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Today many of us rely heavily on digital solutions for running our lives, from our daily habits to our finances and our businesses. Companies have access to some truly impressive solutions that enable them to take their processes online and build better workflows, improve efficiency, cut costs, and improve security and compliance.
There seems to be no limit as to what processes can be improved by transitioning to a digital form, and there are clear benefits to implementing these solutions across day-to-day operations. Everything from customer onboarding to accounting can be managed easily online with the right tools.
One of the main benefits of these digital solutions is the ability to track activity. Whether it’s cash flow, policy claims, due diligence, or employee performance, digital solutions make it easier to track related activity. At the core of this is document activity tracking.
What is document activity tracking?
Document tracking refers to a major element of the management of digitized documents. It allows certain people or organizations to view the details behind various processes behind the management of a given document such as: creation, editing, completion, sharing, and signing.
The ability to track the activity surrounding a particular document provides businesses with more control over essential parts of document management that are not available with paper-based processes.
What can be tracked in document tracking
Depending on the tools used, there is a range of different activities and processes that can be tracked when it comes to document management. For example:
Document creation: allow only certain people the ability to create new documents depending on company needs - whether this is in a Human Resources context for new employee contracts, Terms & Conditions that will need to be signed by customers, or forms to gather background information for Know Your Customer (KYC) purposes.
Document access: control who is able to gain access to the document and how (via a link, email, etc.). This is particularly useful for businesses dealing with confidential data. Certain tools allow you to limit who can access the document and also allows you to see when the document was opened and viewed by whom.
Document edits: manage and view when edits have been made to the document. This allows for more effective document collaboration - instead of multiple separate versions of a document, it can be updated and all updates tracked to the time, date, and person who made the edits - especially useful when multiple departments/teams must contribute to a particular document.
Document sharing: digitized documents make sharing faster, easier, and allow for tracking - providing more security and expediting any necessary approval process. Tracking the sharing of the document also gives more control over when and how the document is managed, and makes it easier to follow up and prevent misplaced paper documents.
Document signing: document activity tracking has moved beyond access and edits. Certain digital solutions today allow companies to collect standard, advanced, and qualified electronic signatures on important documents in a secure setting. It allows for the verification of the Signee’s identity and applies electronic timestamping and a seal to prevent tampering.
When it comes to activity tracking of digital documents, there are many valuable features that can enhance document management for businesses, allowing them to build better processes and making it easier to adhere to regulatory measures.
Why is document activity tracking important?
Every business deals with documentation. Whether it’s staff contracts, invoices and expenses, terms & conditions, marketing consent, or customer relationships, documents are inevitably a crucial part of operations.
How a document is managed, therefore, can have a major impact on a business. Leaked confidential documents, records, and personal information is a concern for every company today. Document tracking gives companies a clearer audit trail and helps establish digital trust.
Having the ability to not only control who has access to a document, but who can edit/share/view/or sign a document greatly decreases the risk associated with document management in a traditional paper-based sense.
Document activity tracking goes beyond improving document security, however. It helps teams to better work together, it can give insights into leads for sales, it can contribute to better understanding how customers interact with a product and which direction product development can take to better meet their needs. It also contributes to reducing the environmental impact of a business by encouraging digitalization.
How can document activity tracking benefit your business?
Beyond general benefits, document activity tracking is especially appealing to certain industries for very specific reasons.
Document activity tracking for Insurance Providers
Insurance companies deal with massive amounts of paperwork. From onboarding customers to new policies, to claims processes and cancelations, it’s clear that managing documentation is a massive part of insurance operations.
Digital document activity tracking allows insurance companies to better handle confidential and personal data of customers, as well as streamline the customer experience and tailor onboarding based on their information. In addition, it helps with data management through the use of integrations to easily transfer documents to existing systems.
Document activity tracking for Legal Services
In the legal industry, controlling who is able to make changes to a document and when it is approved can be critical, especially when it comes to admissibility in court, for example.
The ability, therefore, to be able to determine who accessed the document, or something such as who signed it in what order, can be crucial details. Tracking activity surrounding a document in a secure environment with minimized risk of tampering allows for a more stable, reliable process for all involved parties.
Document activity tracking for Financial Services
Due diligence and anti-money laundering (AML) KYC measures are a major concern for any financial institution. With the acceleration of digital transformation, financial companies have been forced to quickly offer online services to keep up with demand and stay competitive.
Tracking the activity of a document required for onboarding new customers that relates to necessary due diligence and other regulatory measures is a key part of how financial services companies can stay current but lower the risk associated with hasty moves to fully digital operations.
Document activity tracking tools online
Whether your business is looking to verify customer identity, track document viewing, or collect authenticated signatures in a fast, secure way, there are reliable and efficient solutions available online.
Document activity tracking is often listed as an added perk, with other software features such as converting PDFs or building forms online, but the ability to manage document sharing, viewing, and signing - as is found in Taktikal - can have a significant impact on a business’s workflows and operations.