The other two questions that you need to answer to create a basic document management system for your small business are:
3. How can retrieving documents be simplified?
This question is the heart of your document management system. In a survey conducted by Leger Marketing for Xerox Canada, Canadian SMB owners and managers on average said it cost $2,152 a year to manage and store documents and about one hour a day to search for these documents (globeandmail.com).
Once again, good filing practices can go a long way towards solving the problem. Browsing the Data Management articles on this site will get you started. If you do things such as consistently follow the file naming conventions outlined in 10 File Management Tips, for example, documents will be much easier to find.
And whether you’re a sole proprietor who works solo or a business owner with employees, I recommend creating a File Locations List, which will remind users of where particular types of files go – and where to find particular documents. If your business is like most, remember to include whether or not the file will be on your computer system or filed in a physical location such as a filing cabinet. For instance, suppose that I use photos in my business. An entry in my File Locations List might be:
Photos – computer – drive E:/photos – file in appropriate subject folder
- non-digital – filing cabinet 3 – Photos – alpha by subject
The complete list would be printed and posted both by all computer workstations and by/on the filing cabinets.
4. How can we make/keep our documents secure?
The first line of defense for document security is securing the business premises themselves. All businesses need to have security systems, such as alarm systems, installed – even home-based businesses.
Businesses may also need or want to invest in other security devices, such as window bars/grills, security cameras and/or patrol services. You can spend all the time you want creating multiple passwords and encrypting files in an attempt to protect your electronic files, but it doesn’t matter much if someone can just wander in and steal your computer and accompanying hard drive.
All filing cabinets should be lockable and kept locked after business hours (and locked at lunch time if no one reliable is going to be in close proximity).
General security procedures for electronic documents involve backing up documents regularly and keeping document backups somewhere other than the same hard drive where the original documents are located. Off-site is best to guard against having your business data wiped out by natural disasters. For more on setting up and using an effective backup system, see Setting Up a Successful Backup System.
Small businesses with colleagues or employees sharing the same computer network may also want to restrict some users’ access so they can only use or see some of the network’s resources. Even if a user is allowed to access a resource, such as a software program, particular documents can be password protected. Contents of documents can also be encrypted, making them accessible only to those who have the required encryption key.
Employee theft is another threat to data security. Small businesses with employees should make résumé fact checking and getting background checks on employees a matter of policy.
Once you have created your document management plan by answering the questions above, you’re ready to implement it, making sure that all your staff know the details of your business’s document management system and are following appropriate procedures when creating, storing and retrieving documents.
You’ll also have to be sure that everyone who accesses and uses documents within your organization follows through, doing things such as as naming and storing documents appropriately. I recommend spot checking on a regular basis to test whether particular files can be easily found and to guard against misfiling.
You can set up a document management system in a day but implementing it consistently over time will be the key to its success. The rewards are huge – being able to find what you want to find when you want it and peace of mind.
