Information is one of the most valuable assets in your organization.
By making that information easily accessible to key members, you become more efficient and effective.
This is where document tracking software comes into play.
The right platform can help you share, organize, track, and manage your most crucial documents in a single place.
We’ll explore exactly what document tracking software is, the key elements to consider during your selection process, and 3 of the major platforms available.
Let’s dive in.
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What is document tracking software?
Document tracking software, also known as DMS (Document Management System), is a computer program that helps you store, find, manage, edit, and control your organizational documents in a single place.
To do it, your chosen DMS often provides you with a few common functionalities, including:
- Search: the ability to search through your documents to find specific information faster.
- OCR (Optical character recognition): identify printed characters and text and organize them in a digital format.
- Workflow management: organize and manage the sequence of tasks involved in your day-to-day operations.
- Document control: revising and editing your documents and exploring their different versions over time.
- Document retrieval: backing up your information so you can easily retrieve documents when you need it.
- Document archiving: storing and categorizing your information in a strategic manner.
- Metadata: summarizing basic information about your documents so you can manage and access them more easily.
We’ll cover these elements more in-depth a bit later, but first, let’s answer a crucial question.
Why do you need document tracking software?
As your organization grows, so does the volume of information you need to handle.
Manually dealing with so much data is next to impossible.
For instance, let’s say that you’re an HR management firm with 500 employees, with each of them having their own personal history.
You’ve been archiving employee documentation for years.
Imagine that, for some reason, you need to find a specific document from an employee you hired 15 years ago — a resume, perhaps.
It’d be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Let’s say that you own an eCommerce business with 100,000 customers. If one of those customers complains about the way your customer support member treated them, you need to be able to bring up the conversation they had.
The right document tracking software could help you find that information in seconds, not decades.
But that’s just barely scratching the surface.
An electronic document management solution not only helps you store and find information quickly, but also categorizes that information to make sure the right people can access specific documents at the right time.
Some other benefits of implementing a document tracking system include:
- Reducing your document storage space: storing all your documentation in the cloud can help you save physical storing space.
- Increasing your security: centralizing all your information into a single place is way more secure than having dispersed information.
- Improving organization-wide compliance: when employees can access your documents when they need them, they’re able to adapt your processes and procedures with more ease.
- Improving team collaboration: a DMS can help your team collaborate faster and work more effectively.
- Backing up vital documents: the right system can help you back up important information and make sure you never lose it.
What should you look for in document tracking software?
Now that you understand the basics of document management software, the question becomes, “How can you choose the right one for your organization?”
To help you, we’ll cover the main elements you need to consider during your selection process.
Just keep in mind; this isn’t a comprehensive list of all the features you should look for in a DMS. It does, however, cover some of the most essential.
Let’s break them down:
Cloud storage
Oracle predicts that 8 out of 10 critical workloads will soon move to the cloud.
It makes sense.
Storing electronic documents is cheaper than storing paper documents. Besides, document storage often comes with features like search and activity logging, which can help you organize and find information faster.
For example, with staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, you can store up to 1,000 GB worth of documents (depending on the plan you select).
Besides, thanks to our digital asset management template, you can store, manage, and share mission-critical documents in a single place.
This template is fully customizable and you can use it to work in whichever way suits your organization.
Document management
The right platform should help you manage your documents in a customizable way — the way your team works best.
For instance, with staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, you can separate different documents into categories so that only the right people can access them.
With staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud’s Docs, you can even create documents from scratch and edit information in real-time, then add them into whichever team and category makes the most sense.
This is especially helpful for companies who constantly create new documents and need a better way to centralize their work.
Activity log
Information is always dynamic. That is, it’s changing continuously.
That’s why the right DMS should help you explore a digital document’s different revisions and see who made specific changes and when.
Otherwise, you might struggle with information governance.
With staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud’s Activity Log, for example, you can visualize the whole history you’ve had with specific teammates, clients, and stakeholders.
This way, you can have better document control and work with more security.
Security settings
Security is one of the major challenges of electronic document management.
In a recent survey, roughly 60% of respondents said that security is their top concern in terms of cloud migration.
It makes total sense.
Since the pandemic caused by COVID-19, the FBI reported a 300% increase in reported cyber attacks.
With this increasing risk, it’s crucial that organizations look for a system that’s secure and reliable.
For instance, with staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, you get access to a secure platform that meets even the strictest security standards in the industry, including ISO/IEC 27001:2013.
Besides, you can set permission levels to ensure only the right people can access confidential information.
With staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, you can have the peace of mind that your documents are always safe.
Automation
As we stated a bit earlier, managing your documents manually is pretty hard, if not impossible.
Here’s where automation comes into play.
Recent studies reveal that nearly 30% of today’s work is fully automatable in 6 out of 10 occupations.
Document management is one of those activities.
For instance, with staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, you can automate up to 250,000 human actions.
You can create logical automation using an “If this, then that” format.
For instance, you could create automation to notify a specific team member whenever a new document is created.
Or you could create new documents automatically every time someone sends an email.
And these are just small examples of what our automation center can do for you.
To get a better understanding of staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud’s automation, we suggest you watch this short video overview:
3 popular document tracking platforms
At this point, you already understand what DMS are, why they matter, and how to choose the right one for your business.
So, let’s quickly cover what 3 of the major DMS offer in the real world.
1. staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud is a powerful and fully customizable Work Operating System (Work OS) that over 100,000 organizations use to manage their work and teams.
And it’s that “managing work” component that is most important.
Even though staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud offers impressive document management features, it’s much more than just another DMS.
With staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, you can build custom digital workspaces to manage any type of work, including project management, CRM, document management, software development, HR, and many more.
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud allows you not only to manage, track, and collaborate on your documents more effectively, but also integrate those documents — and your entire workflow — into a central repository for your whole business.
We suggest you read our product overview page to get a more complete walkthrough of all the features we offer.
2. PandaDoc
PandaDoc is a popular DMS suitable for document signing and legal document management. It offers basic document management functionalities, including:
- E-signature
- Custom fields
- Document creation
- Engagement tracking
- Approval workflow management
And some others.
If you’re looking for a platform to manage your contracts and proposals, PandaDoc might be an option.
That said, PandaDoc lacks some of the automation and project management features you need to fully manage your documents in 2021.
3. Dokmee DMS
Dokmee DMS is a commercial document management solution that helps you capture and store organizational information.
It offers multiple document management features.
For instance:
- File sharing
- Folder structuring
- Search
- Approval management
Even though Dokmee provides you with good enough document management capabilities, that’s pretty much it.
If you’re looking to manage more complex workflows and operations, then you might need a more sophisticated platform.
Ready to choose a document tracking software for your organization?
Centralizing your documents into one place is an important step for any organization. It helps you track documents quickly and share knowledge more effectively.
Before you choose a specific platform, though, make sure it offers a balance between features and simplicity.
When a system is simple to use, adoption becomes frictionless.
For example, with staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud’s visual interface, you can design a custom document management system in minutes, with no training required.
To see for yourself, check out our digital asset management template. It’s fully customizable and will help you start immediately.
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