Everything You Need to Know About Document Management for Non-Profits

While for-profit and nonprofit companies operate differently, they both require attention to detail to achieve their goals. One such detail includes document management. Document management for a nonprofit is best when it’s centralized in a secure location, especially since it’s a good way to store a lot of documents. What should you know about document storage for a nonprofit? Here are a few tips.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

This act had a huge impact on how nonprofits manage their documents. It requires that any financial documentation will be subject to an annual audit by the chief financial officer of the organization. This act also regulates how long such documents must be stored.

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If you run a nonprofit, a highly organized and easy-to-use document management platform is paramount. A centralized document management platform provides ease in the auditing process, including making all necessary documents searchable, trackable, and something that can be noted for future reference. This, along with some sort of backup plan, can keep an organization from accidentally violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Best Practices for Document Management

There are a lot of different options for document management for nonprofits. While many organizations opt for going all-digital, other organizations may use multiple formats to store their documentation. Some documents may require multiple formats or locations for a variety of reasons, including an off-site document storage archive for historical documents or paper versions for volunteers who may not have access to online resources.

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How can an organization determine the best way to organize its documentation? It’s all about finding a document organization platform that suits the nonprofit’s needs.

One thing to consider when choosing a document management platform is security. Most nonprofit organizations keep donor information. The best document management platforms blend security and organization, keeping documents both secure and easy to access internally. Using a document management platform that requires digital signatures to access certain documents can keep documents safe.

Another consideration to keep in mind is that the platform you choose should support a simple, organized workflow. Simplicity is key; the more you can keep on a single platform, the better your workflow becomes. It makes everything easy to find and saves you time when everything is in one place.

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You can also incorporate a document management system with an analog capture system that allows users to digitize analog documents. A feature like this is ideal for sharing documents that could normally only be shared in person. With this feature, you could also take historical documents and preserve them in a backup state in case something were to happen to the original, such as theft, damage, or misplacement.

Document Management for Your Needs

No single document management system meets the needs of every nonprofit organization, but if you can find one that specifically meets the needs of your organization, it can be incredibly beneficial for everyone’s workflow. A document management system can help a nonprofit organization become even better at what they do by streamlining that work.