Records management is the set of processes and practices related to the creation, storage, organisation, retrieval and disposition of records in an organisation. Its main objective is to manage documents efficiently and effectively throughout their life cycle, from their creation to their disposal or archiving.
Document management involves establishing policies, procedures, and tools to ensure the proper handling of documents, both in physical and electronic format. These documents may include contracts, reports, notices, deeds, identification documents, correspondence, invoices, or receipts, to name a few examples.
There is no doubt that, in the legal sector, efficient document management is essential to ensure accuracy, organisation and quick access to relevant information. The high component of documents handled and managed can be truly overwhelming if you do not have a suitable system in place to manage them. In this sense, the use of legal management software, such as Kleos from Wolters Kluwer Legal Software, can improve efficiency in our day-to-day work, streamlining and lightening our workload.
Document management is of vital importance for any law firm. Ensuring that we have access to the information, data and documents that are essential for the proper handling of the matters entrusted to us is essential in the exercise of our activity. It will also be essential to generate efficiencies in the following sense:
Organisation and efficient access to information: Document management allows documents to be organised and structured in a systematic way. Having a proper classification and storage system in place facilitates quick and accurate access to relevant information when needed. This improves productivity and avoids wasting time on manual searches or recreating existing documents.
Reducing the risk of loss or deterioration of documents: Physical documents are exposed to risks such as misplacement, damage by fire, flood, or other natural disasters. By digitising and managing documents electronically, the risk of loss or irreversible damage is minimised. This is further reinforced by automatic backup systems, which ensure the preservation of information even in the event of technological failure.
Regulatory and legal compliance: There is no doubt that the legal sector, more than any other, is subject to and bound by specific regulations on the handling, storage, and protection of information. Document management helps to comply with these regulations by providing access controls, change tracking, audit trails and appropriate security measures. Complying with regulations not only avoids penalties and fines, but also helps establish a solid and trustworthy reputation.
Collaboration and teamwork: In law firms, collaboration with other team members, other departments and even external collaborators is essential. Document management enables efficient document sharing and collaboration, eliminating the need to email files or share physical documents. Cloud-based software such as Kleos facilitates simultaneous access and editing of documents from different locations, improving collaboration and real-time communication.
Space and cost savings: Physical documents take up physical space and require associated costs such as storage, printing, and handling. Digital document management in a managed environment eliminates the need for physical space for archiving documents, reducing storage costs, and facilitating long-term document management. In addition, by reducing the use of paper, it promotes sustainability and contributes to environmental conservation.
Remote document access: Cloud-based document management software provides a secure, centralised environment where documents can be shared and edited collaboratively, regardless of users' physical location. This makes it possible to easily share relevant documents with relevant team members, who can comment, review and edit in real time. This improves efficiency and streamlines workflow, avoiding the need to email or physically share files.
These are just a few examples of the importance of document management in improving our operational efficiency, ensuring the availability and preservation of information, guaranteeing regulatory compliance, promoting collaboration and teamwork, and enabling a more effective use of resources, both in terms of physical space and associated costs. By implementing an efficient document management system, such as the one integrated in Kleos, law firms can optimise their processes, minimise risks and improve their overall performance, which will impact on the costs associated with each matter managed, increasing their profitability and profit margin. This will undoubtedly help our business to grow.
For more information about Kleos or to see a demo of this cloud-based document management software, visit:
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en-gb/solutions/kleos
