Document Management vs. Records Management: What's the Difference?
We often meet a lot of questions about the differences and similarities between document management and records management. Is there any difference? Is it really clear? what is the best?
If you are ready to digitize your business records to maintain compliance with government and industry regulations, should you look for a document management system or software dedicated exclusively to records management? Let's explore the differences between the two to clarify the situation.
What is records management
Records are defined as evidence of a transaction, decision, or commitment made by an individual, company, non-profit organization, or government agency. A document becomes a record after a business process is completed. Records often contain many parts that can include documents, photos, and videos. They are stored in Their final form is needed as confirmation that an action has occurred and not because it is in use, and cannot be edited or revised. They are often subject to internal and external audits required to confirm compliance with industry and government regulations.
The Doc Suite system is used to manage records effectively and easily. It works by storing information and data in electronic databases, where users can add, edit and delete records easily. The system also provides the ability to search, filter and sort to access the required information quickly, and it can be used in various fields such as business and education; To organize and share data between different users conveniently.
What is the difference between records management and document management
Proving compliance, restricting access to information to authorized personnel, ensuring security, and enforcing retention schedules are among the primary goals of records management.
But the goal of document management is broader, and its goals include ease of storage and retrieval, capturing and classifying paper and electronic documents, automating workflows, ensuring document and data security and protecting against cyber threats.
Document management
Document management is used to track and manage files in process. More specifically, it is used to manage the overall process of document creation, from inception to completion. It formalizes the document creation process to ensure transparency and accountability at every step of the process. It also streamlines the process. More efficient by automating key tasks such as assembly, approval and quality assurance steps.
For documents of importance or complexity, this process will include the following steps:
Creation: The document is created from a blank template, and this creates the initial version.
Formatting: The contents of a document are created by one or more users. Depending on the nature of the document, the contents can include written text, formatting, images, hyperlinks, and any number of other elements.
If the process requires multiple users, there must be a way to allow them to work on the document without inadvertently overwriting each other's work. Different systems handle this in different ways, which are:
Check-in and check-out: A document management system allows one user to check-out a document, allowing other users to read it without making any changes to it. Once the user finishes making any changes, the document is checked in and is available for another user to check out. Each time changes are checked in to the document, A new version is created so that all participants can see what has changed between each version. If an unwanted change is made, the document can be reverted to a previous version.
Co-authoring: A document management system allows multiple users to work on a document simultaneously, but it does internal locking within the document at a granular level. In SharePoint, for example, a Word document is locked at the paragraph level, and this approach does not have widespread support.
Review: This step generally involves someone other than the content creator reviewing the document for its overall content as well as things like grammar, spelling, document flow, accuracy of tables and images, etc. A document management system can provide business rules, assign a review to a specific individual or role and ensure that The review is completed before the document can move forward in the process.
Post-Revision: Once the review is complete, the draft is returned to the creator for any necessary changes. This step is very similar to the drafting step mentioned above, including creating new versions.
Assembly: Not all documents require this, but many more complex documents will. Consider, for example, a contract with different terms and conditions. Depending on where the work will be performed, a document management system can ensure that there are terms and conditions included in the document. And they are the correct conditions based on business rules.
Approval: Some documents will go through a formal approval process, perhaps ending with a signature of some sort, contracts are an excellent example of this, others will be less formal – the document is approved once it is published and ready for use.
Storage: Once a document is complete, it is good practice to store it in a repository of some kind, to allow authorized users to find and access it and the information it contains.
In short, document management is used to create information objects and provide transparency and accountability for how a particular information object appears.
DocSuite plays a crucial role in successful document management, as it allows users to easily create and organize documents, and share and collaborate on them effectively. Thanks to its online storage, search and sharing capabilities, DocSuite contributes to improving information management and increasing productivity in businesses and organizations.
Records management
Some documents need to be managed more formally because they serve as evidence of a transaction or decision that imposes an obligation on the organization. We call these information objects records and store them in a way that preserves them. A given record may consist of multiple elements – for example, an insurance claim that includes a claim form, Statements of witnesses or authorities, photographs, etc.
Once the information object is declared as a record, no further changes are expected or allowed. In fact, if changes are required, for example, adding a document to a contract, then you will need a new record for that.
The following are the core capabilities associated with records management processes and systems:
Declaration and Recording: The record is placed in a warehouse, and assigned a unique name so that it can be managed consistently throughout its life cycle.
Access controls: Authorized users will be able to access, retrieve, and read the record – but not make any changes to it. In some cases, there may be a reason to allow changes to the metadata associated with the record.
Retention rules: Different types of records have different requirements regarding how long they should be retained, depending on their legal, financial, administrative or historical value. The records management system will set retention rules based on the contents of the records.
Disposal: At the end of the course of work on records, records that have no commercial value, do not involve legal scrutiny or any other type of matter will be destroyed or transferred to a controlling legal authority such as the National Archives, State Archives or Company Library.
Audit trails: This is the final documentation of how a record is managed from acknowledgment to completion. In many organizations, audit trails themselves are records that need to be managed.
DocSuite plays an essential role in successful records management in several ways:
1. Organization and classification: Doc Suite allows users to organize records and documents effectively by taking advantage of structural classification and organization systems that contribute to facilitating search and access to information.
2. Access and Sharing: Users can access records and documents online from anywhere and at any time, increasing the possibility of sharing information between members and teams within the organization.
3. Security and Protection: DocSuite features strong security that protects records and documents from data loss or unauthorized access, which contributes to maintaining the confidentiality and sustainability of records.
4. Actions and audits: Actions and modifications to records can be accurately recorded, facilitating audits and compliance with standards and regulations.
5. Collaboration and trading: DocSuite allows users to jointly collaborate on records and documents, which enhances interaction between members and helps achieve teamwork goals.
In these ways, DocSuite contributes effectively to successful records management by providing efficient and secure means of organizing, accessing, sharing, and collaborating on information.
How does document management include records management?
A document management system provides all the business-critical functions needed to meet any records management requirements as well as manage the information and documents that are part of active business processes. These capabilities include:
Indexing turns documents into manageable information by reading key pieces of data and storing each data point as an index value. These index values describe the purpose and content of the document, and are very effective for searching and organizing documents.
Archiving and retrieval occurs after records are routed to the correct location via automated workflows. Pre-assigned index data for the record ensures clear organization and quick retrieval by authorized users.
Digital workflows use predefined processes to automatically archive records and enforce retention schedules.
Comprehensive security and backup procedures include:
Authenticating via a unique username and password, this not only allows specific access rights to be set, but also ensures that there is a complete audit trail of what document was accessed, who accessed it, and what actions were taken.
Encrypt cloud-based communications with TLS, HTTPS, and HSTS to protect against protocol download attacks and high cookie hijacking.
Geographically distributed digital backups, located in a highly secure Microsoft Azure data center, protect vital information and ensure fast data recovery without unexpected expenses.
DocSuite document management includes managing records by organizing and storing records structurally and securely, with the ability to track records and record actions on them. These features facilitate efficient searching and access of records, and enhance compliance with standards and regulations, contributing to institutionalized and systematic records management.
DocSuite document management includes records management in several ways:
1. Organize Records: Users can create organizational structures that allow records and documents to be logically classified, making it easier to search and access them quickly.
2. Digital Records: DocSuite allows users to convert paper records into digital formats, which contributes to storing records safely and reducing paper use.
3. Records Lifecycle Management: Certain records can be assigned specific stages in their lifecycle, such as creation, release, approval, and filing, to ensure compliance with records requirements and preservation of important records.
4. Protection and security: Doc Suite features strong security measures that protect records and prevent unauthorized access to them, thus maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of information.
5. Audit and monitoring: Actions on records can be accurately recorded and tracked, facilitating audits and monitoring to ensure compliance with regulations and standards.
6. Exclusion and storage: You can apply exclusion policies for old records and specify where they can be stored securely if they are needed later.
7. Search and query: The Doc Suite system allows quick search and query of records based on specific information, making it easier to find the required records quickly.
In these ways, DocSuite encompasses records management by providing effective means to create, organize, protect and search for records, which contributes to comprehensive and systematic records management.
Both document and records management processes and systems bring great value to the organization. Most enterprise content management systems today provide effective document and records management capabilities, and Doc Suite offers you an advanced system that serves your organization effectively and accurately. We are here to serve your success.