A document management system is a must have for every accounting firm. In this blog, we not only explain why a DMS is a necessity, but also why this is a long-held wish of all your colleagues.

Accounting firms are document-intensive businesses with additional problems

Most accountancy organisations are familiar with digital accounting software and solutions. An accounting firm is likely to use more than one solution to perform the various accounting tasks, such as preparing accounts, record keeping, tax returns and more. Each of these systems produces different reports and other documents. These reports and the working documents that accountants constantly create and use need to be managed. How do you manage the creation and storage of so many documents? 

Remember, it's not just reports and working documents. There are also documents such as agreements, general e-mail correspondence, client documents and more. Your colleagues will also store documents and probably in different storage locations and in their own folder structures, making important documents even harder to find. Email silos can also lead to drastic problems, where email correspondence is tucked away and not visible or accessible to others. All these problems create unnecessary pressure, especially when working to short deadlines or being unable to find the right document when speaking to a client, for example.

Where did you store that? 

We all know that organising and managing all those different documents is quite a hassle, takes time and can require a lot of mutual agreements (where did you store that?) that could be better invested in other, more productive tasks. A traditional document management system can alleviate some of the problems, but a smart information platform like M-Files really takes an accounting firm's digital journey to the next level. 

Information becomes a pleasure rather than a burden

An information platform can fully automate the archiving process and make document retrieval as easy as a Google search. Simply enter a customer name and all documents belonging to this customer will be displayed. M-Files' powerful search function allows you to search for documents based on simple criteria such as customer name, type of service or employees involved. But it goes much further, documents can also be accessed based on a particular step in the workflow, via a full-text search and even via any imaginable entry that suits your workflow.

M-Files brings an evolution to accountancy firms that makes an awful lot of things so much easier and more secure:  

• Create complete files where no information is missing (reports, documents, e-mail correspondence, the process and much more) 
• No more lying around or untraceable information and correspondence
• Search for information in your organisation as if you were using Google
• Find and open files wherever you are, via any screen imaginable. Even via your smartphone.
• Automatically save e-mail correspondence to the relevant file and make it transparent and easy to find
• Make customer files or, for example, specific documents easily available in a controlled manner via a secure customer portal
• No more worries about information security thanks to enterprise data security.
• Governance and privacy fully in control with advanced permissions and automatic workflows

Make sure information is manageable, findable and secure for now and always. For everyone in your accountancy firm. 

Making your colleagues happy? Download M-Files for free and try it out for 30 days. With no payments or obligations.

De Jong & Laan, Arag and BDO went before you.