Thanks to those of you who’ve expressed interest in the upcoming beta test of our policies and procedures management software. We’re making adjustments to the system and expect to release it for testing shortly.

We’re still recruiting testers for the policies and procedures management system. As a beta-tester, you’ll have unlimited access to the system during the test period and you’ll have the option to continue using it once it’s released to the general public.

The application will be web-based, so no installation is required. You’ll be able to set up other users in the test period so you can share policies and procedures. You’ll see firsthand what a great benefit this is. We plan to charge monthly for a certain number of seats, or licenses.

Your web app will come loaded with a set of Bizmanualz policies and procedures. In addition, potential testers have told us they’d like to upload their own procedures and supporting documents. They say they like the idea of a web-based application, because it leaves in-house technology resources free to support other needs. What would you do with Document Management Policies and Procedures Software?

Test Our Software Now - Get the Features You Want Later

Early testers will help us select from a long list of features planned for development. By participating in the test program, testers are likely to get the features they want sooner.

If you’re interested in taking part in this beta test of the Bizmanualz policy and procedure management system, please call (800-466-9953 or 314-863-5079), e-mail, or leave a message on our web site. Let us know:

Q1: Please provide your full contact information, including your name, company name, work title, address, e-mail, phone number, and website address.

 Q2: How do you currently use policies and procedures?

 Q3: Why are you interested in participating in this test?

 Q4. Today, how do you manage your documents; are you using software, network storage or a manual system? If using software, which software by name are you using? Roughly how many policies, procedures and supporting documents might you wish to manage in a software repository?

 Q5: Is there anything about your current policies and procedures software and/ or processes that you wish you could change or improve?

 Q6. What is the approximate number of employees in your entire organization___, and in your department or component___?

 Q7. How many would need to access the system; how many: Authors?___ Editors?___ Reviewers?___ Browsers/View-only access?___

 Q8: What do you plan to do with policies and procedures in the next 30 to 60 days?

When we get your responses, we’ll contact you to arrange for an introduction to the software. Prefer to answer the above questions in survey form? Click here. We hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for your assistance.

As Chris Anderson wrote recently, document management systems (DMS) give you several advantages right away — security, cost savings, easy retrieval, and compliance.

I’d add a couple more advantages, at least in the short run. When you subscribe to the soon-to-be-released Bizmanualz document management system, it’ll come pre-populated with Bizmanualz policies and procedures.

You could download policies and procedures and load them onto your local computer network (for example, locate them on a local server). But, then the documents are organized in a basic hierarchical format. You have to somehow build in the access and version control; otherwise everybody has access to your documents. They can read, write to, and delete them without your permission or knowledge.

You could send an e-mail to “All”, saying that “Manufacturing procedures are on the ‘M:\’ drive, in the ‘Procedure’ folder. Don’t change anything without telling me.”  That’s going to work, right?

On the other hand, when you use our online document management system, you’ll simply send a link with login information.  Procedures, records, and rights to use or edit them would be managed within the web-based system. Deployment — and control — become very easy.

When you use our online DMS, the information comes pre-loaded, pre-organized, and rights-managed. The documents can’t get lost, and you don’t have to pull your hair out sorting through multiple versions.

Why is a Document Management System better than a Shared Drive?

Storing and sharing records on your local network is like having an electronic file cabinet. While that’s easier in many ways than a paper-based file system — because you can access it remotely (saving you steps) and quickly and you can easily back up your information — it’s not a great leap forward. You haven’t improved the process — you’ve merely replicated it in a different form.

True, as long as you can put your finger on your compliance records — the part of your system that proves your company complies with some standard or regulation — you’ve got one aspect of your business under control. Beyond compliance, though…are those records helping you manage your business? Can you easily tabulate information contained in the records and produce visual charts and graphs, showing you and your colleagues unusual behavior, or trends?

In the “shared-drive scenario”, the best you can do is once in a while collect information, dump it into a spreadsheet, and chart it. But, if you keep your information in an online DMS with reporting capabilities built in, you can generate and view reports in real time, as your coworkers are entering data into the system. And, you decide who has permission to enter data, read reports, and so on.

At Bizmanualz, we share the following sales report real time across the company on our on-line system. Everyone can see how sales are doing, and what the most popular products are. We can see trends as they develop while there is still time to react to them to affect real-time improvements.

At Bizmanualz, we can see trends as they develop while there is still time to react to them to affect real-time improvements.

And, when you want to revise policies and procedures, the DMS not only helps you to organize the development and review processes — it automatically performs version control and minimizes risks (like documents disappearing).

Do You Want to Take Part in a Document Management System”Beta-Test”?

Our developers plan to open up the Bizmanualz Document Management System to organizations like yours. Soon, new customers will access their Bizmanualz policies and procedures online, using the DMS.

Would you like to participate in a beta test of this system?  Please post your comments below or contact us at our web site, and we’ll let you know when you can try our online Document Management System for yourself, before it goes on the market.

Thank you for your help.

Companies have a variety of reasons for wanting to get their document management process under control.  What are the four main reasons for investing in a good document management system software?  How about security, saving money, efficiency and compliance.

Document Management Software Security

Electronic files are a lot more secure than paper files.  Document management software can provide an audit trail that tracks every document change and even file views.  Electronic systems can be easily backed-up in case of natural disasters like fire and flood.  Bottom line: your electronic files are safer and more secure.

Document Management Software Savings

The cost of manually producing, storing, retrieving and transporting paper documents and records is high, very high.  People are expensive and using people to file, find and move documents is just not practical anymore.  Think of all the money you can save, and office space you can free up, if you eliminate paper documents and records. Document management software virtually eliminates the cost of searching for, or worse recreating lost documents.

Document Management Software Efficiency

Retrieving paper documents from your storage location (is it off site?) is a ridiculas waste of time. How long do you have to wait to obtain paper files?  Document management software systems let employees quickly access documents and records from their desks, over the internet.  So no matter where you are you can now quicky and easily retrieve important documents and records.

Document Management Software Compliance

If document and records control are a requirement for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO 9001, HIPAA, or some other regulations then document management software systems are simply the fastest, easiest, and cheapest solution.  All of your policies, procedures, work instructions, forms, regualtions, and customer documents can be tracked, controlled, and managed per your compliance requirements.  Document management software provides compliance at a glance, access control, physical security, audit history, review and approval work flows, email alerts, and comment tracking.  Reduce your document audit findings and keep you company in compliance.

Document management security, cost savings, efficiency and compliance are the four main reasons for investing in document management software systems.