The business managers and CFOs of today are expected to provide deeper insights and more strategic direction than ever before.

However, at the same, budgets and resources remain constrained so they are compelled to have to do more with less.

Implementing a Document Management Solution (DMS) should be an integral part of their strategy.

A good DMS can increase efficiency in areas such as accounts payable, accounts receivable and financial audits. These systems also integrate with accounting software and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software thereby eliminating painstaking and manual data entry.

Many organisations still receive invoices in unstructured formats, like paper and email. Automating these manual processes saves time and reduces costs.

Founder and president of the Forbes CFO Leadership Council, Jack McCullough, states that adopting new technology is a vital asset for future-minded Organisations.

“Few, if any, investments can give an organisation a sustainable competitive advantage like an investment in technology. Where else can an organization invest that will increase top-line growth, operational efficiency, and employee collaboration?” he notes in CFO Priorities for 2021….And Beyond.

Before you take the leap, it’s important to consider these eight questions.

1. Can you quickly and easily find invoices – I mean, actually find them? You can gain huge productivity benefits by providing your whole team with access to a centralised document pool. This repository includes invoices, delivery notes, purchase orders, and proposals. Find the exact document you’re after instantly. One document, one location, completely searchable, available anywhere on any device.
2. Can you extract key details from invoices, including GL coding, and automatically match them to Purchase Orders? You can monitor the accounts payable email, extracting relevant data such as supplier name, date, amount, GST, indexing the invoice and applying artificial intelligence to the above process so the system learns over time, thus saving even more time for your staff.
3. Can your staff review and approve invoices on any mobile device, anytime and anywhere? Providing instant, self-serve access to information speeds up processes and has a positive impact on the whole organisation.
4. Do you have a secure, organised and searchable invoice archive and audit trail for audits and budget planning? Let’s face it, audits aren’t fun. They can be stressful and take up A LOT of your time. There is wasted effort in responding to auditor document requests – pulling paper documents, copying them and refiling the originals. With a DMS, you can give the auditor access to whatever information they require…without having to bug you for it!
5. Do you process invoices promptly, keep track of due dates and status changes, and have control over your cash flow? Automation of the accounts department saves money. Organisations with manual invoicing processes usually lack the core information they need to effectively run their businesses. How many orders are waiting to be processed? Where are they in the process? What’s the total value of all current Purchase Orders?
6. Have you standardised the workflows needed to accelerate the approval process? Organisations typically don’t realise how much wasted time and effort is involved in simply waiting for a manual process to move from one stage to the next. A DMS can use workflows to automate tedious but necessary processes.
7. Can you route invoice approvals based on amounts, supplier name or split code billing with multi-levels? Automatic electronic workflows give an organisation the flexibility to keep work moving forward even when someone is away from the office.
8. Can you automatically post approved invoices to your accounting or ERP system, eliminating double data entry and errors? Data should only ever be entered once, either manually or ideally via automated indexing, before being shared between systems. Integration enables streamlined workflows across a variety of business functions.

Once you have decided that a DMS is right for you, it is time to seek out an appropriate vendor.

When choosing a vendor, some of the key considerations should be:

• Whether the solution can be deployed via cloud or on-premises, without sacrificing functionality
• How quickly the solution can be deployed
• A reference list of customers for you to speak to
• If you can buy the solution as a monthly operational expense or require a large upfront investment
• If the solution be easily extended to other processes outside of finance, or is it just a point solution

While automating your finance department may start with the intent of reducing costs, the longer-term organisational impact provides an opportunity to redefine the role of the Business Manager or CFO.

Moving forward, whilst the Business Manager/CFO will continue to be the primary financial steward of the organisation, they also have a larger role to play, leading the charge for broader process transformation across the business.

Want to find out how you can do more with less?

Docuworx is Australia’s only Platinum Partner of world-leading DMS DocuWare.

In its latest release, DocuWare is giving you access to a pre-configured invoice processing solution. This will provide you with the unique opportunity to have certainty about the usefulness of a DMS before committing to your digital transformation project.

Drop me a line if you’re interested in finding out more.

kym@docuworx.com.au / 0414 413 432

“I don’t see the need for a Document Management System (DMS) – we’re storing all our documents in folders on our server or Google Drive. It’s how we’ve always done it and it works.”

I hear this kind of thing from potential clients all the time.

What they don’t realise is that not using a DMS can be costly.

Without a DMS, things get lost, causing delays and hurting your businesses’ performance.

I’m sure you’ve experienced the frustration of trying to find documents or wasted valuable time waiting for approvals.

Whether you’re wanting to get some time back in your day, digitise your paper-based processes or make them more productive and efficient, considering a DMS may be for you.

Still not convinced?

Here are 3 reasons why you should consider implementing a DMS today:

1. Save time

Manual, paper-based processes can be automated to give your valuable time back. Let’s consider a typical accounts payable process for example. Usually, an invoice starts electronically – as an email attachment. It then gets printed and gets passed around physically between departments, with key information such as GL & GST Codes, and line-item totals being hand-written over the invoice. Sometimes the invoice goes missing altogether and the process starts all over again!

Then…wait for it… all this information is then manually keyed into your finance system or ERP, and then stored physically into a file cabinet.

With a DMS, all of this can be done using software. Digitised, automated and remote approvals, annotations, stamping, and GL Coding create a complete audit trail that shows who did what, and when.

The system simplifies the whole process, removing errors and drastically improving productivity….and NO PRINTING is required whatsoever.

2. Find information effortlessly.

Chances are, you have recently struggled to find important information.

If you’re reliant on others saving documents (or even yourself), you need to remember EXACTLY how the document was saved, and which folder it was in. This can cause frustration and frankly, is an absolute waste of our time!

A DMS makes searching for documents incredibly straightforward. You just need to know SOMETHING about the document that you’re looking for, hit ‘search’ and all your documents and related documents will appear. User privileges and security protocols are assigned depending on document type or role.

3. Make auditing a breeze:

Conducting an audit is not high on anyone’s list of fun things to do. In fact, 37% of accounting professionals said that a sales tax audit would be more stressful than a divorce, according to a survey by Wakefield Research.

One of the biggest issues is the large amount of documentation required for an audit. If you have been relying on manual processes, it is likely that your documents are scattered across your business. To make matters worse, they may even be in different formats, with some in employees’ inboxes and digital folders, and others in filing cabinets.

A DMS links all documents and messages involved with each transaction while matching invoices with purchase orders and receipts. This searchable audit trail reduces your chances of losing important paperwork. It can also help you maintain regulatory compliance. Furthermore, IT SAVES YOU TIME… and a lot of it. All the information is instantly available at your (or your auditors) fingertips making the audit process a breeze.

How about a taste test?

Docuworx is Australia’s only Platinum Partner of world-leading DMS DocuWare.

DocuWare has just released the latest version of its software (7.4), giving you access to three pre-configured business processes. This will provide you with the unique opportunity to have certainty about the usefulness of a DMS before committing to your digital transformation project.

Drop me a line if you’re interested in finding out more.

kym@docuworx.com.au / 0414 413 432

Business managers and CFOs need to remain focused on their core role – improving operations and reducing costs. Challenges exist, however, in relying on ad hoc, manual and paper-heavy accounting processes.

Adopting a financial process transformation project can drastically impact important metrics such as:

• Invoice processing costs
• Cycle time for correcting an invoice error
• Number of invoice line items processed per FTE
• Number of accounts in chart of accounts
• Cost of reporting per $1,000 in revenue

However, many clients often approach me with the same question – ‘Where do I start?’

The answer to this question may vary depending on the type of business I am dealing with. However, in my view, digitising the following four processes should be a top priority for any business looking to excel in today’s increasingly competitive environment.

1. Accounts Payable

There are a wide variety of efficiencies to be gained by automating AP. Why are manual, paper-based processes so damaging? Any level of invoice management efficiency is difficult to achieve when you’re routing paper invoices. It’s common for a paper invoice to sit in an approvers in-tray for weeks, or sometimes even go missing altogether! This results in countless hours spent chasing it down and potential damage to supplier relationships.

With a digital workflow, documents move through your organisation efficiently. Your Staff are automatically alerted to errors or seek out additional information rather than waiting until they have to fix mistakes. Features such as instant flagging of non-standard invoices, flexible routing to correct decision-makers, and easy digital annotations and notes are critical to automating the exception handling.

2. Audit Documentation

If you have a paper-based system, audits can be incredibly frustrating for you, your staff and auditors. Weeks of productivity can be lost throughout the process. It’s important to see who accessed which accounting documents and when.

Organisations need a highly detailed audit trail, which is only possible with a Document Management System (DMS). When digitised, your staff can respond quickly to auditor requests and maintain greater control over business information. Further to this, you can even grant access to the relevant information for the auditor to access on their own, without the need to interfere with day-to-day operations.

3. Procurement and Purchasing

Procurement includes the processes by which business requirements are translated into supplier requirements; the management of supplier relationships; and ultimately the ordering of goods and services needed to produce a product or provide a service.

Procurement teams can drown in masses of documents and paperwork, incompatible files, formats and systems. By using a DMS, businesses can take the critical first step of converting paper documents to digital ones, eliminating clutter and reducing waste in the process.

4. Month-end close

Once the above processes have been automated, organisations are able to incorporate these improvements in a department-wide effort to streamline the month-end process.

According to the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, speed and accuracy are two of the main constant challenges for those involved in the month-end process.

“Organisations, clients and suppliers are seeking information at an accelerated pace. But they also need to be able to trust the data they’re acting on,” AICPA said.

In addition, a recent survey by Adra, a month-end close reconciliation software provider with over 1,800 clients and 15,000 users found the following:

• only 28% of their respondents said they trust the numbers reported in the month-end close
• 90% said they are under pressure to close faster
• 39% said they were satisfied with the closing process

Through the use of a DMS, organisations are able to greatly improve the month-end process, which frees up valuable time for strategic thinking. As a result, the finance team can better understand the implications of the data they are reporting on rather than focusing solely on the numbers themselves.

How can Docuworx help you?

Firstly, it’s clear that digitising paper-based processes has a considerable impact on your business, customers and bottom line. Don’t get overwhelmed by the analysis paralysis which results in delaying the project and continued frustration.

Your DMS should integrate with whatever financial, accounting, and ERP system runs the financial operations in your organisation.

The decision around implementing an effective DMS needs to be more than just where the documents are stored; your objective is to automate business processes.

By using a specialist implementation partner such as Docuworx, you can expedite the digital transformation of your accounting department.

Docuworx specialises in business process automation. In fact, it’s literally all we do.

To find out more, you can reach me via email at kym@docuworx.com.au or phone on 0414 413 432.

With Easter just around the corner, many of us are looking forward to enjoying a nice long weekend.

But what if I told you that you could gain a whole extra day’s worth of work each and every week simply by implementing a Docuworx solution?

And what if your competitors may have the edge on you because they are already doing so?

These are the questions I recently posed to the CFO of a major Engineering company here in Adelaide.

“If we could reduce the need for manual tasks and automate key processes, that would be an amazing time-saver,” was his reply.

Like many other prospective clients that we speak with, this CFO went on to say that the key challenge lies in choosing the right solution.

Fortunately, this does not have to be such a daunting task. I was quickly able to provide the CFO with a demonstration of how our DocuWare platform, can get his company started on its digital transformation.

He was impressed, immediately seeing the benefits of using technology to manage day-to-day tasks, enter data, search for documents, route invoices, and cut down on unnecessary paper.

As a Platinum Partner of DocuWare, we are ready to assist companies of all sizes with their digital transformation initiatives. Read on to discover five key ways that you gain up to eight hours a week by using this world-leading business solution.

It would almost be like having a long weekend every week!

1. Search faster

Did you know that the average employee wastes 3.5 hours per week searching for documents that they end up being unable to find? This time-consuming problem will become a thing of the past thanks to digital document management, which reduces the time spent searching for documents to a matter of seconds. And with DocuWare’s powerful automated indexing system, you’ll never have to be concerned about misplacing critical documents again.

2. Boost speed

The average employee spends up to 4.3 hours every week on manual approvals such as invoices and application forms. To make things worse, such documents often require multi-level approvals, which means they must be passed around the organisation. With DocuWare, you can create digital invoices with intelligent indexing for instant retrieval as well as preconfigured workflows for seamless approval routing.

3. Automate workflows

Shuttling paperwork between various departments not only takes time but also introduces a heightened risk of potentially costly errors. By using digital workflows you can create ‘rules’ that will improve transparency, compliance and efficiency. For example, you can establish automatic approvals based on amounts, vendors or other data and make sure the right documents get to the right decision-maker.

4. Reduce routine tasks

Many of your company’s most common business processes probably require your employees to perform repetitive and routine manual entry tasks. However, it does not have to be this way. With an automated solution such as DocuWare, data can be shared between the document management system and an ERP or accounting system, eliminating duplicate data entry and allowing your employees to focus more of their efforts on higher-value tasks.

5. Improve collaboration

Maintaining all your documents in a centralised repository makes it easier for your employees to collaborate on projects, resulting in time-savings and improved business outcomes. For example, your company’s business proposal may include documents from different departments. Before submitting the proposal to a prospective client, you can digitally “staple” the documents together and instantly send them to the departments in question to review.

When all these benefits are combined, it is easy to see how DocuWare can be a major time-saver for your company. At Docuworx, that DocuWare is the ideal digital transformation tool for Australian companies that are looking to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

To learn more about how Docuworx can assist your business or organisation, book a free trial today.

Paper has been the dominant form of storing and sharing information for thousands of years.

But now the reign of paper is almost over. Thousands of businesses worldwide are realising that digital transformation is the only way in which they can survive and thrive in the new world.

The trend towards digital documents has only accelerated over the past year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, an increasing number of businesses are seeking an electronic signature solution so that they can reap a range of benefits including: Eliminating paper, Compliance, Improving the customer experience, Speeding up processes and a Greater level of Security.

While eSignature solutions such as DocuSign have become relatively common in parts of our everyday lives, they may not always be appropriate for businesses with unique needs such as financial or healthcare institutions.

The combined team at Docuworx and DocuWare has over 30 years of experience with compliant paperless processes including eSignatures. By helping over 14,000 customers across the globe, we have learned everything there is to know about successfully implementing eSignature technology, and we want to share those insights with you. Read on for 6 tips for getting your eSignature project off the ground today.

#1 Get your team onboard 

The first step for your eSignature project is to ensure that your employees are eager to undertake the initiative. Therefore, you must start in a department in which people will be excited about the project and ready to make the change.

So how should you motivate your employees to get onboard?

Converting a common paper process into an electronic one is an easy win that you can strategically build upon. While forms can be simple, the gains are big, with businesses realising an average paper reduction of 85%.

Once you have successfully rolled out an eSignature process, you can then expand into other areas in which forms may be more complex. For example, these forms may require complex data entry and multiple signatures from different people who are located in various departments across the business.

#2 Start simple then expand 

While you may initially plan to only rollout your eSignature solution to a single department, it pays to think big.

At Docuworx, we recommend starting simple, gaining success in one department and then expanding into other departments.

If the pilot department is highly visible to other parts of your organisation, chances are the success you demonstrate there will spark interest and buy-in from other stakeholders, department heads, and end-users.

Once you have implemented the solution in the pilot department, consider the next few departments and form processes you would like to target, identifying any unique characteristics.

Put simply, the eSignature needs of other departments might be beyond the needs of your starting department, so you do not want to get an eSignature solution that is limited in its use-case. Make sure you get a solution that works across multiple areas of your enterprise.

#3 Talk to stakeholders 

Many businesses make the mistake of moving forward on the implementation of an eSignature solution without ever actually discussing the solution with their employees and stakeholders first.

Naturally, this can cause frustration among employees. As a result, they may not be as eager to support the rollout of the solution.

If you discuss the value proposition of an eSignature solution with them, you’ll help create willing participants in the shift to a paperless world. As an added bonus, you might even learn something about how to best manage implementation in those departments.

#4. Consider eSignature devices 

When people think of eSignature capture devices, they often think of a single type of device such as an LCD pad. While these are great devices for some businesses, they may not be a good fit for others.

You should consider the types of devices that will work best for you and your customers.

For example, Docuworx has a full suite of mobile eSignature apps available on iPad, iPhone, Android devices, Windows 8, Windows 10 and Windows Phone devices.

 #5. Be prepared 

It may come as a surprise to you that many eSignature projects fail out of the gate due to poor preparation.

Before commencing the implementation of your chosen solution, gather together all of your forms. Next, examine them to see if they are up to date and compliant.

You will only be able to successfully implement an eSignature solution once you have a comprehensive understanding of the forms and processes used by your business.

 #6. Prioritise security 

Today more than ever you need to ensure that you are being smart when it comes to compliance and security.

Ensure that whichever eSignature vendors you consider have top of the line security features. For example, if you are in the healthcare sector, you deal with overly sensitive protected information and some solutions may not meet your stringent security requirements.

A good eSignature solution should have strong cybersecurity capabilities and a dedicated compliance team that provides independent assurance that its security standards are top-notch.

What are you waiting for?

With the rapid ramping up of digital transformation worldwide, there has never been a better opportunity to make the switch to eSignatures, which can save your business money and time.

Although eSignatures are increasingly finding their way into our everyday lives, it is not a case of one-size-fits-all. Due to the complex needs of your organisation, you need to find the solution that’s right for you.

To successfully implement your eSignature project, review the tips outlined above, and should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Docuworx. We are here to help.

Did you know that 47% of invoices issued to Australian small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) are paid late?

This staggering statistic came from a study by Australasian accounting software business Xero.

On top of that, Xero found that when payments arrived on average were 30 days after their due date.

In other words, Xero found that almost half of Australia SMBs had to wait about 60 days before being paid!

The spill on effects of this can be catastrophic. It is no coincidence that the Australian Bureau Statistics recently found that 40% of SMBs fail within their first four years of operation. Late payments being a contributing factor in this.

The good news is that Docuworx has a solution that can help you get paid faster and save time and costs while doing so.

SOLUTION – Invoice Process Automation 

A way Docuworx can help your business is by the implementation of DocuWare as a platform for the Invoice Process Automation.

In simple terms, Invoice Process Automation – also known as AP Process Automation – allows your business to unshackle itself from the mountains of paperwork and hours of data entry associated with checking and processing invoices.

The Automated Invoice Process with DocuWare speeds up invoicing and accounts payable, eliminating the need for paper filing and manual data entry.

As well as improving efficiency and transparency by establishing automatic approvals and digital workflows.

It also improves compliance, preparing businesses in the event of an audit and provides security in case of a natural disaster that would put your data at risk.

Just Three Simple Steps to Automate Invoice Processes 

Step 1: Key information is captured from scans, emails with PDF attachments web forms and other documents, filling indexing fields with the desired criteria. By capturing all invoices electronically, error-prone and time-consuming data entry is no longer a factor while establishing the digital files, creating an automated workflow process.

Step 2: All invoices or documents are in a centralised and accessible database that is organised based on the indexed data from Step 1. Retention policies and routing rules seamlessly collect information for audits or enhance your departmental processes. All documents and data is accessible anytime, anywhere from any device.

Step 3: Unleash the power of automated workflows. Using these, you can route invoices through approval chains for faster decision-making and handle exceptions with ease, all while maintaining a high level of transparency and compliance.

The chart below shows manual data entry time is cut by 95% and an approval time improvement of 70 to 80%.

A flexible, scalable solution for everyone

 DocuWare Invoice Process Automation is available as Cloud, On-premise or a hybrid (Cloud and On-premise) solution so that you can choose the deployment that suits your business.

As there are more than 14,000 DocuWare customers worldwide, it has ensured seamless integration with more than 500 third party systems. Email providers, ERP, accounting system or CRM.

We can help your team stay in sync and seamlessly transition between the applications that keep your business running.

Docuworx also has solutions that can help improve your SMBs’ HR departments, sales and procurement processes and admin departments.

If you would like to know more book a free trial

A key advantage of Docuworx is our versatility.

In this article, we will look at how government agencies are progressing with regards to digital transformation and how Docuworx can help.

25% of agencies are struggling to move forward

According to a recent study conducted by Micro Focus in partnership with Omdia, Australian federal government agencies have been working hard on their digital transformations in recent years.

However, at least a quarter of them have still not moved forward with a digital transformation plan.

The study surveyed 40 Australian federal government decision-makers to assess where they are at in terms of their digital transformation initiatives and the challenges they are currently facing.

The study found that 50% of respondents work in agencies that are implementing digital transformation programs now while 25% do not have an approved strategy in place.

Other key findings included 88% of respondents stating that their IT systems would have to change and 45% saying that new systems or major changes to existing systems would be required.

When it comes to the barriers that government agencies face, the top challenge identified by decision-makers was organisational structure/culture, followed by legacy technology, staff skills, lack of investment, and lack of direction.

Automation on the rise

The research found that 36% of respondents stated they had already implemented automation technology with another 48% indicating a planned investment in the near future.

The leading driver for adopting automation was a reduction in repetitive back-office tasks, following by improved use of data across systems, more accurate responses to customer enquiries, reduced levels of error in data input, and the freeing up of staff so that they can focus on higher-value tasks.

IT investment re-prioritised

The research also showed that government agencies are planning significant investment in core IT solutions that support their digital transformation initiatives.

Even in light of the impacts of COVID-19, the decision-makers surveyed overwhelmingly agreed that their investment levels in IT would not be affected, illustrating its importance.

However, they did note that while investment would not decrease, priorities may be reassessed.

Specifically, they said that in a post-COVID world their top priority is now management of cloud, followed by IT governance, risk and compliance, and IT business management.

To achieve their goals, Omdia recommends that government agencies seek solutions which offer deployment options across on-site, private cloud or public cloud as well as flexible integration with APIs.

How Docuworx can help?

Docuworx, as a Platinum Partner of DocuWare, is ready to assist government agencies of all types and sizes with their digital transformations.

With DocuWare’s platform as the tool, government agencies can:

• Manage risk by protecting their valuable data from cybersecurity threats and natural disasters
• Improve efficiency by having a centralised and secure document pool which can be accessed from anywhere and at any time by workers in different departments.
• Enhance information sharing by integrating with common business applications
• Boost compliance, by adhering to all regulatory requirements
• Eliminate clutter, by going paperless
• Speed up processes by automating them
• Future proof, by allowing citizens to submit digital forms or email their requests
• And more

Case study: The Town of Henrietta

For example, the Town of Henrietta in the US recently benefited greatly from the implementation of DocuWare.

Henrietta is a small town located just outside of Rochester New York and is home to approximately 45,000 people.

The town’s government offices had a major record-keeping problem as it was overwhelmed by the vast amount of paperwork that was rapidly filling up onsite and offsite storage facilities.

It was not only costing the town money but also making the search and retrieval of important documents a daunting task.

A top priority for the town was to find a solution such as DocuWare that could seamlessly integrate with its existing software.

Today, the town has over half a million documents stored in DocuWare. Thanks to this world-leading solution, the time required to retrieve documents has been reduced to mere seconds and the need for paper records has been eliminated.

Meanwhile, the town’s return on investment was realized within months. It was able to save over $20,000 a year on paper storage alone.

Want to find out more?

Docuworx believes that the DocuWare platform is an ideal digital strategy for the quarter of Australian government agencies that are yet to commence their digital transformations.

To learn more about how Docuworx can assist your organization, book a free trial today

As many countries fight to come to grips with the Covid-19 pandemic, companies are working hard to continue serving their customers during these unprecedented times to maintain “business as usual”.

Interestingly, there have been beneficiaries such as the mega-cap FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) which have all experienced spikes in business due to the millions of people confined to spend time at home.

On the other hand, many small-and-medium (SME) enterprises have struggled with the restrictions. Unfortunately, a large number of them will not survive.

The good news is, many are improving. Companies of all sizes have joined the race to digitise processes which would previously have been performed manually in a bid to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency.

According to a study released by consultancy firm McKinsey this month, the impact of Covid-19 has accelerated the digitisation of companies’ customer and supply-chain interactions as well as their internal operations by three to four years.

The acceleration is even higher for the companies’ creation of digital or digitally enhanced offerings.

The study found an average acceleration of seven years in this area, with a higher leap in Asia Pacific, where it has sped up by more than ten years.

To stay competitive in this new business and economic environment, requires new strategies and practices, according to McKinsey.

Respondents from companies that have executed successful responses to the crisis report a range of technology capabilities that others don’t. Most notably, they say that filling gaps for technology talent, using more advanced technologies, and the speed in which they are experimenting and innovating are all key factors.

At Docuworx, we believe that one such technology all SMEs should look at implementing is DocuWare.

BUT WHERE DO YOU START?

As Australia’s only Platinum Partner of DocuWare, Docuworx has assisted numerous SMEs in the region with their digital transformations.

From manufacturing to retail, healthcare and education, SMEs across Asia Pacific are quickly discovering the importance of taking that all-important first step.

The most common question Docuworx gets from new clients is ‘Where do I start?’. Below are three ways Docuworx can help.

#1 GO PAPERLESS

Digitising paper documents is a simple and most-effective digital transformation initiative that a company can undertake.

SMEs may not realise this, but the paper is a heavy burden on their business. Employees waste time and money managing paper documents as well as being exposed to the risk of losing crucial documents and facing compliance issues.

By going paperless with DocuWare, they can cut costs, improve security and streamline their operations.

#2 AUTOMATE COMMON BUSINESS PROCESSES

Automating business processes is the key way in which SMEs can free employees from the burden of manual data entry so that they can focus on the high-value work that drives profits.

Although we live in an increasingly digital world, many SMEs still rely on manual tasks for simple, repetitive processes such as those involved in accounts payable or receivable as an example.

DocuWare Invoice Processing automates the entire AP process – including electronic invoice delivery, associated documents management, approvals workflows and advanced analytical and reporting tools.

#3 ENABLE REMOTE WORKING

As Covid-19 continues to create movement restrictions worldwide, SMEs need to have the flexibility to adapt to a mobile and distributed workforce.

For sales managers in the field, all the documents they need, such as emails, quotes, invoices and contracts are accessible in a centralised database. And since DocuWare works on any device including, smartphones, tablets and laptops, receiving information and completing workflows are only a click away.

The same can be said for employees working from home. Messy and disorganised folders on their personal computers can be productivity killers. With DocuWare, they will have secured access to a central, well-organised database containing all the documents and workflows they need.

With DocuWare, teams are also synchronised in their productivity, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

REQUEST A FREE TRIAL

The McKinsey study is one of many that have come out in recent months showing that digital transformations have accelerated worldwide.

Due to the disruption taking place around the globe, it has never been more critical for SMEs to embrace digital transformation and stay ahead of the pack.

With DocuWare’s capabilities, you can digitise and secure your information to flow effortlessly between your decision-makers – from anywhere, on any device, at any time.

To find out how Docuworx can help your business, Request a free trial

Australia, October 1, 2020: Docuworx Australia Pty Ltd (‘Docuworx’ or ‘the Company’), a Platinum Partner of leading document management and workflow automation provider DocuWare, is pleased to announce that it has seen a strong uptake of document management solutions this year.

Following the outbreak of Covid-19, businesses across the world have had to adjust to the new normal. Australia has been no different, with many business operators seeing the opportunity to commence their digital transformations.

Since February of this year, Docuworx has seen a 43% increase in the number of installations of DocuWare it has performed for its Australian customers, compared to the same period last year.

The demand has been driven by businesses increasingly looking for flexible document management solutions that can enable remote working. Another factor was a special Covid-19 business rescue package that the Company put together at the advent of the crisis.

Docuworx Co-founder and Director Carlos Lucia said that he isn’t surprised to see businesses increasingly adopting DocuWare as their preferred document management solution.

“Although Covid-19 is first and foremost a human tragedy, it has also provided an opportunity for businesses to digitise aspects of their operations, improving efficiency and reducing costs,” he said. “DocuWare’s world-leading software is ideal because it allows businesses to automate most workflows that would normally be manual, work remotely, capture and index vital data, go paperless, and more.”

DocuWare has also reported an increase in users and usage this year. Through the first wave of lockdowns this year, tens of thousands of users stored and accessed millions of documents using DocuWare.

According to DocuWare, the numbers of documents and users have increased by 50% and 30% respectively as of September as more organisations discover that DocuWare is the perfect cloud solution for their distributed workforces.

Despite the potential for a vaccine to restore some normality, it seems that the work from home trend might be here to stay with the global mobile workforce estimated to reach 1.87 billion workers by 2022, according to IBM.

This growing trend is supporting a rising interest in cloud-based tools and remote working-friendly tools. However, there are still many businesses that have yet to take the plunge.

In June, DocuWare conducted a survey of over 500 business owners/managers to assess how they were transitioning to a mobile workforce.

Although almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents said that cloud-based tools were “very” or “extremely” valuable during the Covid-19 pandemic, virtually a third (29%) were “mostly” or “completely” unprepared for their employees to work from home. 21% had yet to implement any digital tools for remote work.

With just over a fifth of companies yet to adopt a solution, Docuworx believes there is plenty of room for continued growth.

“With the virus now subsiding and a vaccine on the way, businesses are starting to reopen with life slowly returning to normal,” Lucia said. “However, we see the trend towards digital transformation as one that will continue to accelerate.”

About Docuworx Australia

Docuworx Australia Pty Ltd is a solutions provider that facilitates the digital transformations of businesses and organisations across Asia-Pacific. We are based in Australia, with partners in Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe. Collectively, our team has over 20 years of experience in automated business processes.

To learn more, please visit: www.docuworx.com.au

Anyone working in education soon finds outs that it is a very document-heavy business.

Masses of paperwork is generated, including applications, records and invoices. On top of that, there are the documents created and required by the faculty, staff and school suppliers.

From the smallest primary school up to the biggest university, schools are often overloaded with documents.

Poor management of these documents can cause numerous headaches for schools who simply want to focus on what they set out to do – educate the leaders of tomorrow. However, that becomes a difficult task when they are bogged down by clerical errors, inefficient legacy systems and a struggle to remain compliant in an increasingly privacy-conscious world.

Staying on top of all this is time-consuming and costly. In addition, while the amount of paperwork is rising, school budgets are staying flat or even declining.

The question is, how can your school do more with less?

The good news is a modern Document Management Systems such as the one Docuworx provides are here to help.

As Australia’s only Platinum Partner of industry-leading DocuWare, we are ideally placed to help your school overcome these challenges and more. Read on to find out 5 ways digital transformation can benefit your school today.

#1 Improve communication 

Daviess County Public Schools (DCPS) is a school district that manages the public schools in Daviess Country, Kentucky.

In the past, DCPS collected and exchanged information with parents via paper forms. But with 18 schools and over 11,000 students, this was a time-consuming, inefficient and clunky process.

Following the implementation of DocuWare, the school was able to email parents links to webforms that they completed online at their convenience.

Thanks to the increased speed and ease of use of electronic forms, parents were able to respond quicker and engagement rose.

In addition, DocuWare Forms use conditional logic, a feature which allows for additional instructions based on a particular response. In practical terms, this means that parents only receive forms that pertained to them. For example, only parents of children who play sports received athletic permission forms, and so on.

After the electronic forms are submitted, they are automatically indexed and stored by DocuWare, further streamlining the entire process.

#2 Save time

Tompkins Cortland Community College (TCCC) serves 3,000 students and is part of the State University of New York.

TCCC had previously digitised all 40,000 of its students’ permanent record cards going back to 1997, but the legacy system was outdated and no longer adequate for the college’s needs.

The college chose DocuWare because it is a flexible solution that allows TCCC to store all its documents digitally, providing access to all staff members in a seamless process.

Today, TCCC has setup four scanning stations and has over 100 staff members using the solution. All information is now digitised as it is received and old permanent records have been migrated to the new system.

As a result of this implementation, staff now have instant access to the information they need, enhance both the student and staff experience. With DocuWare, the retrieval time for documents has been reduced from 10-15 minutes to just seconds.

#3 Enhance efficiency

Propel is a not-for-profit organization that operates 13 charter schools delivering high-performance educational options to 4,000 students in western Pennsylvania.

Although each school in the group ordered and received their own supplies, approvals are handled by a central business office.

The process was inefficient because documentation had to be sent between the schools and central office for approvals.

Propel now uses DocuWare to fully automate the invoice approval workflow. Staff at each school can scan their documents into DocuWare, giving the Accounting Department instant access to the approved invoices.

Staff no longer waste time tracking down lost invoices and the process is more transparent, with all supporting documents viewable online.

Propel has used DocuWare to not only eliminate a mountain of paperwork, but also reduce the time to process an invoice from four hours down to minutes.

#4 Improve compliance

Roberts Wesleyan College is a Christian liberal arts college with almost 2,000 students located near Rochester, New York.

Prior to adopting DocuWare, the college’s documents were stored in filing cabinets located in the main office. The college was running out of space and sharing information between departments was difficult. What’s more, the cabinets weren’t incredibly secure and easily accessible by anyone.

Digitising the documents allowed the college to increase the security of these documents while also reduce printing and storage costs.

Using DocuWare, the college is now able to meet privacy compliance requirements outlined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by limiting information access to certain documents automatically.

#5 Accelerate hiring

Independent School District 196 is a state and nationally recognized K-12 public school district serving more than 28,000 students across 31 campuses.

District 196’s human resources staff used to spend hours sorting through the paperwork of potential employees during the hiring process.

By implementing DocuWare, District 196 has eliminated paper applicant files and the associated inefficiencies they cause.

The HR team can also use DocuWare’s online search capabilities to review applicant files from their offices or at home using DocuWare’s mobile app.

DocuWare allows more than one HR supervisor to look at the same applicants simultaneously, allowing for quicker reviews and candidate selection.

Thanks to DocuWare’s applicant database, District 196’s HR team operates more efficiently and can focus on the high-value task of selecting the right candidates, rather than spending hours on tedious filing.

And more…

As you can see, digital transformation has a myriad of benefits to schools and with DocuWare, you will be using the world’s most flexible and powerful platform for your school’s Digital Transformation.

To learn more about how Docuworx can assist your organization book a free trial

These days the term ‘digital transformation’ gets thrown around a lot as organisations try to maintain their competitive edge and struggle to adapt to the ‘new normal’.

Although the world was already going digital, the impacts of Covid-19 have further accelerated the trend. Almost overnight, organisations have found themselves with large numbers of staff working from home and a rising need for digital solutions such as those we provide here at Docuworx.

However, as companies try to progress at breakneck speed, they are often neglecting something very important, the customer. To truly benefit from digital transformation, organizations must keep customers – not technology – at the centre of their efforts. But how can they do so?

A cautionary tale

In 2018, US fast-food chain Shake Shack pulled the plug on its cashless stores following customer backlash.

Shake Shack thought that customers would enjoy the speed and convenience of ordering via a kiosk, paying with a card and getting a text when their order was ready.

Customers felt otherwise, flocking to Yelp to complain that the kiosks inhibited their ability to customize their orders, were inconvenient for those that preferred cash, and did not actually speed things up at all.

“The kiosks are also supposed to make things go quicker, but the wait is even longer,” one customer wrote. “I understand it’s 2018 but that doesn’t mean at all that everything has to be computerized and automated.”

The lesson here is simple:  Shake Shack failed because it pursued digital transformation for its own sake rather than seeing it from the customers’ point of view.

Being customer-focused pays off

Recent research by Deloitte looked at how a customer-focused mindset is crucial in an ever-changing technological landscape. Deloitte identified four key areas in which companies that take a customer-centric approach will be able to realise tangible benefits. They are:

Profits: Happy customers spend more. 62% of B2B customers have purchased more from a company after a good customer experience

Loyalty: Customer spend grows with trust. Loyal customers spend 67% more than new ones.

Cost: The cost of serving satisfied B2B customers can be up to 20% lower.

Referrals: Positive experiences drive business. 83% of customers will be happy to recommend a company if they are satisfied with it.

A success story

A leading software company and long-term client of Deloitte was facing challenges with regards to customer service and as a result, it had a low Net Promoter Score (NPS).

NPS is an important metric used to measure customer experience success which measures the loyalty of customers to a company or brand using a single question: ‘How likely is it that would recommend [company] to a friend or family member?’

A score is then reported with a number from –100 to +100, with a higher positive score being more desirable.

Recognizing the issue, the software company began a transformation journey which involved creating new customer success roles, adopting a new digital platform, and including customer success in C-suite-level decision making.

Following this multi-year transformation, the stock price of the company more than doubled, revenues increased by 20 per cent, and the NPS and customer satisfaction scores rose by 7 – 12 points.

My area of focus

Seeing the rising importance of digital technology, I recently joined the team at Docuworx, which is Australia’s only Platinum Partner of world-leading documentation management and workflow automation software DocuWare.

With over a decade of experience working with schools, my specific area of focus is education providers. As outlined above, I believe it is crucial that schools embark on their digital transformations with their customers firmly at the center of their plans.

After speaking with several key decision-makers from various schools and colleges, I have identified three key areas in which they are currently facing challenges: enrolments, accounts, and staff and student records management.

Unsurprisingly, all three of these areas are closely connected with customer experience.

For example, consider staff and student records management. We’ve all seen the numerous filing cabinets, shelves and storage facilities used by schools to maintain their records.

Now think of all the time wasted trying to find documents. If certain documents go missing, it can lead to a compliance nightmare and a sub-par experience for students. By going paperless, schools can eliminate wasted space and ensure documents stay safe and easily accessible at all times.

Next steps

Undergoing a digital transformation can seem daunting, but it is something that is quickly becoming essential in today’s environment.

Leaders should begin the process by reflecting on the importance of customer success and asking themselves three questions, according to Deloitte. Those are:

1. How do we make sure that customers get maximum value from us?
2. How can we capitalise on the value realised by our customers?
3. What can we enhance to create a more customer-centric digital transformation journey?

DocuWare’s world-leading software allows you to automate invoice processes, capture your businesses vital data, go paperless, and more.

To learn more about how Docuworx can assist your organization or to book a free trial, contact us today.

Digital transformations require investment and all companies are concerned about how their decisions will impact the bottom line and what they will get in return.

A recent study from information technology research firm Nucleus Research should help put some of those concerns to rest.

To calculate the value that small-to-medium enterprises could glean from document management systems (DMS), Nucleus examined recent ROI (return on investment) studies from the past four years. In each of the studies, an SME (small to medium business) deployed a DMS, realising a number of important benefits.

Nucleus found that each dollar invested in a DMS created an average return of investment (ROI) of $8.55.

Key benefits of a DMS

Although all SMEs create and share large amounts of digital data, most of them have been slow to deploy high-quality DMS solutions.

Until fairly recently, the decision has been a “no-brainer” for large organisations, which have the budget and workforces to justify the use of such solutions.

However, with advances in technology making DMS accessible to companies of all sizes, the landscape is now changing. SMEs must now look to harness their data and those that fail to do so will seriously lag behind their competitors.

According to Nucleus, the main benefits driving this amazing return on investment are: increased productivity, cost savings and reduced risk.

• Increased productivity: Nucleus found that the average productivity increase was 46 per cent, with some customers achieving more than 70 per cent increases. Post-deployment, employees were able to find and access content much faster, saving time and allowing them to focus on value-add tasks.
• Cost savings: Every company that deployed a DMS either redeployed staff or was able to avoid new hires, the study found. Companies with DMS’ were also able to scale faster without a corresponding increase in complexity or costs. One company was able to downsize the department responsible for managing its digital content by 35 per cent.
• Reduced risk: In an age of rising compliance requirements and digital threats, companies cannot afford to mismanage data. The study revealed that by centralising and digitising documents, companies were able to standardise the handling of sensitive information and reduce the risks of losing or mishandling it.

Best practices for SMEs

Nucleus also studied customer feedback in each case study, identifying the most commonly recommended best practices for other SMEs.

The top three most mentioned recommendations were to:

Embrace automation, Centralise content and Leverage consulting services.

• Embrace automation: Through automated business processes, companies can realise massive savings in both time and money. In addition, human errors can be reduced and more high-value tasks can be completed.
• Centralise content: Silos in an organisation restrict information flow and create inefficiencies. By centralising content in a DMS, organisations can maximise transparency, efficiency and productivity
• Leverage consulting services: As is the case with any initiative, staying on schedule and on-budget is crucial. Using the skills and expertise of an external provider to assist in the implementation of a DMS will yield the best results.

Docuworx is Australia’s only Platinum Partner of world-leading DMS provider DocuWare and perfectly placed to walk your company through its Digital Transformation.

With DocuWare’s DMS and Workflow Automation capabilities, you can digitise and secure your information to flow effortlessly between your decision-makers – from anywhere, on any device, at any time.

To find out how Docuworx can help your business

Request a free trial or contact us today.