In any business, having the ability to store, archive, retrieve, and manage important documents is critical. You must create and develop a logical way to file all your files so you can easily access them when needed. 

For accounting professionals, this is especially important since they’re dealing with financial data from various clients. Since most documents nowadays are being processed digitally, the use of accounting document management software is becoming more valuable. The following are some of the benefits of having a working document management system (DMS) for your firm.

1. Reduced Storage Space

Businesses are continuously transitioning from paper to mostly digital storage through their document management system. This is a great advantage for many as it doesn’t require any physical space to store documents since everything will be kept in your servers or the cloud. By this alone, you’ll be able to save a lot on costs since you won’t need a large enough office to store all your paper documents. You don’t have to invest too much in file cabinets, boxes, and storage bins. While there may still be a need to store hard copies of documents, they won’t be as common as they were before.

2. Enhanced Security

Securing documents that are confidential to those outside your company is important to any organization. In fact, it’s of the highest importance, especially to accounting firms, since they handle sensitive information from their clients on a daily basis. Document management systems offer an enhanced level of security that physical means just can’t replicate. A DMS also leaves an audit trail of who viewed the document, when it was accessed, and how it may have been modified. This makes keeping track of document histories much easier.

3. Improved Regulatory Compliance

Compliance requirements for certain documents can be quite complex. It’s essential to make sure that your firm is compliant with Federal and state regulatory regulations as any form of non-conformance could lead to fines, or worse, criminal liability. Using a document management system helps reduce this risk. Since you have the ability to automate a lot of processes, including records retention schedules. It’s also easier to store and mark documents as classified and restrict access to them through a DMS.

4. Easier Document Retrieval

Gone are the days when you pore through pages upon pages of paperwork or endless file cabinet drawers just to look up a single file. When using a DMS, searching for and retrieving documents is significantly faster and easier. Your employees will become far more productive since they can find and retrieve documents on their own computers instead of going through every storage bin or file cabinet. This saves you a lot of time and eliminates the risk of misplacing any documents.

5. Document Backup and Recovery

If there’s one thing you wouldn’t want to happen to your firm, it’s losing all your documents and data. Suppose tragedy struck in the form of floods, fires, or earthquakes, and the physical copies of your documents may prove irretrievable. With a DMS, documents are stored in a secured server or the cloud. They are highly traceable and can be accessed on almost any computer with an internet connection. You can also make backups of your data to prevent any possible losses. Document tracking capabilities reduce the likelihood for documents to be lost or misfiled after viewing.

Conclusion

The benefits of having a document management system far outweigh any costs associated with it. While you may need to invest in an accounting document management software, you’ll be enjoying the benefits of having a DMS for years to come. In the end, it’s all about how you can become efficient and effective in providing your services to your clients.

Firm360 is an all-in-one platform designed to make your firm store documents, manage your projects, and accomplish your billing. Our software is loaded with features that allow you to work with maximum efficiency so you never miss a client deadline. Book a demo today to learn more about our intuitive accounting document management software.