If earlier the storage of important financial documents was associated with high stacks of papers, cluttered tables, and huge drawers, now the latest technologies have come to the fore. A computer and a smartphone have become indispensable assistants for many. Therefore, it is not surprising that the issue of storing documentation not in paper but in electronic form has arisen. Electronic documents are easier and faster to format, send, and process. They speed up work processes and save resources.
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Effective Ways to Store Financial Documents Electronically
The storage of electronic docs requires compliance with the rules and technical feasibility. The information must be properly formatted, protected from system failures, and external interference. We will tell you below about a few working methods to store your important financial documents. Try to allocate enough time to study valuable information.
Fax App for iPhone
The Fax App is the easiest and fastest way to turn your iPhone into a portable fax machine. The mobile application can store different files. But these are not all its possibilities. It also sends PDF files directly from your device and can easily be integrated with contacts for easy access. You can attach documents from DropBox, OneDrive, iCloud, and other server-side storage. It is possible to add notes and even your own electronic signature before sending. In addition, fax from iPhone app also allows you to receive faxes to your assigned number and view them at any convenient time. So, use the best Fax App and store, send, edit, sign, and receive important documents without any difficulty.
External Media
Electronic documents are often stored on flash drives or disks. This is the most unreliable way. The media is easy to lose or damage. It can also become unusable over time. The security of information with this method is the lowest – the protection of a disk or flash drive is easy to crack.
Cloud Storage
The advantage of such storage is that it does not require software installation, complex settings, and high costs. It provides the necessary level of protection, and stores documents according to the rules of the law. It also allows customizing the functions for the needs of the business and manages the roles of employees. However, a stable Internet connection is required to access the data.
Own Electronic Archive
This is usually a folder on a computer that some employees have access to. This is the simplest, but most insecure way. The computer may break, then all data will be lost. In addition, simply protecting a folder is not enough to protect information from being changed, lost, or copied. Even the document moderator does not provide the proper level of security and manageability. Another disadvantage is the rules for storing and organizing a local archive. It takes a lot of time to train employees to work with their own archive.
Electronic Archive Programs
Usually, this is an archive with an electronic document management system or separate software that provides the required level of protection, online access, a clear structure, and storage rules. But for many companies and entrepreneurs, the method may be redundant, because it requires separate software, settings, and considerable costs. Therefore, most often a business chooses any other of the above options.
Requirements for the Storage of Financial Documents
Regardless of the storage used, it is important to ensure that all storage requirements for important financial documents are met:
- Readability and interpretability. Accounting for the format and the ability to read, interpret, and display it over time. That is, you should have the means to correctly open and read the document;
- Grouping and description. Documents should be organized so that they are easy to find, recognize, and assign to groups. Documents must have valid identification numbers or other legible and recognizable markings;
- Understandability and relevance. Clear structure and location of the file (address), belonging to other group documents. That is, the file should be easy to find and understand which deal it belongs to.
- Authenticity. Storage reliability, access control, protection, and stable media storage environment.
Advantages of Document Management Automation
As practice shows, electronic storage of financial documents has the following benefits:
- Allows increasing executive discipline. This is done at the expense of improving control over the execution of documents. In particular, an effective system of notifications and reminders makes it possible to warn all officials about the approaching deadline for the execution of the assignment;
- It is easy to make a complete picture of the effectiveness of both individual employees and the institution as a whole;
- Forms individual routes of documents and determine the most optimal way of their movement in the institution;
- Reduces processing and registration time, as well as allows to avoiding errors related to filling in document details;
- Provides a quick search for documents by their content or any combination of details.
Conclusion
Modern technologies are gradually replacing the usual forms of office work. The electronic version of documents replaces the paper version. Electronic document management is in every institution. Working with documents in electronic form has its own characteristics. In comparison with paper, it allows bringing the planning of the enterprise, accounting, and control at all stages of management to a new level. However, it is important to ensure the secure storage of docs at each of these stages.
