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Make your information work for you
with Electronic Document Management Software
The Legal Profession and File Stream Document Management
It is unlikely to be disputed by any practice manager in a Legal practice today that the last decade has seen a huge change in how their business operates. Their clients have realised they have a choice and as such law firms have had to face greater competition. Customer Service, efficiencies and productivity are at the core of all firms.
Historically solicitors have always had to work with and retain vast quantities of documents. In today’s heavily legislated environment this problem has only been made worse. Many firms have to pay for expensive off-site storage for aged documents. When they are needed, the process to retrieve them is slow and costly.
Using File Stream Document Management software means all documentation (office docs, scanned paper images, emails etc.) concerning a client, whether it be related to Conveyancing, Family Law, Estate Planning or Litigation issues, can be filed under one umbrella. This allows the Partners or individuals involved to see at a glance what has been happening. File Stream Document Management becomes a very resourceful tool for management teams as any search can be filtered (for example) by a date range. Imagine being away for 2 weeks, coming back and by selecting a very simple search, being able to see everything that has happened concerning client ABC Ltd over the period you were away. Alternatively, search for all “New Instructions” received during your absence. In the past, Electronic Document Management has been considered only as an archiving tool. Most of our clients now use it as a live filing system, capturing information as it happens.
File Stream Document Management is very permission driven and has a very comprehensive Audit Trail / revision history built in. In short, staff members only see and perform actions on the documents they are allowed to. Any actions or changes that are made are fully recorded.
It’s clear - if your information is easily accessible:
- your clients will receive a better service
- your staff will work more efficiently
- you will save space and therefore money
- your documents are safeguarded against any disaster
We have spent time working with several business sectors and have many proven cabinet structures that will serve as a good starting point for a newcomer to the electronic document management arena. Many of our existing customers are already working with these electronic filing cabinets.
Please follow the link to see document management cabinet structure ideas relevant to your profession... document management cabinets for the legal profession. (Problems viewing the video? Video help here.)
It is possible that you will be using software that is specific to your own industry. With this in mind, our API (Application Program Interface) tool makes it possible to link these programs to File Stream Document Management. Our advanced modules allow documents and associated information to transfer between systems using CSV / XML format.
Many customers using our File Stream Document Management system take the opportunity to review their current software requirements. In many cases, the flexibility offered by different filing methods and the wide range of tools available in File Stream Document Management has meant that at least one - or more - existing packages can be dropped. Savings are made in both time and money. Staff members have fewer products to master and expensive annual support contracts can be cancelled.