Benefits Of Electronic Document Filing
By Ron Bleiberg
FileOn sponsored a survey of over 500 businesses in four states to identify the perceived benefits of electronic document filing. This list is derived from the responses to that survey.
Reduced Storage Costs - square footage occupied by current file cabinets and cost of off site storage facilities. Also saved are the cost of filing cabinets, folders and paper. The responders noted that "freed up" space could be put to better uses by their firms.
Faster accesses to information - industry statistics support this perception. They show direct timesavings of over 2 minutes per file lookup when the files are near the searcher's desk. More time is saved when documents are in a central file area away from the desk or in off site storage.
Flexibility - A WEB-based electronic document management system allows the access to information any time, from anywhere. This is especially beneficial for Companies that have multiple locations. Documents do not have to be moved between locations, and associates at multiple locations can view and discuss information by simultaneously looking at the same documents without having to make and distribute multiple copies.
Elimination of misfiles - search of electronic documents by title or content enables the searcher to locate any document.
Support reporting/ auditing requirements - All documents associated with a topic can be easily located by searching across multiple files to support a request by an auditor or regulatory agency. Moreover, many systems provide an audit log of document access and activity. And documents can be retained/ tagged for destruction in accordance with Legal retention requirements.
Reduced handling costs - elimination of paper (only one copy needs to be retained), FAX, overnight delivery and messenger costs.
Supports e-Business - State and local courts, as well as many companies now require the submission of documents in electronic form. This number is increasing daily.
Security - Access to the information is password protected and encrypted to the highest level the FBI allows.
Disaster Recovery - Documents can be backed up/ stored off site to protect them from natural or manmade events. These include the documents necessary to prove the Company is still a legal and financial entity in case of a disaster. These include Corporate Charter, Corporate Minutes, Contracts, Transactions in progress, Employee Records, etc.
If you want to find out how FileOn can help you achieve these benefits, call me at 1-203-855-9995.
Published February 1, 2005
