Among the many tools small law firms rely on are solutions for practice management (PM) and document management.
While some PM tools come with a document management component, it cannot provide the complex security and governance features required for critical client documents and emails or the productivity boosters that can elevate your firm’s work.
That’s where a powerful document management system (DMS) comes in. While some smaller firms are still discovering the overall benefits of a DMS, other firms have both a PM and DMS but have yet to connect them to experience more efficiencies and realise even greater value from their technology investments.
Let’s look at the benefits of integrating these tools and the best features to leverage in each.
Benefits of integrating your PM and DMS
Individually, legal practice management and document management platforms offer substantial benefits for law firms, but these two systems are better when connected and used together. Here are a few key advantages your firm can expect when you integrate PM software and a DMS.
Find the information you need quickly
How much time do you and your team spend looking for files, emails and documents? According to a McKinsey report, employees spend 1.8 hours daily searching for and gathering information. On average, that’s 9.3 hours per week of wasted time.
A reliable DMS can dramatically reduce search time and increase productivity. With customisable pages, lists and advanced search capabilities, users can quickly and easily track down needed files in the DMS repository.
Integrating a DMS and PM can make the process even faster by linking clients and matters, which comes with many benefits such as viewing documents saved in the DMS without leaving your PM interface.
Create documents faster
Document templates in the DMS help users avoid repetitive tasks like formatting new documents or time wasted locating previous versions to repurpose. In addition, integrated systems can use workspace and document templates to automatically populate matter details from the PM and save the completed file to the correct matter workspace in the DMS.
Access everything from anywhere
With integrated DMS and PM systems, you can easily access information from each system, no matter which one you’re currently working in. Just as you can pull data from your PM into document templates, you can also retrieve matter-related documents and emails within the PM workspace. You can also see different document versions, review security or user permissions, sort and organise documents and much more to help your work move smoothly and efficiently.
Control permissions and access to documents and files
Your practice relies on the steady but secure flow of information between teammates, clients, experts, witnesses and other collaborators. If your PM and DMS are separate but integrated systems, you can apply more granular access controls within the DMS so that even if a user can access matter details in the PM, they won’t automatically have access to all matter-related documents. You can set permissions at the document level to fully customise which documents (if any) a PM user can access, as well as what type of access they have.
With full control over your documents, you can ensure your users have easy access to all the information they need — and nothing they don’t.
Increase productivity with more efficient workflows
When you improve the full document lifecycle by utilising technology, you experience major gains in productivity and a reduction in frustration from having to move between multiple systems to get work done. Imagine if you could pull content into a document from the PM system, easily complete document edits online, instantly send a document for electronic signature and then have the document automatically come back saved to your matter workspace in the DMS.
Secure and protect your data
Losing or exposing confidential data is not something your firm wants to deal with, whether it happens accidentally or maliciously. Operating without a DMS leaves your documents dangerously exposed to risk. PM-based document components lack the rigorous security protocols needed to protect a law firm’s documents and data.
Your DMS can provide robust built-in security plus safeguards like document-level encryption, multifactor authentication (MFA) and data loss prevention (DLP), which provide greater protection against ransomware and malicious actors. You can also prevent actions like document sharing or printing. Integrating a DMS and PM solution provides stronger protection for your most confidential information.
Keep track of time with fewer clicks
Time capture is a common challenge in many small firms. When the DMS is connected directly to your PM solution, you can make it easier by quickly adding entries for time spent drafting, finalising or reviewing documents associated with a matter. All it takes is a couple of clicks for timekeepers to confirm suggested time entries from the document history and efficiently log hours to the right matter and client.
Simplify with a single system of record
When documents are spread out everywhere, you are wasting time and introducing an unnecessary level of risk. A powerful DMS gives you a quick and easy way to file, find and access all matter-related documents and emails — the entire digital file. If your DMS is the single system of record, you can go to that one source and find what you need with confidence.
Collaborate internally and externally
Both a PM and DMS have tools to make collaboration smoother without cluttering up your inbox. But a DMS makes it easy to share, edit, review, annotate and discuss documents securely — without the challenges of local copies, untracked changes and version conflicts. As conversations move from email to platforms like Microsoft Teams, a DMS can make securely sharing files with a group much easier.
Integrate with your other technology
Practice and document management aren’t the only systems your team relies on day to day. Both a PM and DMS can integrate with a variety of other products, such as time and billing software, project management solutions, e-signature and filing platforms, contract management tools, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat and many more. A fully integrated tech stack means less bouncing between platforms and less work for your team.
Keep operations organised and clients happy
With your documents, emails and practice data organised, integrated and in sync, your team can quickly find answers to client questions and keep the work moving forward. And with happier, more satisfied clients, you can count on better client retention and more referrals.
Better together: Create synergy between your PM and DMS
You can get more value from your PM because of your DMS, and vice versa — and that synergy is something you can leverage to take your practice to the next level.
Where PM software is ideal for things like calendar synchronisation, timekeeping and billing, many functions are better handled by a DMS, such as document automation and assembly, controlled document access with ethical walls and access rights, real-time messaging, advanced version control, integrations with Microsoft and other tools you use daily and more.
Together, PM and DMS solutions combine to enable you to optimise and even automate many time-consuming and repetitive processes, increase productivity and create cost efficiency for your firm while increasing your security posture. This winning technology combo can even help your team improve client service and gain a strategic advantage over the competition.Management Systems thumbnail cover.
Learn more in this eBook for small firms about the strategic advantages to be gained by combining the power of your PM and DMS solutions. For questions on how to integrate a PM and DMS, or to learn more about how NetDocuments can help your firm do their best work, contact us today to request a demo.
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