakdown almost as soon as it is implemented. It literally gets worse, much worse, over time. The alphabetic method requires that a person (or worse, a group of people) in the office remember how they filed the information. The problem is that people forget or they don’t all think alike. Many times, the person who sets up the filing system leaves the company and the knowledge of where things are filed goes out the door with them. (this is a BIG PROBLEM!)
The solution seems elusive.
Yet, there is a simple document management system that can be easily implemented in any size company. Converting your traditional files to this more efficient system will make you wonder how you ever managed without it.
It’s called Paper Tiger.
Paper Tiger document management software and filing system is a software program that allows you to easily categorize and organize your files based on a numerical indexing system that makes it a cinch to find what you need by allowing you to search for any keyword you choose—right from your computer! Think of it as the Google search engine for your file cabinet.
No need to scan your documents any longer, you simply index them and file them the same way you’ve always done. For those who need to keep the paper copies and originals, this is the ideal solution to document management. You avoid all the hassles and risks of using an imaging solution (paperless, scanning) and yet get many of the benefits of instant retrieval and virtual immunity from disruption due to staff turnover.
Not sure you want to commit to managing your office documents via computer? You can enjoy a free version, learn how the system works and see if this innovative document management system will work for you and your company before you buy. If you find—as thousands of others including large businesses, major universities, government agencies, non-profits, small businesses and professionals have—that this is indeed something you can’t live without, you can purchase the full product and get started on managing your files more efficiently right away. You can learn how to use Paper Tiger software in under 30 minutes – and you will never have to remember how you filed a document again!
And since you’ll print out an index of your files, you don’t have to worry about losing everything if your computer crashes or gets the “Trojan A”, “Trojan B”, etc. or some other crazy sounding virus. With Paper Tiger, you’ll have the ease of computer document management solution and the security of a paper trail as well. It’s the best of both worlds. There is security in having the real paper, when you need it.
Paper Tiger Filing System software for document management allows you to add simple codes to every document in your office, and then add item name and keyword information to the software so you can easily track and manage your files. You can see this amazing system in action on Paper Tiger’s website. You’ll be able to search for documents and files based on keywords that you choose to input, while creating a custom designed filing solution that’s perfect for your office.
An efficient document management is a must for any size company from the smallest home based business to the largest corporation or government agency. That’s why there are varying solutions with different levels of functionality to meet your individual needs. But whatever options your company needs, you can find pre-recorded webinars with tips and all the information you need to help you create a manageable, effective filing system.
As the decision maker in your business, you need to decide which document management system will work best for your organization. To do so, you’ll need to evaluate the options and choose the one you deem most appropriate. The ability to search for files and documents using keywords you select will save time and money every day, while greatly reducing stress and increasing productivity.
The business world today is much too competitive to not be as efficient as possible. The days of using traditional alphabetic filing systems with their inherent disadvantages are quickly coming to an end. Realize as you search for a computerized solution to replace your antiquated alphabetic filing system and move to the paperless office, that there is another fantastic computerized solution available using indexing, not imaging…Paper Tiger software. Indexing is a great, low-cost, low-hassle, reduced risk way to meet your organization’s document management needs.
Tags: Document Management, document management software, document management system, filing software, paper filing systems
