Beyond Paper Chaos: 9 Steps to Document Management Transformation

Updated March 6, 2025

It’s month-end close, and your finance team is scrambling to track down invoices, supplier agreements, and contract approvals. Someone swears they saw that critical document in an email thread from two weeks ago, but is it in their inbox? Deleted? Lost forever? Meanwhile, late fees are piling up, supplier relationships are straining, and your CFO is growing frustrated, expecting answers.

There’s a better way.

Document management isn’t just about storage—it’s about control. It’s about ensuring that your finance and operations teams aren’t drowning in paperwork but are operating with precision, speed, and security. And if you think misplaced documents are just an occasional inconvenience, think again. Organizations spend $20 in labor to file a document, $120 to find a misfiled document, and $220 to reproduce a lost one, according to PwC. On the flip side, The Institute of Finance & Management reports that companies with automated document management process invoices 74% faster and at 81% lower cost than those with manual systems.

So, let’s talk about how to fix it. Here are nine ways to transform your document management strategy into a powerhouse of automation, organization, and security.

Step 1: Improve Data Entry Methods

Your Team Will Thank You

Manual data entry is slow, error-prone, and expensive. Typos, missing decimal points, and mismatched PO numbers create unnecessary delays. On average, companies spend $8,200 per year per filing cabinet on storage and another $1,475 in labor just to manage paper, according to Aberdeen Group.

Traditional OCR tools have been around for years, but they often fall short. While they capture text, they struggle with accuracy, requiring constant manual corrections. The real challenge isn’t just scanning words—it’s understanding them.

That’s where AI-powered OCR changes the game.

Unlike basic OCR, AI-driven document intelligence doesn’t just extract text; it understands document structures, recognizes invoice formats, and auto-classifies data. It can even flag discrepancies before they turn into costly errors. Plus, AI continuously learns, improving accuracy over time and reducing the need for manual intervention.

By combining OCR with AI, finance teams can extract data with near-perfect precision, auto-fill key fields, and sync information directly with ERP and accounting systems. The result? Fewer exceptions, faster approvals, and a document management process that practically runs itself.

Step 2: Be Thoughtful with Indexing
You Shouldn’t Need a Treasure Map to Find an Invoice

Your document repository is only as good as its search functionality. If your team has to wade through a sea of vague file names like “Invoice_2024.pdf” or “SupplierContract_FINAL_REALLYFINAL.pdf,” it’s time to rethink your indexing strategy.

Indexing should be strategic by identifying the key data points that matter most. Supplier name? Yes. Invoice number? Definitely. Approval status? Absolutely. Random notes about last quarter’s office pizza party? Not so much.

The goal is to set up your document management system so that anyone—yes, even Bob from accounting who still prints out emails—can find exactly what they need in seconds.

Step 3: Keep Terms Comfortable

No One Wants a Language Barrier in Their Own Office

Rolling out a new document management system is already a big enough change, so don’t make it harder by renaming everything. If your team is used to calling a document type “supplier agreement,” don’t suddenly label it “supplier contract repository object.”

Change management is smoother when the system feels familiar. Keep document categories, index terms, and workflow labels intuitive and consistent with what your team already knows. The less friction in adoption, the faster you’ll see results.

Step 4: Map Document Processes

Your Current Workflow Might Be a Mess

Think about the lifecycle of an invoice or contract in your organization. Where does it originate? Who touches it? How many times does it get forwarded, printed, rescanned, and emailed before it’s approved? If you don’t know, that’s a red flag.

Process mapping helps uncover inefficiencies, redundancies, and compliance risks. Maybe your invoices are taking too long because they sit in someone’s inbox for a week. Maybe supplier forms are missing signatures because there’s no defined approval route. By visually mapping these journeys, you can pinpoint exactly where automation and optimization are needed.

Step 5: Enable Automated Workflows

Let the System Do the Heavy Lifting

If invoices have to be approved by multiple people before payment, a manual system will always be a bottleneck. Documents can get buried in inboxes, forgotten, or delayed—leading to late payments and strained supplier relationships.

With automated workflows, approvals move forward without human follow-ups. Overdue approvals can trigger alerts, supplier contracts can automatically enter renewal review 30 days before expiration, and invoices can seamlessly move through approval chains. The result? Fewer delays, fewer manual tasks, and a more efficient AP team.

And the impact is real. Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee transformed its AP process with automation, eliminating inefficiencies and saving $100,000 per year. By replacing manual workflows with intelligent automation, they freed their team from time-consuming paperwork and reduced operational costs. Read the full story here.

Step 6: Define Security Roles

Not Everyone Should Have Access to Everything

Security isn’t just about locking things down—it’s about smart access. Your AP clerk doesn’t need visibility into executive compensation contracts. Your procurement manager doesn’t need access to sensitive tax documents.

According to AIIM (Association for Intelligent Information Management), organizations with automated document management spend 36% less time preparing for audits and reduce compliance-related risks by 59%.

Define user roles with precision. Set permissions so employees can only access the documents they need. Implement audit trails to track who viewed or modified files. This protects against internal fraud, ensures compliance, and keeps confidential information in the right hands.

Step 7: Integrate with Other Systems

Stop the Data Double-Entry Madness

A standalone document management system is only half the battle. Real efficiency comes when it integrates with your ERP, accounting software, procurement platform, and payment solutions.

For example, when a new supplier submits a contract, your document system extracts key details and syncs them directly into your ERP. When an invoice arrives, it’s auto-matched to that contract and sent for approval. Once approved, payment is triggered, all without a single manual data entry.

That’s the power of integration.

Step 8: Establish Analytics

If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Improve It

How long does it take your company to approve an invoice? How often are supplier contracts renewed late? Where are the biggest workflow delays happening? If you don’t have answers, you’re flying blind.

Built-in analytics give leadership real-time insights into document bottlenecks, compliance risks, and workflow inefficiencies. It’s like having a GPS for your back-office operations showing exactly where you’re losing time and money.

Step 9: Keep Evolving

Optimization is a Continuous Process

Technology evolves. Business needs shift. What works today might not be enough tomorrow. The best-run finance teams don’t just set up document management once and forget it. They continually refine, optimize, and adopt new automation capabilities.

Stay proactive. Regularly audit your workflows. Look for new ways to improve compliance, security, and efficiency. Because in a fast-moving business landscape, your back office shouldn’t just keep up—it should help drive the company forward.

Unlock a Smarter, Faster AP Process with onPhase

If you’re ready to move past outdated, inefficient document management and into a world of automation, security, and seamless integrations, onPhase is the solution. From digitizing supplier contracts to automating invoice approvals, onPhase transforms back-office operations into a model of efficiency.

Your team deserves better than endless paperwork. Let’s build a smarter, faster, and more secure way to manage documents.

Ready to take the next step?
Transform Your Document Chaos into Strategic Advantage: Schedule a Personalized AP Automation Assessment Today!