7 Digital Document Management Errors and How to Avoid Them

Did you know that 92 percent of employees at businesses share and collaborate on documents via email? Using email to share and edit documents is one of the most common cyber threats that businesses face in 2022. It has never been more crucial to the success of your business to start protecting business data from people that want to hack your devices.

A number of digital document management errors could happen that make managing data online much trickier than it should be. Things are made even more difficult if you’re a small business that can’t afford an in-house document management team.

The good news is that you’re in the right place to learn more about the most common digital document management errors to look out for and how to avoid them. Keep reading to learn more today

1. Keeping Your Files In-House

If you’re a small business or a startup then it could be difficult finding a place to store all of your physical documents. Keeping your files in-house on a temporary basis might help you in the short term but you need to start looking at a long-term solution for all of your business’s documents.

The more your business starts to grow, the more issues you’ll run into when it comes to storing your files and keeping them organized. If you want to avoid digital document management errors then you need to find ways to stay organized. That could mean uploading your physical documents into digital copies and coming up with names for files.

If you’re worried about protecting business data then you should consider working with experts on document management and security. You can learn more about file protection and file conversion for combating common cyber threats.

2. Lack of Backup Protection

If you plan on converting your physical files into digital copies then you need to make sure that you have backup copies stored either on an external server or a cloud server. It is impossible to keep your digital documents safe if you don’t have backup copies.

If something goes wrong with your computers or your network then you could find yourself without the files and information that your business needs. You can recover all of these files in a short amount of time if you have file backups on a server or the cloud.

It’s also a good idea to have trained employees who have taken any AWS certification path so they can help you create a more effective cloud backup system for your digital files.

You’ll be grateful that you took the time to backup all of your digital documents if something does happen. The number of inconveniences that you’ll encounter if you skip this step is more than you can imagine.

3. Failure to Convert Physical Documents

It is a big decision to choose to move towards digital documents from physical ones. If you make this switch then you need to commit to converting your physical documents in your files to digital documents through scanning them into your system. All you’ll need is a scanner that will convert these documents into PDF files.

If something goes wrong during the conversion process then you can always make edits on the PDF files using C#. You’ll run into a ton of issues that you could have avoided if your physical documents fall into the wrong hands.

4. Failure to Protect Your Business Data

Having a file backup is a great idea if you want to start protecting business data for your small business or startup. Still, there are certain measures that you should take in addition to file backups to start protecting your business and your online data.

Consider investing in anti-virus and malware protection software programs. Getting these software options will make your life much easier when it comes to common cyber threats. You could also consider putting password protections on your PDF files and other documents that your business uses.

5. Forgetting to Shred Old Documents

A big mistake to avoid when it comes to digital document management errors is forgetting to shred old documents from your business. It sounds ridiculous but criminals will go through the trash that your business gets rid of in hopes of finding documents with financial information on them.

It is a simple and avoidable thing that leads to your confidential business information falling into the hands of people that will harm you and your business. Your competitors might also get their hands on these documents and use them to catch up to your business.

The lesson to be learned from this is that you need to always remember to shred your old documents. This is especially important to do after you’ve made them digital.

6. Failure to Destroy Files

Did you know that you have legal liabilities to destroy online files after a certain length of time? Make sure that you monitor the regulations surrounding online files to remain in compliance with them.

You’ll experience more issues with it comes to names for files with these regulations. A good rule of thumb is to always have a plan for what you want to do with the files your business uses.

7. Not Training Employees

If you want to avoid the common digital document management errors then you need to educate and train your employees on the steps to take. Most employees want to do their work and move on with their lives but there are things that they do that could put your business data at risk.

You need to train your employees on the little things like the importance of names for files and ways to handle tasks. It is also important to teach them about why it is important to shred old documents and backup the files that they use. Little things like this will save your business a ton of money and strife.

Avoid These Digital Document Management Errors Today

There are tons of avoidable digital document management errors that businesses make each and every day in the United States. Failure to back up your digital documents could lead to issues from common cyber threats. You should also make sure that you train your employees on the proper procedures for protecting business data.