Digital Documents: Definition, Benefits, and Examples

In today’s digital era, digital documents have become an important part of business administration and operations. To save time, usually companies have implemented a system that uses these documents for administration and business operations.

Through this article, you will learn about what is meant by digital documents in more depth. Apart from that, you will also be able to find out what are the advantages of using this type of document. Let’s see the full explanation below!

Definition of Digital Documents

Digital documents are paperless readable documents in their original form. One example is an invoice received in PDF form via email. Whether as a sender or a recipient, you can easily interpret the data included in the document. This makes it fairly easy to enter the information contained in a document into a company ERP or other system just by looking at it.

This document is very similar to a normal document written on paper. Although this document can only be viewed on an electronic device, it looks almost the same as a document on a sheet of paper. Therefore, even when a company receives the document, it is normal for the document to be printed.

Printing this document as a paper document is often the way a document is sent internally. An example is moving invoices from the operations division to the accounting division. However, this is not even ideal because it will only result in an inefficient archiving process. It would be much better if you send and store the document digitally as well, such as sending it via email and storing it in the cloud..

Sending and storing documents digitally allows all company records to be searched instantly, ultimately saving the company time and money. By digitizing documents, companies can have better communication between teams, and can help ensure the most confidential data is kept safe. What’s more, with these documents, you know where information is at all times and can access or track those documents from virtually anywhere.

Read also: Why Should We Digitalize Documents?

Benefits of Digital Documents

Finding ways to improve business efficiency is critical to a company’s growth. You will lose a lot of time and money if employees are still spending time sifting through documents or searching through file cabinets. Digitizing your documents and records can have many benefits that will benefit your company, employees, and even consumers.

If your company has not yet implemented a system that uses this document, you should do so immediately. The following are some of the advantages of using electronic documents.

1. Better Security

Although paper documents are practical and continue to be used today, they have a higher risk of being lost and stolen. In addition, personal information on paper documents is more accessible to spies from business competitors. If your company is affected by fire or water damage, you can lose a lot of valuable important information and records. Electronic documents, however, allow you to have backups securely accessible from anywhere.

Using an electronic document system makes it easier for you to limit access to information while protecting data from accidental loss or damage. In addition to protecting existing information, using an electronic document system also allows you to use encrypted forms and electronic signatures as well as redact personal information. You can rest assured that your valuable data is safe and ensure that the company complies with laws regarding electronic information and transactions.

Read also: AdIns Document Solution – Digitalizing & Managing Your Documents Easier

2. Safer to the Environment

How many sheets of paper do you have in the office? How many more sheets of paper will you add if you continue to print every form, note, and document? Based on a past study by Road Runner Road Runner, paper is the biggest source of office waste, which has reached 70 percent of the total office waste.

Perhaps even more surprising is that the average office worker uses around 10,000 sheets of paper per year. While some paper documents may always be needed, taking steps to reduce unnecessary paper can save thousands of trees each year. Therefore, electronic document systems can have a better impact on the environment. v

3. Saves Space

Storing paper documents can take up a lot of physical space and you will have to spend more on your budget to do so. In some cases, companies have too many paper documents that they have to have their own room to store all of these paper documents.

Storing too many paper documents obviously costs extra cash. When you convert to an electronic document system, you save space and financial resources that would normally be expended. The free space can provide more space for other work and even simplify the filing system.

4. Increases Business Efficiency

Digital documents are much easier to access and share than paper documents. You can access and share electronic documents virtually, as you just need to have internet access and an electronic device to do it.

Sending documents to people in different offices or making plans for an impromptu meeting can be done quickly and easily with electronic documents. As well as saving time, electronic documents are also very convenient to use because they allow you to get electronic signatures quickly.

Read also: Various Examples of Digitalization In Business

5. Real-Time Data

If your company still relies on data for crucial decision-making, then choosing a digital storage solution for your documents is very important. Reviewing and entering data manually is time-consuming and prone to human error.

Electronic documents make it easier for companies to collect data in real time. You can access electronic documents at any time of the day to double-check or update information. When a business depends on being able to turn around quickly, an electronic document system for your business is the best solution.

Document and storage systems that traditionally use paper and physical space are inefficient, environmentally unfriendly, and insecure. Updating your company using an electronic document system will help you streamline business processes and reduce costs that need to be incurred.

Examples of Digital Documents

Basically, electronic documents are ordinary documents that are often printed on paper and converted into a digital form either in .doc or PDF format. So, all documents that have a digital format can be categorized as electronic documents. It’s just that, for a digital document to be valid and have legal force, the electronic document must be signed by a certified Electronic Signature (TTE).

Read also: Signature Forgery: How to Report and Legal Sanctions

More Efficient Work with AdIns’ Digital Signature

If you want to convert the documents in the office into digital format, then you should prepare a certified TTE to sign the. If you need a certified TTE, go for the Digital Signature service from AdIns. Moreover, you can also use the Document Management System which can facilitate the management of all data in the company and can be accessed anytime and anywhere. Everything that has to do with your business can become easier, right? Contact us here to get more information about these services!