The government has a long list of regulatory requirements that you must adhere to. Keeping up with all of these requirements can seem overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. When you have a document management system, regulatory compliance becomes much easier. Here is why:
Easy document sharing
When you need to distribute a document to a regulatory agency, you shouldn't delay. Any holdups will exacerbate an audit, or even cause you to miss deadlines. When you have a document management system, you won't have to wait for snail mail, email or any other outside resource. This is because you can instantly share your documents within a system that you have full control over.
Lower costs
Although regulatory compliance is a requirement, the government won't be helping you with any related costs. Regulatory compliance expenses will add up quickly. A document management system, though, minimizes these costs by reducing the amount of expensive paper and storage required to remain compliant. In fact, with the exception of hard copy version requirements, you won't have to spend any money on storage and paper. This is because a document management system will manage all of your documents digitally.
No accidental deletions
The accidental deletion of the wrong document can make compliance impossible. Unfortunately, human error makes this a very distinct possibility.
A document management system will ensure that no document accidentally gets deleted. This is because it will automatically protect important documents. Even if someone tried to delete these documents, it wouldn't be possible.
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No accidental retention
Just as regulations require you to retain some documents, you are required to destroy others as soon as you no longer need them. These regulations are especially strict when it comes to sensitive documents like an individual's personal information.
Manually destroying these documents according to regulations is difficult. A document management system can identify and delete these documents as soon as you need them gone. You can also instruct your system to delete documents that you aren't required to delete, but no longer want. For example, you can have your system delete tax documents on the day that you are no longer required to retain them.
Higher security
Regulatory compliance laws for your documents go beyond the data itself. There are also requirements for how you go about protect your information.
A document management system will immediately boost your document security. This is because it will add encryption to your data at multiple stages, including on any channel that shares it, on the medium that stores it and on the file itself.
Automatic reminders
Government regulations require much of your information to be up to date. While you're busy running a business, it can be difficult to keep up with what you need to update and when.
You can set up your document management system to automatically remind you when it's time to update your data.
You will always have a clear paper trail
Knowing what happened to a document and when will significantly support your ability to remain compliant. This is because you will always have a paper trail that guides you from the source through each document update.
A document management system will provide you with all of these capabilities, as well as the ability to identify who made each update – whether it was an employee or the system itself.
Is your business prepared for compliance?
You can make sure that your business is always compliant with government regulations by investing in the right resources. To this end, a document management system is one of the most powerful tools that you can own.
