Sharing access to files also means sharing responsibility. Without an extensive document approval system, a document, whether by accident, out of ignorance or with malicious intent, could be accessed or altered with undesirable results. Not to mention, the chaos that could result if pending documents requiring a signature or some kind of approval are not reviewed in a time. How do we verify who’s approval is still pending, who accessed a document, or what changes were made to the file?
With the right document approval system in place, all important document changes can be closely monitored and the approval process can be moved along faster. Here are some the best reasons why an automated approval system is so vital to a business operation:
Avoiding Mistakes
Entry level employees will only have so much training. Giving them blanket access to every single file in the system could lead to disaster. They may inadvertently move or modify something, and not even be aware of it.
Hours, days or even months later, a file is suddenly missing or is found to have incorrect information. Everyone starts pointing fingers, but there really isn’t a sure-fire way to determine who made the error to begin with. An automated approval system provides administrators with a clear path to the root of an issue, and more importantly, helps prevent future complications. With document approval technology, only authorized employees are given access to certain files, which means there is no chance an unqualified, unauthorized person could even be in a position to commit a serious clerical mistake.
Organization & Collaboration
Document approval systems facilitate instant sharing between individuals, teams or departments. Once a person or a group of individuals have been granted permission to access certain files, they can now easily collaborate with each other to reach a common business objective.
Furthermore, if there is a set of documents that will require periodic review, a document approval system will automatically notify all the parties involved that it is available for review. Quality control and error prevention can be streamlined in this fashion. Employees can have instant access to specific files within a designated time, and after completing their task, they can move on to the next one. Overall the transition time between work-related activities is reduced, and so are the number of potential errors regarding the editing and delivery of approved documentation.
Privilege and Oversight
Senior members of an organization are more likely to require access to a larger pool of files than their subordinates. Approval systems allow a company to set a tiered system of access to prevent lower-level employees from seeing what other departments are up to. Higher-level supervisors can be kept in the loop regarding important changes and developments in other areas of the company.
In addition, track changes made to a document and have access to previous file versions. Now identifying the origin of any recent issue, and correcting the problem is only a couple clicks away. Employees know who they are reporting to, and what they are directly responsible for.
Decision-Based Routing & Automation
Documents that are pending approval are automatically sent to the next user for review, and once the file has gone successfully through all the approval channels, it is delivered to a final destination. This final location could be a home folder, an archive folder, an email address, or a fax server. This form of intelligent, automated routing can accelerate approval cycles tremendously, and also lessen the possibility that a document may be sent to the incorrect recipient. Moreover, all confidential documents are delivered electronically to the correct recipient(s), which limits the exposure of sensitive information at print or work stations.
We do offer document approval software as part of our business platform. Find out more about DAC (Document Authority Control) by taking a tour of our product page or simply testing it out for yourself by downloading a free trial today.