Solve Small Business Document Management Challenges with PDF Document Management.
When you’re running a small business, it can quickly start to feel like you’re drowning in paperwork. You get a lot of invoices, receipts, contracts, employee records — the list goes on. An efficient document management system is essential. You want to be productive and dedicate more of your valuable time to income-generating activities. Sort your paperwork into a document management system and use Adobe Acrobat products to help transform your small business.
What you’ll learn
- Why navigating the small business paper trail is vital
- Improving document filing and management systems
- Streamlining document collaboration and teamwork
- Compliance and legal risks and solutions
- Managing data protection and security vulnerabilities
Navigating the paper trail is essential for small businesses.
Document management might not be the most exciting topic for many small business owners — but finding it a challenge is a common problem. Keeping on top of the paperwork is a critical aspect of running any business. Why? The ripple effect is real. Disorganized paperwork in a small business can have a serious impact on other aspects of your business, and your bottom line.
Embracing digital document management solutions can help you overcome some of the issues faced in the paper war as a small business. Going paperless ensures you can easily retrieve and manage your small files. It also saves you physical space on your premises.
Improve your document filing management systems and processes.
Two common document management issues include —
- poorly named and organized files and folders
- multiple document versions.
When you, or any of your employees, find it difficult to find documents or files, that is often time wasted. This can lead to frustration and reduce productivity and overall efficiency. That time could be better spent on productive and core tasks that contribute to income generation.
Create a digital document filing system that works for you but one that is practical and follows an intuitive and logical structure. Categorize your files logically, using clear, standardized names and labels. For example, create folders and subfolders for —
- Financial records — i.e., accounts payable, accounts receivable, tax documents
- HR documents — employment contracts, tax forms, leave forms, etc.
- Marketing materials — logos, templates, advertisements, blog posts
- Customer data and information — contracts, contact details, project names.
Within these folders, use a naming structure for each file that includes things like —
- Dates
- Client or customer name
- Title of document
- Project names
- Or other identifiers.
For example: “Date_ Client_Project”
When entering date formats, use a format that is easy to sort and search electronically.
For example: “YYYMMDD” or “YY_Month_Day”
Train your team to follow the naming conventions and formats you choose. This ensures that your paperwork is filed consistently people can find what they need quickly. Archive files you no longer need to access regularly but do need to keep for business compliance.
Save and store PDF files.
Portable document format files (PDFs) have been around for a long time and will continue to be. Adobe developed PDFs to be able to be shared and viewed across different systems and devices securely and safely, and we are proud to do so. PDF document management systems make managing the paperwork a bit easier. To do so, there are a few ways you can create and manage PDF documents.
- Print to PDF from within various applications, instead of to a paper-based printer.
- Explore an Adobe Acrobat free trial to check out the full range of tools and features available at your fingertips. Access Acrobat tools and features directly from within often-used Microsoft apps, such as Word and Excel, via the menu add-ins.
- Scan receipts and documents directly to PDF from your mobile with the free Adobe Scan app.
- Use Adobe Acrobat Online to work on, share, and save your files. You can not only edit, review, and sign via our web-based platform, but you can —
- Convert files to PDF online from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and image formats.
- Compress PDF files online to save storage space.
- Extract PDF pages online or split a PDF online to keep only the pages you need.
- And more.
Everyone and anyone can also use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to view, sign, collaborate, and annotate PDF files.
Streamline your document collaboration and teamwork.
Challenges are common in small businesses where multiple team members need to access and collaborate on the same documents. Issues such as inconsistent document versions and difficulty finding and reviewing documents can arise. These issues are not only frustrating, but they can also lead to errors, inconsistencies, and interpersonal challenges. Ensuring everyone is working with the most up-to-date version is essential to maintain efficiency.
Work on your shared PDF documents in cloud-based collaboration tools such as Adobe Document Cloud. Communication, collaboration, innovation, and decision-making are all improved when document management systems are accessible and efficient. Cloud-based platforms for document management help with —
- Real-time editing
- Seamless collaboration
- Collaborative review processes
- Document back-ups
- Everyone accessing documents securely from anywhere at any time
- Requesting signatures on PDFs and signing PDF documents online
Mitigate your compliance and legal risks.
Finding your way around the labyrinth of compliance and regulations can be intimidating for small businesses. However, neglecting or not maintaining your small business records and documents can result in non-compliance with industry regulations and legal requirements. Non-compliance carries the risk of fines, penalties, legal disputes, and reputational damage that no small business owner wants to face.
Stay informed about your industry-specific regulations and legal requirements. Be sure to implement document management systems and applications that offer compliance features to ensure your business is in line with the law.
Manage your data protection and security vulnerabilities.
In a digital document management system, protecting and keeping records securely is paramount. Cybercriminals often target small businesses because they may lack the robust security measures of larger corporations. Protecting sensitive customer data, financial records, and proprietary information is essential. Poorly managed documents and record keeping can make your small business paperwork more susceptible to unauthorized access or loss or theft and exposure of private or sensitive information.
For documents you don’t want anyone else to be able to open, you can password-protect PDFs online. To prevent other people from editing, printing, or copying the content of your PDFs, use the permissions password settings in an Adobe Acrobat app.
Invest in cybersecurity measures and use firewalls, encryption, and secure authentication protocols. Regularly update your software. Educate your staff about cybersecurity best practices to minimize the risk of data breaches.
Having secure document management systems and processes will help build trust and confidence with the people you engage with in your small business and support you on the road to success.
Related Content.
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