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September 2006 - Everyone is going paperless!
The cost savings for such an undertaking are well documented,
and every vendor now
has their own version of document management. The choices
are everywhere, from payroll to general ledger to tax systems.
This diversity of options can make choosing a document
management system challenging.
Office Tools Pro is a unique offering. Designed specifically for the small
office, this software can host all documents regardless of which software produces
them. All files are stored in their native formats like Word, Excel, PDF, and
Tiff.
When document management is used in combination with the other features that
Office Tools Pro provides, the true savings and increased operational efficiency
becomes apparent. Considering the savings of a tightly integrated single interface
to store, retrieve and manage documents. While you work, every click is saving
the staff and ultimately the firm lost time, which is reducing stress and increasing
productivity.
Complete Office Management
Office Tools Pro integrates the document
system with engagement management, project
management, time & billing, and document workflow. This allows
you to track billing information with documents that are routed through the
office. When working on documents a timer can be used to log and track billable
time. After invoices or statements are created, they are automatically stored
in document management for each client. A “Post Status” feature
is designed for documents related to due dates and client projects. This allows
you to update a project status directly from the document screen. A new addition
will be added for document sharing via the Office Tools Pro Web Portal due
out in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Small Firm Needs
What does the small firm need to implement an optimal document management and
storage system? The choice of which document management software to use will
not be the same as a larger firm, because larger firms not only have bigger
budgets and more resources, but also because they are subject to completely
different operating conditions. Small firms are different from large firms
in the following ways.
-Small firm staff wear many hats, and have diverse responsibilities.
-Smaller firms are not highly departmentalized like large firms are.
-Small firms staff have greater client responsibility and interaction.
-Small firms have fewer billable staff.
Office Tools Pro designed its interface and software content from the ground
up taking into account the smaller firms differences. This becomes especially
apparent when the owner-manager is subject to client, staff and activity interruptions.
Having all relevant information about a client in one place allows for a quicker
problem resolution and analysis. This kind of easy access to information is
imperative for the small firm.
This dynamically allows the owner-manager to not only have their fingertips
on the heart beat of their practice, but also to quickly get back to the work
they were doing prior to being interrupted. The reason this is so important
is that in the smaller firm the owner-manager is a the primary (and sometimes
the only) biller in the firm.
So being able to get or reference a document for a client, bill time and even
route that file or a message to other staff can ultimately make the difference
in wasted time and added stress when serving your client.
The most Important Elements
Whether you want a system that is for
permanent storage or just an efficient
way to quickly access electronic files the ease at which you and your firm
can accomplish this is very important. Let’s look at the most important
elements that make Office Tools Pro a perfect choice for the small firm: Affordability,
Usability, and Integration.
Return on Investment
Since Office Tools Pro offers document
management as a built in feature the
initial costs are minimal compared to
other document management systems. This
makes the return on investment immediate. However, the real return on investment
is the increased efficiency of management and delegation that can be attained
by making Office Tools Pro an integral part of your business. Ultimately, efficient
management and delegation fundamentally determines the firm’s success,
profitability, and quality of service. Office Tools Pro with all features starts
at $500 for the first user and $150 for each additional user. SR |
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