Accounting departments deal with more than just balancing debits and credits. Keeping track of company transactions, managing cash flow, and preparing financial reports all require meticulous record keeping. Inaccurate or missing paperwork can lead to missed opportunities, legal headaches, and put the company's financial health at risk.

A document management system for accounting streamlines accounting processes by digitizing documents, storing them in a centralized location, and providing easy access to authorized personnel. This blog post explores how a DMS can improve financial control, provides tips on selecting the right system, and offers examples of how companies have benefited from implementing a DMS.

A DMS replaces paper files with electronic records and sets up a secure, uniform platform for storing and retrieving documents. This system facilitates billing, expense reports, tax documents, vendor records, and every other piece of financial paperwork needed. Perhaps more importantly, it allows the creation of consistent processes that comply with various regulatory bodies that govern finance. A DMS system addresses management and risk control measures to mitigate common mistakes that work around invoicing, documentation, approvals, and audit trails. Overall, a DMS reduces the risk of errors, unauthorized access, and corporate fraud.

Accounting professionals spend significant time looking for paper records in banks of filing cabinets, which is not the best utilization of their valuable time. A DMS offers a quicker and more reliable solution. By digitizing records, accounting professionals can easily access the information they need from any device with an internet connection. This immediate access eliminates delays, stifles errors, and improves collaboration between different departments in the business.

Replacing old-fashioned manual systems with a DMS saves both time and money. The time saved in the time-consuming manual systems can be utilized in-profit activities, reducing the chances of losses. Accessing documents using the DMS system is quick, saving valuable time that can be rediverted into more profit-bearing activities. The additional benefits to the accounting professionals are fewer physical file storage requirements, thereby reducing storage expenses.

A DMS automates some of the most manual and repetitive financial processes, reducing redundancies that come with a paper-based system. This automation helps speed up recurrent, tedious jobs such as invoice processing, expense claims, purchase orders, and delivering reports. It also updates the accounting records automatically, minimizes error, tracks progress, and provides an audit trail, always keeping a thumb on the pulse of the financial operations.  A DMS, when mobile-friendly, is compatible with the various devices used by the organization. This feature leads to easier, universal file sharing, helping accessibility and promoting improved workflows.

According to a study by Bain & Company, employees spend an average of one day per week, which equates to about 20% of their workweek, in hunting down and organizing documents. With automated workflows, cloud technology, and digital file retrieval, a DMS can eliminate these inefficiencies. A DMS helps accounting professionals satisfy their work faster and more efficiently, enhancing productivity levels, and freeing up more time to focus on value-adding activities.

A reliable DMS system provides accounting professionals with enhanced control, efficiency, and productivity, saving resources and time. By streamlining accounting processes, companies can reduce the risk of fraud, bolster compliance efforts, and better utilize personnel. Additionally, having a DMS system is a critical element in hardening the overall cybersecurity posture of the company. Suppose companies hope to remain profitable in a hyper-competitive economy. In that case, adopting a DMS that prioritizes financial document management will be a game-changer.