{"id":411,"date":"2019-03-21T11:13:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T15:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/?p=411"},"modified":"2022-12-15T16:32:35","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T21:32:35","slug":"tips-on-document-management-for-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/tips-on-document-management-for-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips on Document Management for Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A Document Management Plan can help businesses\nmanage both paper piles and electronic storage of documents.&nbsp; While technology was supposed to be the answer\nto the mountains of paper that go along with managing a business, digital files\ncan also pile up, with documents scattered among multiple departments and\ncomputers, as well as lurking in technology department back-up files.&nbsp; Managing documents, whether paper or\nelectronic, in accordance with a well thought out Document Management Plan is\ncritical to smooth business operations, compliance with laws, protection from\nlitigation risk and maximization of profit margins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why is a\nDocument Management Plan important?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Efficiency: <\/strong>Creating a Document Management Plan\ncan contribute greatly to the overall efficiency of your business. It can\nminimize expensive storage space for your documents and save time. &nbsp;A Document Management Plan creates a process\nfor what and how to save, what and how to discard, and retention time periods. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Preserving Confidentiality<\/strong>:&nbsp; Your business by its nature involves\nconfidential documents such as customer lists and financial data.&nbsp; Your business may also involve working with\nconfidential or proprietary client information.&nbsp;\nInadvertent disclosure of proprietary documents can cause potential\ndamage or liability for your business, or negatively affect client\nrelationships.&nbsp; A Document Management\nPlan can address any special processes and procedures for saving and discarding\nconfidential or proprietary information.&nbsp;\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Avoiding Liability in Litigation:<\/strong> Ensuring\ncritical documents are saved may assist in the defense of litigation.&nbsp; In the event you face litigation over\nanything from employment practices to contract disputes, having the appropriate\npaperwork can mean the difference between a successful outcome and a settlement\nagainst you.&nbsp; In addition, once a threat\nof litigation exists, it is critical to avoid destroying any documents that may\nbe relevant to the litigation to avoid liability.&nbsp; Therefore, a \u201clitigation hold\u201d policy is\nessential to any Document Management Plan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Compliance with State and Federal Laws:<\/strong> Federal\nand state document retention laws outline time periods for retention of various\ndocuments and may govern everything from tax records, financial records, to employee\nrecords.&nbsp; In addition, statutes of\nlimitations may vary by state and affect your internal rules on how long to\nretain documents.&nbsp; <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Five\ntips for an effective written Document Management Plan for your business<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Identify the Plan Manager<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>A plan of any kind is\nonly effective if it is followed. Designate someone to take charge and be\naccountable for managing the Document Retention Plan and ensuring employees\nfollow the plan.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Identify the Documents<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Identify the critical\nphysical and electronic documents to your business such as sales and purchase\nrecords, financial documents, government and legal documents and client\nengagement documents, whether electronic or hard copy.&nbsp; Know where these documents are located.&nbsp; Electronic documents such as email also need\nto be organized and managed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Determine how long documents\nshould be kept<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Consult with an\nattorney to determine how long to keep documents.&nbsp; Deleting documents before permitted by law\nmay cause liability to your business.&nbsp; Having\ntoo many documents in storage, however, whether paper or electronic, can be costly\nand also create liability issues in the event of litigation.&nbsp; &nbsp;Finally, in the event of actual or threatened\nlitigation, all documents relevant to the litigation generally must be retained\nto avoid liability for improper destruction of documents.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Decide how documents should\nbe retained or destroyed<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>A Document Management\nPlan can include best practices for retention of documents, including\nconfidential and proprietary documents.&nbsp;\nSimilarly, the Document Management Plan can include best practices for\ndestruction of documents for your business such as shredding paper\ndocuments.&nbsp; Deletion of electronic\ndocuments will involve finding and deleting all copies of electronic documents,\nincluding potentially those stored on back-up software.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>Identify and Coordinate Best\nPractices for Document Security<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, coordinate\nwith an information technology expert to consider your document security plan and\ndisaster recovery plan as part of your Document Management Plan. Your security plan\nmay include, at a minimum, developing a strong password system for anyone\naccessing company records and require it for all personal devices used in the\nworkplace. You may also restrict the use of personal devices or home computers\nfor business matters.&nbsp; Educate your\nemployees on required security practices in the workplace and hold them\naccountable for failure to comply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may find volumes of information on\ndocument management on the internet.&nbsp;\nHowever, consulting with an attorney to draft your plan may avoid costly\nerrors.&nbsp; Each Document Management Plan will\ndiffer depending on the laws relevant to your business.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Document Management Plan can help businesses manage both paper piles and electronic storage of documents.&nbsp; While technology was supposed to be the answer to the mountains of paper that go along with managing a business, digital files can also pile up, with documents scattered among multiple departments and computers, as well as lurking in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":643,"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions\/643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/addedvalueweb.net\/aphco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}