Business centers around documents that range from mission-critical to simply helpful—service level agreements, marketing plans, invoices, presentations, vacation requests, and so on.

Each of these documents has a clear intent. The same can’t be said for document-related terminology—there are a number of terms that, honestly, all kind of sound the same. For example, there’s document management, document workflow, document workflow process—that last one isn’t really a term that’s used, but for some reason, people still search it on Google!

Then, there’s document management workflow. Quite the mouthful, isn’t it? Well, unlike document workflow process, it’s a real thing. Let’s break it down.

What is a document management workflow?

To understand the term document management workflow, it’s helpful to define its component words:

• Document management is the organised practice of storing, sorting, and tracking structured documents (PDFs, Word documents, etc.), typically as electronic files within a digital solution.
• Workflow is a set of specific steps that dictate what to do and how to do it. While workflows can stand alone, they typically support a process. Subsequently, a process may contain multiple workflows.

We can then define document management workflow as the organised practice of creating, moving, tracking, and approving documents to achieve a specific goal or output.

Consider a simple example of a vacation request. A human resources manager creates a vacation request template for employees to use. When an employee wants to request time off, the following document management workflow occurs:

• The employee fills out the vacation request template and submits it to their manager.
• The manager reviews the document and approves or denies the request.
• Assuming the document is approved, the manager sends the document to any additional parties that may need to sign off on the request. This continues until all designated parties weigh in accordingly.
• Once approved (or denied), the document is stored in a designated location, and the employee is notified of the result.

Even document workflows as simple as this can unravel when relying on emails and company servers. That’s why your workflows must be supported by the right document management solution.

Benefits Of Using Document Management Software

Employing a document management system can generate a lot of value for your organisation:

• Lower costs. Going digital means you don’t have to worry about physical storage space for the countless documents your business handles from day to day.
• Greater efficiency. Instead of dealing with paper files or even email threads, you can simply create a clear filing structure within the solution. Plus, automation cuts down on confusion and saves time.
• Added security. In addition to the more stringent security protocols most modern document management software employs, there are user permissions. Simply restrict certain documents to relevant employees, clients, and other parties to whom you may grant access.
• Auditability. Document management software enables you to gain visibility into user activities—see what files users have accessed and when.

Supercharge your document management workflows with an all-in-one collaboration solution.

Glasscubes is a robust collaboration solution that ensures your entire organisation is able to stay connected internally and externally—regardless of industry or workforce size.

Document workflows require collecting the right information and then sharing that information with the right people in a timely manner. You can do that with Glasscubes’ online forms and automated workflow feature. This feature ensures your team spends less time tracking down information and more time making use of it.

Our solution helps everyone stay in the loop on the latest updates and share what’s most important—all while keeping work moving efficiently. Use threaded discussions to keep conversations in context, whether discussions deal with client tasks or important project files. From task management to communication to file sharing, our platform helps you stay in touch and on top of things all in one place.

With Glasscubes, you can:

• Store and share files in a secure location, complete with automatic version control. You can even create approval workflows and view clear audit trails of user actions.
• Assign and manage tasks for different members of the team and track them to completion.
• Create customised workspaces for each project team in your portfolio. Team members can share resources and communicate with one another in their specific workspace, and you can access them all for easy oversight.

Want to see how other companies are using Glasscubes for document management and more? Check out these case studies.