Document control software for small businesses

Review Methodology. Advertiser Disclosure We may receive compensation from some partners and advertisers whose products appear here. Enter your email address: Search. Our Top Picks Accounting AccountEdge Pro AccountEdge Pro has all the accounting features a growing business needs, combining the reliability of a desktop application with the flexibility of a mobile app for those needing on-the-go access.

Applicant Tracking Zoho Recruit Zoho Recruit combines a robust feature set with an intuitive user interface and affordable pricing to speed up and simplify the recruitment process.

Appointment Scheduling 10to8 10to8 is a cloud-based appointment scheduling software that simplifies and automates the process of scheduling, managing, and following up with appointments. CMS Weebly Weebly continues to attract and keep loyal users thanks to its user-friendly design and constant upgrades. Construction Management CoConstruct CoConstruct is easy-to-use yet feature-packed software for home builders and remodelers.

More Top Picks. Browse Specifics The right product depends on who you are and what you need — but regardless, you want the best. Browse Software Accounting Accounting software helps manage payable and receivable accounts, general ledgers, payroll and other accounting activities. Applicant Tracking Choosing the best applicant tracking system is crucial to having a smooth recruitment process that saves you time and money.

Appointment Scheduling Taking into consideration things such as user-friendliness and customizability, we've rounded up our 10 favorite appointment schedulers, fit for a variety of business needs. Business Checking Accounts Business checking accounts are an essential tool for managing company funds, but finding the right one can be a little daunting, especially with new options cropping up all the time.

CMS A content management system CMS software allows you to publish content, create a user-friendly web experience, and manage your audience lifecycle.

Construction Management This guide will help you find some of the best construction software platforms out there, and provide everything you need to know about which solutions are best suited for your business. Browse All. Sign up for The Blueprint's Newsletter Get trustworthy advice to help your business grow. Enter your email address:. Thank you for signing up. Beginner's Guides Our comprehensive guides serve as an introduction to basic concepts that you can incorporate into your larger business strategy.

Best Of We've tested, evaluated and curated the best software solutions for your specific business needs. Comparisons Trying to decide between two popular software options? How Tos Our experts take you through step-by-step processes, providing tips and tricks to help you avoid common pitfalls along the way. News Learn how the latest news and information from around the world can impact you and your business.

Product Reviews Unbiased, expert reviews on the best software and banking products for your business. Quick Answers Short on time, high on curiosity? Software Features Not sure how to use a particular tool in your software solution? Browse by Topic Looking for the best tips, tricks, and guides to help you accelerate your business? Search for software and business topics:. Advertiser Disclosure. A Guide to Document Management for Your Small Business Migrating document and file management online for your small business is not only an important step to take, it also has essential best practices to follow.

Overview: What is business document management? How to create a document management system for your business By following best practices to manage documents , you can set your business up for streamlined success.

Step 1: Planning document creation and retention Step one involves putting your plan onto paper. Plan for creating documents: You undoubtedly have a lengthy business documents list, including proposals, master copies, contracts, and more. New questions will arise, such as, should you create new templates or use an existing framework? Write these down so you can ask about it when you implement step two. How to share documents: Sharing documents is a big part of electronic document management.

Any documents you share, both internally and externally, need to have security parameters. Will you use email verification? Password protection? With internal collaboration, you should have different permission settings for various uses.

Where to store documents: Since the majority of system options charge based on storage amount, you should have an approximate idea of how much space you will need to stay on budget. Also, figure out how you want to categorize files: by group, department, or size? Step 2: Choosing a system After you know what you need and want, your next move is to pick the file organizer system.

User-friendly interface: Software that needs to be adopted by your entire team and used day in and day out needs to be easy to use. Setting it up on the back end should be smooth, and so should the user experience on the front end. Offline and desktop use: The easier a storage system can be to use, the more it will get used.

Instead of having to open up and use a separate system, there should be an offline or off-app sync function where you can change documents on your desktop and have them automatically sync to the stored files online. Easy to integrate: Just as using the system should be seamless with your day-to-day tasks, it should just as seamlessly integrate with your office software.

One click backup and restore, ensures quick disaster recovery for your small business. Give your employees quick access to their documents and archived email. Make your team more productive by sharing your documents via Dropbox integration. Manage and view all types of documents from one single application.

Everyone in Sync. See immediate improvements in your daily productivity and generate substantial savings. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies.

It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Skip to content. Mail page opens in new window Facebook page opens in new window Twitter page opens in new window Linkedin page opens in new window YouTube page opens in new window Skype page opens in new window. Used by Small Businesses in over 50 countries I use Sohodox to file all my documents electronically. Managing your documents was never as simple! Manage Easily 2. Secure 3. Cloud: With this service your documents are in the vendor's cloud - ready for mobile access anytime and anywhere that you have internet.

Storage may be limited by your contract although most services offer a variety of storage levels and associated pricing , but it's often an affordable option that includes system management and updates, and files are backed up to the cloud.

On-Premise: This option allows more customization as the DMS sits on your server, and you're not limited to contract-level storage. But the up-front cost may be intimidating, IT maintenance may be extra, and you'll need to implement a back-up protocol in case your server goes down. Hybrid: This combo of on-premise and cloud can allow you flexibility to use the cloud for some document types while you avoid migrating legacy content that you don't need mobile access to.

Security: One aspect is your ability to control access and set permissions for documents and files within the system. Assessing how these files are securely shared internally and externally is important. Another aspect is the level of security protecting your data where it is stored.

If you're looking at a cloud solution, ensure the vendor's security for their data centers is sufficient to protect your data and compliant with any regulations for your industry. Scanning: If you're drowning in paper, find a system that allows for scanning mass quantities of documents with features for automated naming and filing.

One potential feature, Optical Character Recognition OCR , turns scanned documents into editable and searchable files. Search: It is wise to make sure that no matter how the system organizes your files, search capabilities allow full-text keyword searches within files not just by title.

Access, Edit, Monitor: How extensive are your business's needs for creating, accessing and changing documents? When reviewing a DMS, look at:. Collaboration: How much internal and external collaboration do you need to empower? While version control, editing and electronic signature may be fairly standard DMS features, some systems include workflows, co-authoring, task management, alerts, messaging and more.

Be sure the tools and interface are user-friendly and intuitive, so your team can easily use it. Mobility: If mobile access is a priority, find a system that's compatible with all devices. Consider one that has an app that replicates the desktop experience. Integration: There is a broad variety of integration ability across the DMS offerings we reviewed. Know what systems you'll need your DMS to integrate with. For example, your desire to avoid having to move files from existing cloud storage, e.

Support: As with any vendor service, be sure you understand how support is provided. Most vendors we reviewed had several support options including email, online chat and phone - although hours were sometimes limited.

Some only offer support via a ticket system. Select one that fits the level and type of support you'll need. Price: DMS price varies by vendor and service. As referenced earlier, on-premise DMS has a substantial up-front cost. So, consider your ongoing costs and any increases that will occur if your needs increase. In our search for the "Best of" DMS, we found qualified candidates in several categories:.

DMS is solely what eFileCabinet does. It is a robust offering that promotes its ease of use, mobile access, advanced "never lose anything" search and high levels of security.