What is an electronic document? Simple electronic document management process

In the era of developing digital technology, electronic documents are becoming increasingly popular in agencies, organizations and businesses. So what is an electronic document? What is the process of managing electronic documents ? In the article below, 1C Vietnam will help businesses better understand this issue.

1. What is an electronic document? What is electronic document management?

In Decree 30/2020/ND-CP regulating clerical work and state management of clerical work, issued on March 5, 2020, electronic documents are defined in Clause 4, Article 3 as text in the form of data messages, created or digitized from paper documents, can be presented in the form of letters, numbers, symbols, images or sounds, stored and exchanged through a system information systems, computer networks.

Electronic document management is the implementation of control and monitoring throughout the life cycle of documents, including operations of creating, transferring, processing, preserving and storing, using and destroying electronic documents. death. The management of electronic documents, including both incoming and outgoing documents, is specified in Article 14 and Article 20 of Decree 30/2020/ND-CP.

Currently, in Vietnamese businesses there exist two main types of storage, including traditional paper storage and electronic storage.

Traditional paper storage is a way of storing paper documents using folders, filing cabinets, and separate storage spaces. This system has many limitations such as:

• Documents are created, printed and stored manually in a specific location, making mistakes, damage or loss easy.
• Businesses need a space large enough to store hard copies.
• Searching and retrieving documents takes up a lot of staff time when problems arise, leading to delays in the problem-handling process.

Electronic archiving is a way of storing documents in electronic format, using an electronic document management system to create, classify, and manage electronic documents in different formats. Once scanned, documents will be converted to electronic format. Electronic storage has many outstanding advantages such as:

• Employees are fully proactive in creating, classifying, and managing electronic documents.
• After being scanned, documents will be converted into electronic format, making them easy to access or edit anywhere.
• This is a more optimal document storage and management solution, helping to overcome many limitations of traditional methods.

Electronic storage is a more optimal document storage and management solution, helping businesses overcome many limitations of traditional methods. Businesses should consider choosing a storage method that suits their needs and capabilities.

2. Legal value of electronic documents

According to Article 5 of Decree 30/2020/ND-CP, electronic documents signed digitally by an authorized person and digitally signed by an agency or organization have the same legal value as the original paper document.

Digital signatures of agencies and organizations on electronic documents must meet the following regulations:

• Digital signature image: Is an image of the seal of an agency or organization issued on a document, red in color, size equal to the actual size of the seal, format (.png) with transparent background, covering about 1 /3 images of the authorized person's digital signature on the left.
• Digital signature position: For main documents, the signature is in the upper right corner of the first page of the document; For documents accompanied by a signature in the upper right corner of the first page of the accompanying document.
• Digital signature information: Numbers and text symbols; Signing time (day/month/year; hour/minute/second; Vietnam time zone according to ISO 8601 standard); This information is presented in Times New Roman font, lowercase letters, vertical font, font size 10, black color.
• Seals and digital signatures of agencies and organizations are presented in box 8, Section IV, Part I, Appendix I issued with Decree 30/2020/ND-CP.

3. Benefits of electronic document management in businesses

Electronic document management (DMS) brings many benefits to organizations and individuals, including:

• Quick search: Electronic document storage helps businesses search for documents using keywords or criteria, saving time compared to searching in paper document drawers.
• Easy to share and distribute: Electronic documents can be easily shared via email or online tools, saving time and costs compared to printing and sending by mail.
• Optimized workflow: DMS allows businesses to automate processes, helping to minimize repetition and increase work processing speed.
• Version control: The electronic document management process ensures that all members on the same project use the most up-to-date version of the document, helping to avoid errors and inconsistencies.
• Access control: DMS helps businesses manage access to documents, helping protect sensitive information.
• Secure storage: DMS provides secure storage for documents, helping to prevent data loss.
• Remote access: Electronic document management allows employees to access documents from anywhere, helping them work remotely effectively.
• Remote project collaboration: DMS enables multiple teams to work together on projects without having to meet in person, enhancing organizational collaboration and agility.

These benefits demonstrate the importance of DMS in optimizing workflows and enhancing organizational performance. Implementing a DMS can help save time, resources, and create a more efficient, secure work environment.

4. Electronic document management process

The process of managing incoming and outgoing electronic documents is specified in Article 14 and Article 20 of Decree 30/2020/ND-CP. This process is implemented to ensure the accurate, timely and effective receipt, registration, processing, storage and preservation of incoming and outgoing electronic documents.

4.1. Manage incoming electronic documents

The process of managing incoming documents is carried out by agencies and organizations to receive, register, assign processing, resolve and store incoming documents. This process is performed according to the following steps:

• Step 1: Enter incoming text information.
• Step 2: Link the text to related text.
• Step 3: Text browser.
• Step 4: Browse the text.
• Step 5: Switch to word processing.
• Step 6: Assign tasks in writing.
• Step 7: Monitor the work processing situation.
• Step 8: Report on the status of work handling.
• Step 9: Evaluate implementation results.
• Step 10: Look up and search for text.
• Step 11: View text transfer history.
• Step 12: Statistics and reporting of incoming documents.

4.2. Document processing process

The process of processing outgoing documents is an important process in the document management of agencies and organizations. This process helps issue documents in accordance with the law, ensuring the effectiveness of the document. The process includes 8 steps as follows:

• Step 1: Draft the text.
• Step 2: Link the text with related text.
• Step 3: Browse the text.
• Step 4: Approve the document.
• Step 5: Check the text format.
• Step 6: Issue the document.
• Step 7: Look up and search for text.
• Step 8: Report and statistics on the number of outgoing documents.

5. Office Solution No. 1C: Document Management - Automated, comprehensive electronic document management for businesses

Digital Office Solution 1C:Document Management is a solution to automate document management, processes and work administration, developed on an advanced technology platform. The software is capable of centrally storing structured and unstructured information, helping individuals, organizations, and businesses manage remote work anytime, anywhere, even on mobile devices.

In addition to functions such as process management, project management, digital office management,... 1C:Document Management also provides an electronic document management module with superior and outstanding features, including including:

• Receive incoming documents with many attributes, many attachment types and many sources, helping to process documents quickly and accurately.
• Store information centrally on a single software system, helping to increase teamwork coordination and save time and effort.
• Accurately store text information, ensuring information safety and security.
• Decentralize detailed permissions to each department and individual, allowing only authorized individuals to access data, ensuring data security.
• Support editing and approving incoming documents remotely, anytime, anywhere, helping to solve tasks quickly and effectively.
• Powerful search capabilities based on metadata down to each letter and number, helping to look up information quickly and accurately.
• Diverse and intuitive reports help monitor and manage the document processing process effectively.

Thus, electronic document management is an important activity, helping to ensure accuracy, safety and efficiency in the process of drafting, promulgating, storing and processing electronic documents. The simple electronic document management process presented in this article is a useful suggestion for agencies, organizations, and businesses to deploy electronic document applications. For consulting support on automatic, comprehensive electronic document management solutions, businesses please contact 1C Vietnam immediately!