GuideHow to choose a document management system
Choosing a document management system is easier when you start from your own documents and decisions, not from a feature list. This guide walks through what to define, what to test and what to ask before you sign.
Start with your requirements, not the software
A document management system (DMS) stores documents, describes them with index data, controls who can see them and records what happens to them. Most systems do these things in some form. The difference is how well they fit the documents you actually hold and the way your people work.
Before you look at any product, write down the following:
- The document types you hold. Invoices, contracts, personnel files, case papers, drawings, correspondence. For each, note who creates it, who needs it and how often.
- How documents arrive. Paper post, e-mail attachments, uploads by staff, files from other systems. Paper volume decides whether you need proper scanning and capture.
- How people look for them. By customer number, by supplier, by date, by matter or project. These become your index fields.
- What happens next. Does a document need approving, signing, checking or passing to another team?
- The rules you must follow. How long records are kept, who may see personal data, what evidence an auditor will ask for.
Keep this short and concrete. Ten real examples of documents and the questions people ask about them are worth more than a long generic wish list.
Search and finding documents
Search is the feature people judge a DMS on every day. Two kinds matter:
- Index search on fields such as account number, invoice date or employee name. It is precise and fast when the fields are filled in reliably.
- Content search on the text inside the document. Scanned paper only becomes searchable after text recognition, so ask how the system handles images and older files.
Test search with your own documents. Ask a colleague for five things they searched for last week and see how many steps each one takes. Look for saved filters, so a team can open its daily list in one click, and check whether search results respect each user's permissions.
Index data is a design decision
Too few fields and people cannot find anything. Too many and nobody fills them in. Choose the fields people already use in conversation, and decide which can be filled in automatically from the document itself.
Security and access
A DMS often holds your most sensitive records in one place, so access control deserves real attention.
- Permissions by group and document type, so HR files, finance records and client papers can each have their own audience.
- Single sign-on with the identity system you already run, so leavers lose access when their account is closed.
- Two-factor authentication for remote access.
- A history for every document: who viewed, changed, shared or moved it, and when.
- Controlled sharing with people outside the organisation, ideally time-limited, instead of e-mail attachments that cannot be recalled.
If the system includes an AI assistant that answers questions from your documents, check that it only uses documents the person asking is allowed to see, and that each answer points to its source.
Data protection law applies to the personal data in your documents. Choose a system with controls designed to help you meet your obligations, and take advice on what those obligations are for your organisation.
Retention and records
Every organisation keeps some records for a set period and should dispose of others once that period ends. Ask how the system records which rules apply to each document type, how it flags records that are due for review, and how it keeps evidence of what was disposed of. If you have not yet written down your rules, our guide on how to create a document retention schedule explains the steps.
Workflow and approvals
Storage alone solves only half the problem. Most documents trigger work: an invoice needs approving, a contract needs signing, a form needs checking. A DMS with workflow lets that work happen next to the document, with a record of every decision.
- Can a business administrator change a route without a developer?
- Can steps go to a role rather than a named person, so holidays and leavers do not stall work?
- Can conditions send documents down different routes, for example by value or type?
- Do running items keep the version of the process they started with when you change it?
For finance documents in particular, read our guide on how to design an invoice approval workflow.
Integration with other systems
List the systems that create or use your documents: accounting, HR, CRM, case management, e-mail. For each, decide whether documents or data need to flow in, out or both. Ask suppliers how they connect (files, database, API, standard connectors) and who builds and maintains each connection. An integration nobody owns tends to break quietly after the next upgrade.
Hosting options
There are three common choices, and none is right for everyone:
- Hosted by the supplier on a public cloud. Little for your IT team to run, but check where data is stored and how backups work.
- Your own cloud account. You keep control of the environment and its location, and your team or a partner runs it.
- Your own servers. Suits organisations with strict rules on where data lives, at the cost of running the servers yourself.
Ask whether you can move between these later without a new project, and how the price changes with each.
Migration from what you have now
Most organisations already have documents in shared drives, an older system or boxes of paper. Plan the move before you choose, because it can be the largest part of the project.
Take stock
Find out where documents live today, roughly how many there are and which are still needed.
Decide what moves
Records past their retention period may not need moving at all. Old paper may only need scanning on request.
Map the index data
Match folder names, file names and old fields to the new document types and fields.
Run a pilot
Move one department or document type first, check search results with real users, then plan the rest.
Requirements checklist
Use this table to score each system against your own needs. Mark each line as essential, useful or not needed before you speak to suppliers.
| Area | What to check | How to test it |
|---|---|---|
| Document types | Each type has its own fields and access rules | Set up two of your real document types in a demo |
| File formats | PDF, scanned images, e-mail and office files are all supported | Upload a sample of each format you hold |
| Capture | Scanning, upload and e-mail intake, with index data filled in | Scan a mixed batch of your own paper |
| Search | Index and content search, saved filters, permission-aware results | Repeat five real searches from last week |
| Security | Groups, single sign-on, two-factor sign-in, document history | Sign in as two users with different rights |
| Sharing | Time-limited external sharing with chosen rights | Share a document and check what the recipient sees |
| Retention | Rules per document type, review and evidence of disposal | Ask to see how a record due for disposal is handled |
| Workflow | Routes by role and condition, editable without code | Draw one of your approval routes in the demo |
| Integration | Connections to your finance, HR or case systems | Ask for the method and who maintains it |
| Hosting | Supplier-hosted, your cloud or your servers | Ask for the options in writing, with prices |
| Migration | Help moving existing files and index data | Ask how a pilot migration would run |
Questions to ask suppliers
- Can we see the system working with our own sample documents, not a prepared demo?
- What is included in the licence, and what is charged separately: hosting, set-up, training, support, integrations?
- Who configures the system for us, and who changes it when our process changes?
- How do we get our documents and index data out if we leave?
- Where is our data stored, and who can access it on your side?
- How are updates delivered, and do they change how our users work?
- Which parts are standard features, and which would be built for us?
The last question matters most. A good supplier will tell you plainly where the product ends and custom work begins.
DocView Web, set up around your documents
DocView Web is our browser-based document storage and workflow software. You set up a document type for each kind of record, each with its own fields and access, and people find documents by index fields and contents. It stores TIFF, PDF, e-mail, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, keeps a history for every document, supports single sign-on through Azure Active Directory or SAML, and includes a drag-and-drop workflow designer.
Where you have large volumes of paper, DocView Capture scans or imports documents, reads them and checks the data before it reaches your store. We can host DocView for you on Azure, AWS, Google Cloud or another provider of your choice, or install it on your own servers or cloud. DocView Web is priced on request.
Choosing a document management system: questions
What is a document management system?
It is software that stores documents in one place, describes them with index data so they can be found, controls who can see them and records what happens to them. Many systems also run approvals and other work linked to the documents.
Do we need scanning if most documents arrive by e-mail?
Possibly not at volume, but most organisations still receive some paper and hold older paper records. Check how a system handles both, and whether scanned pages become searchable.
Should we choose cloud or on-premises hosting?
It depends on your rules about where data is held, your IT team's capacity and cost. Ask suppliers which options they offer and whether you can change later.
How long does it take to choose a system?
That depends on the size of the organisation and how clear your requirements are. Writing down your document types, searches and rules first is the step that saves the most time.
Talk to us about your documents
Tell us what you store, how people find it and what happens next. We will show you how DocView Web could handle it.