Planning for the Future with DocuWare

Third-party retirement plan administrator, ADMIN Partners is using DocuWare to transform their business processes from paper-based to completely digital workflows, increasing efficiency and transparency while providing top notch customer service and improving document security. Securing their data electronically will allow the company to obtain an SSAE16 certification and better meet their existing clients’ security regulations, as well as open up new markets.

Initial Situation

ADMIN Partners LLC is an independent third party administrator, providing retirement plan administration and recordkeeping services to public education, local and state governments, non-profit as well as church and religious organizations. ADMIN Partners does not offer investment advice, they simply help their clients manage retirement accounts, facilitate needed documents, process contributions and comply with IRS rules and regulations.

The company was utilizing complex paper-based processes to route documents through their workflow.  The company’s Director of Client Services, Maria Speeney-Johnson, received hundreds of documents each day that she would need to manually log and physically deliver to her staff.   Just assigning the work could take most of a morning which slowed down the entire Client Services team.  Their workflow was further hampered by the need to keep the file room under lock and key to meet client security regulations.

Requirements

ADMIN Partners wanted to implement a solution that could manage all their document types including; faxes, mail, email and electronic data files. They needed a system that 1) was customizable to meet their business processes and document types, 2) could transform their paper-based process to a digital process with automated workflow functionality, and 3) had robust security features that would help them securely store and electronically route  information while tracking and limiting who had access to each type of document.

Solution

DocuWare was chosen because it totally fulfilled all of ADMIN Partner’s requirements, especially because it handles any type of document. They worked with their Authorized DocuWare Partner, Toshiba Business Solutions, to implement a DocuWare solution tailored specifically for ADMIN Partners unique processes. Each time a document is received, a coversheet or passport is created using an Excel template then saved to a “watched folder” along with the scanned document. The information on the passport is used to automatically index and route the document through an established workflow. The passport provides a place for notes and electronic stamps. It records a document’s “travel history” and becomes part of the audit trail.  After incoming documents are scanned and verified, they are shredded. With anywhere from 100 - 300 documents entering the system on a daily basis, DocuWare has really simplified their processes.

Benefits

ADMIN Partners’ goal was met:  they no longer have paper-based processes.  With received documents scanned into DocuWare, work can quickly be assigned, there is no longer a need to physically move paper around the office and constantly lock and unlock the file room. In fact, the company has completely eliminated their file room and donated approximately 14 large file cabinets to Habitat for Humanity. The company’s employees now have the tools they need to efficiently manage their own workflow and track procedures that are in process.

 “Our work processes have gained so much transparency with DocuWare.  It is miraculous how easy it is to see my staff’s workflow. At a glance, I can now know where documents are in the process. Whether a transaction has been Assigned, Pending, or Funded, this knowledge really helps us provide top-of-the-line customer service,” said Speeney-Johnson.

With DocuWare in place, ADMIN Partners is working toward obtaining an SSAE16 certification a regulation created by the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for defining and updating how service companies report on compliance controls and document security for sensitive financial information. Controls must be in use for 12 months before an organization can be audited and certified. This certification will give the company increased credibility and opens the door to serving larger clients.

Conclusion

“Document management is not just for accounting records. I am thrilled with the way we are using it for our business critical documents and how it has revolutionized our daily processes. The fact that it will help us achieve SSAE16 certification was our motivation to move this project forward. Our office is now virtually paperless and our documents very secure,” said Matt Spina, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

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Tasks

• Transform all documents types into a digital format and eliminate paper
• Streamline work assignments
• Make document security easier to manage, track and be in compliance with

Benefits

• Became a virtually paper-less office and enhanced efficiency
• Created transparent processes and improved business critical workflows
• Raised the quality of document security and allowed the company to work toward obtaining the security compliance controls defined in the SSAE16 certification