With hospitality providers seeking innovative methods to increase productivity and streamline operations, demand efficient management solutions has skyrocketed. At the same time, many businesses are trying to become more environmentally responsible with greener solutions.
Document management systems have proven to help businesses achieve all of these goals and much more. Best of all, the majority of businesses who implement a document management solution realize a fast return on investment due to both direct and indirect cost savings.
Whether you’re trying to solve a specific paper problem or want to revamp your entire filing system, the right solution can provide a wide range of benefits, such as improved efficiency and information reliability, increased security, reduced costs and enhanced guest service, all while reducing your office’s paper trail.
T today’s cutting edge solutions take document management systems to an entirely new level with features like bar coding, driver’s license and passport scanning, e-mail archiving and signature capture.
If you’re still using a traditional paper-based filing system, it’s time to consider the transition to electronic document management. Listed below are six top reasons to implement a paperless solution at your office.
- Improved efficiency
The ability to access business-critical data, such as financial reports, night audits and purchase orders, is vital to any hospitality organization, whether it’s a small business or a large corporation. A document management solution can streamline recordkeeping by systematically storing and archiving scanned documents, images and other files. These files, which can be indexed in multiple ways, can then be retrieved quickly and easily using text query search capabilities.
Employees no longer have to rummage through cumbersome file cabinets or waste time searching for information on shared network drives. Instead, they can access records instantly from an organized and searchable repository.
- Save Money
The cost-saving benefits of a document management solution can be realized both directly and indirectly. Going paperless reduces the obvious charges, such as file storage and photocopying costs, overnight mail charges and paper and toner consumption. Yet, the biggest savings are often related to the labor costs involved in filing and retrieving the documents.
For example, if an employee spends an hour each day filing papers, searching for files and simply walking back and forth to the file room, this equals approximately 250 hours per year. If that employee earns $20 per hour, then the business is spending $5,000 a year on simple filing tasks that could be eliminated by going digital. With a document management system, employees can work smarter and more efficiently because they can locate and work with documents without ever leaving their desks.
- Disaster protection
Paper files are not only cumbersome and costly, but also are vulnerable to accidents and business disruptions. Natural disasters, such as fires, floods and earthquakes, can completely destroy your data. Moreover, paper files are susceptible to theft and vandalism.
A document management system protects your data by creating electronic copies that can be backed up in multiple ways. Back-ups can then be stored off-site, so that even if the entire computer system is destroyed, your database can be rebuilt.
- Increased compliance
Government and industry regulations present a challenge for businesses of all shapes and sizes, but compliance-related documents must be properly managed in order to minimize risks and avoid liability.
An electronic document management solution can help ensure that all business documents – whether scanned from paper, created or received digitally or e-mailed with attachments – are securely managed and archived. User permissions guarantee that documents are accessed and modified only by employees who have the proper authorization.
- Environmental protection
Green practices are a growing area of interest for businesses around the world. In fact, according to research giant Gartner, ‘Green IT’ is one of the top 10 technology trends driving major change in business processes today.
Document management systems play a key role in helping businesses create greener workplaces. These paperless solutions replace printing, postage and manual filing with electronic processes, enabling properties of all sizes to reduce or eliminate paper consumption and waste.
Contributing to a greener environment and meeting your business objectives are not mutually exclusive. In fact, implementing a document management solution is a simple and cost-effective way to achieve both goals. To find out more about document management solutions in New Jersey and New York, speak with a representative of Premium Digital Office Solutions. Premium Digital is a leading provider of office solutions, including printers copiers and management systems.