We are a non-profit NGO based in northern Germany and are looking for document management software. We mainly work in the construction sector, but are also involved in urban development projects and neighborhood management, where we provide consulting services. We see ourselves as an interface between public administration and civil society.
The software should meet the following requirements:
- Direct archiving from Office
- Assignment of rights
- Import via scan
- OCR text recognition
- AI-supported reading
- Automatic document classification
- Documentation creation/metadata
- Duplicate comparison
- Automatic versioning
- Document workflow management
- Automation of business processes
- Creation of project groups
- Digital signatures
- Digital stamps
- Note/comment function
- Collaboration functions
- Workflow manager
- Change history
- Video transcoding/media transformation
- Index search
- Full-text search
- Hot key search from other programs
- Content preview based on metadata
- Export as email attachment
- Export to Office programs
- Share files via web link
- Backup function
- Multiple storage locations selectable
- User-friendliness
- Custom indexing settings
- Unlimited storage capacity
- Defineable search filters
- Notification function
- Free classification options
- Clear user interface
- Customization options
- Drag and drop
- Interfaces in both directions to the ERP system to be set up and to the current financial accounting system
Archiving TARGET process
All documents created in the IT solution should be archived in an audit-proof manner. This also includes all documents received from external sources (electronic documents such as emails, Word, Excel, and PDF documents, as well as GIF, JPEG, PNG, and DXF files) and receipts (paper documents) or large-format plans. Furthermore, it is expected that:
- all processes will be implemented in such a way that all documents generated in the IT solution can be archived upon completion of the process. This also means that, under certain circumstances, different software systems that communicate with each other via interfaces as part of the ERP implementation must have a common storage and archiving platform, namely the DMS
- When creating additional developments, it must be taken into account that process flows must still function even if certain documents have already been archived
Management of general documents TARGET process
- Users should be able to easily link documents and emails to business process documents (projects, orders, etc.) and store them on a document server.
- It should be possible to call up the linked documents from the respective business process step (e.g., from the project). The integration of a DMS is part of the ERP implementation and must be taken into account by the software provider (see “Investment security” section). In principle, all documents should be stored in a process-related manner and be easy to find.
- Documents must be easy to find for auditors. To this end, there must be an audit role that can be used to predefine access rights.
- It must be possible to sort the documents according to specific keywords, such as outgoing invoices, projects, processes (e.g., a fact relating to a project), etc. It should also be possible to merge selected documents and forward them to third parties (e.g., for billing third parties - perhaps as a kind of “digital folder” and, if necessary, with a ZIP function). It may be helpful to assign appropriate attributes to individual documents during the tagging process.
- Documents with date references must be managed in such a way that their monitoring can be easily tracked. The information must be displayed in a suitable manner (workflow, reminder, etc.) in good time before expiry, e.g., a deadline.
- Incoming invoices and external documents must be editable after scanning, and documents received electronically must also be convertible. Workflows must support the invoice receipt process (identification and control of documents within the foundation). Further requirements are described in the financial accounting and purchasing processes.
Emails should be easy to file in a process-related manner. TARGET PROCESS
- Emails and electronic documents should be automatically assigned to and filed under categories to be defined. Multiple assignments should be possible.
- When scanning, it should be possible to select a date of receipt that differs from the system date.
- When scanning, documents must be checked for the correct company name and incorrect documents must be displayed. The company name can be that of the foundation itself or other companies that have their postal address at the foundation's premises (c/o foundation). In the latter case, the foundation acts as a fiduciary administrator.
Management of confidential documents TARGET process
- Non-transaction-related, sensitive, and confidential data, such as contracts (project contracts, etc.), personnel files, account statements, etc., must be managed electronically using special authorization concepts and passwords (protection against unauthorized access to documents, e.g., through rights management products).
Email receipt TARGET process
- Emails must be assigned to processes from Outlook and archived in the DMS with appropriate keywords. Manual intervention (adding information, keywords) by the user must be possible.
Data history TARGET process
- The foundation expects it to be possible to trace at any time which user created/changed or deleted/blocked which data record and when (applies to master and transaction data). Traceability down to field level would be desirable, but is not a requirement.
Further TARGET processes
The following requirements must be met to enable the system to be expanded at a later date:
- Each application must be expandable via suitable programming interfaces.
- The basic option of connecting to portals or software solutions in the cloud.
- Any enhancements to the IT solution made by the software provider must be documented in sufficient detail for subsequent modification/expansion.
- It should be possible to connect external systems and devices, in particular tablets and smartphones (Android, iOS); general connection of mobile devices
- Use of middleware for communication (Enterprise Service Bus)
50-70 software workstations are planned.