I spoke to our Corporate Controller late last year and he said something very interesting to me. He said, “I don’t know how I ever functioned without M-Files earlier in my career. I can’t imagine doing business any other way now.”
“It really speaks to the paradigm shift that happens when companies decide to take control of their information and create workflows related to that information,” I replied. “I was the same way. I didn’t even really know there was a better way, but I’m a believer now.”
We continued to talk, and I asked him to give me some examples of how M-Files has made his work better, easier and/or more efficient. He went on to raise some interesting points about why enterprise content management (ECM) solutions are indispensable for finance department staffers. I thought I’d share some of those thoughts here with you.
Oops, I Sent the Payroll Report to the Wrong ‘Mike’
He recounted a story from early in his career when a colleague emailed the payroll report to the wrong ‘Mike’ in his address book. Not good. The report had everyone’s salaries on it and there was a lot of damage control afterwards.
With M-Files, users send links to documents which are stored in the system, rather than attaching it to the email. If you send the document to the wrong person, not to worry. The wrong Mike wouldn’t have had access to the payroll report and upon clicking the link, would have gotten an access error message.
No more accidental exposure of sensitive information in emails. No more printing out John’s termination letter, when John sits right next to the printer, and then running over to the printer at light speed to make sure no one sees it.
The “Final Version” and the “Final Final Version”
He brought up the budget and forecast process. To put together a yearly budget, there are multiple contributors from each department. First, an ECM system only allows for authorized users to access and contribute. Second and even more impactful, users can collaborate on the budget spreadsheet. Instead of having 10 “final versions” — one from each department — that roll up into a “final final version”, everyone can contribute to the one true version through a document check in/check out process.
Oops, Jacob in Human Resources messed up on his budget? No problem. M-Files retains version history. Just roll it back to an earlier version.
Accounts Payable and Invoice Processing
M-Files has multiple offices around the world. Without an ECM, invoice processing would be a hassle with approvers scattered across the globe. Not so with an ECM like M-Files. Invoices are routed according to workflows and can be approved and processed in minutes. No more waiting for Tim to return from vacation to sign a piece of paper. No more wondering if Sarah saw the invoice that needs to be paid — just check the document trail.
Off to the Storage Unit Again to Find 1,500 Receipts
He shared with me a story from the early 2000s. The company he was working for was plodding through a sales tax audit by the State Comptrollers Office. He and a colleague drove to the company’s storage unit for three days straight. They would riffle through mounds and mounds of manila folders and filing cabinets, searching for paperwork they needed for the audit… in the Texas summer heat. The disgust on his face as he recounted this story was palpable.
It’s a scenario that becomes completely implausible with an ECM system. Need all the receipts, invoices and receivables paperwork for an audit? Have them in minutes rather than days.
The old way makes physical documents the centerpiece of the audit process. With M-Files, the physical documents are ancillary to the process, just an afterthought. They are simply means to an end.
Human Resources, Finance, Administration… these functions are irrevocably linked in the back office and are the lifeblood of an organization. All of them stand to gain huge efficiencies, become more productive and reduce error-prone manual processes with an ECM like M-Files. The four examples our Controller shared with me are just the tip of the iceberg.
