If your firm struggles with the vast number of documents you create, edit and refer to every day, you’re probably wondering how you can better manage your files.
Small firms in particular can benefit from adopting a document management system, so your team can provide more efficient services to your clients.
At the most basic level, a document management system, or DMS, is essentially a digital filing cabinet. It’s where you store your electronic documents, like letters, forms and templates.
But a good legal DMS should be much more than that, supporting your firm’s business functions to operate efficiently. It will have the tools you need to get the most out of your data and improve your firm’s day-to-day operations.
Document Management Systems Vs Paper Filing
There are many reasons that small law firms are switching from paper filing systems to a DMS. Paper filing is both wasteful and expensive—in an increasingly environmentally-conscious world, it makes sense to move away from it. When going digital also helps to reduce your firm’s overhead costs, it becomes a logical business decision.
As the workplace changes, flexible and remote work becomes more common, and unforeseen events like COVID and extreme weather happen more frequently, it’s become vital to be able to access your files anywhere at any time. A good DMS supports workplace continuity and minimises disruption by allowing you seamless access to your documents and data. It also makes it easy to offer flexible or remote working options, supporting your firm to attract and retain staff through more positive workplace policies—a point of difference that gives boutique firms a competitive edge when hiring.
Your team can work collaboratively, as there’s no risk of important files being forgotten between working from home and the office, and the most recent version of each document is available to those who need it on-demand. With dynamic search, you’ll also save time finding the document you need quickly – no more digging through dusty files!
How Does a DMS Benefit Small Law Firms?
For small firms, a reliable DMS is essential. You don’t have the same resources as a larger firm, so it’s important that your processes are simplified, administration is minimised and you can take the pressure off your team.
Using a DMS, you’ll save on printing and related costs, your firm will be more efficient, and collaboration is easier when all your data for each matter is saved in one place, with a single source of truth.
Automation, templates and integrations will improve your firm’s productivity, so your team can get more work done in less time, improving work-life balance. These features will also improve client experience, as response times and client engagement will be improved.
If your team is experiencing email overwhelm, this is where a good DMS comes in—send, save and reply to emails and capture them automatically to a matter, eliminating the need for manual filing.
What Features Should Your DMS Have?
A good document management system will do much more than just store your files, it will also help you use them more efficiently.
Features your DMS should have include:
Explore these features and more from mattero.
Using a DMS will help your firm achieve improved client satisfaction. Regardless of the legal matter, clients want to see a quick turnaround time on their case. mattero allows you to prioritise your workload by setting reminders for yourself for when specific tasks or documents are due. Using this feature will enable your team to stay on track with client expectations and keep on top of your matters.
Talk to your team about how you’ll use your DMS and check back in with regular meetings during the early stages. Consider how your firm currently organises documents, and what processes need improving as you transition to the new system.
You can upload documents individually or in bulk, and they can be associated with a matter or a contact. Consider how your firm will organise documents, and make plans for using tags and naming files consistently. Create your own templates and automate your workflows so that you can streamline your processes.
Getting started with mattero is easy—it’s a self-serve process and you can start adding your first matter in minutes. If you’re an established firm with data to import from a legacy system, you can follow our guides to ensure your data migration goes smoothly.
A good DMS will support your team to be more productive, efficient, and develop client relationships that set you apart from other firms.
Find out more about mattero’s document management features.