Managing a business involves handling significant volumes of essential documents. However, the chaos brought by paperwork doesn’t have to be a challenge in your organization. By automating document processing and document workflows, you can get rid of disorganized filing, manual data entry or communication breakdowns.
In this blog, we will help you discover the 9 best document workflow software of 2024 to streamline your document processes and ensure accurate information flow for your business decisions. Let’s begin!
What is Document Workflow Software?
Document workflow software is a solution that helps automate document management and all related processes. Workflow software helps you manage the document lifecycle, from the moment you receive it, up until the file is sorted, stored and archived.
To carry out these tasks, it employs OCR technology and several AI-powered technologies, such as machine learning or computer vision. For instance, it can help extract information, set up internal and external approval flows or verify document authenticity. Simply said, an automated document workflow software takes on the responsibility of managing all document processing subtasks, freeing your employees from repetitive work.
The Benefits of Document Workflow Automation
Implementing or creating a document workflow solution helps cut back on processing times and streamlines the document management flow, bringing important benefits to your organization:
- It reduces manual workloads: Automation features help eliminate repetitive manual work, such as drafting, data entry and handover, so your team can redirect its focus towards tasks of higher importance, fostering a more productive work environment.
- It eliminates physical archives: A document workflow solution digitizes your files, eliminating the dust-collecting physical document archives. Document accessibility and collaboration are therefore enhanced, creating digital cohesiveness across your organization.
- It digitizes paper documents: Many document workflow software employ OCR technology, helping turn physical documents into digital ones. This feature ensures a smooth transition from a paper-dependent system to a digital environment, offering the convenience of easily searchable and retrievable data.
- It streamlines processes: Leveraging the capabilities of document workflow automation helps you take command of your document workflows with precision and consistency. An automated solution brings uniformity across departments and ensures that processes align seamlessly, with no bottlenecks in the way.
- It improves document governance: The ability to establish a searchable archive, define access permissions, maintain audit trails, and organize a detailed document history is only possible with a seamless document workflow. This approach to file management enhances security, compliance, and overall operational integrity.
Document workflow solutions are not just tools, but the key to a more streamlined, secure, and productive outlook for your organization. This is why you need to take the time and carefully assess all available options, before deciding on the best software for your business.
The Overview of 9 Best Document Workflow Software
To save you some time, we have listed down the top 9 best document workflow software, so you can benefit from a clear overview of the possibilities.
Klippa DocHorizon
Klippa DocHorizon is an intelligent document processing platform, able to help you automate all document processing workflows, from document archiving to email automation. With the help of its intelligent and low-code platform, you can create your own workflow, completely customizable, tailored to your needs.
You have complete control over how your flow will look like. Choose how your document is received, what information will be extracted, what format it will be converted into and where you want to send it. With DocHorizon, you can automate data extraction, data entry, document conversion, data anonymization, fraud detection, two-way matching and classification in your workflows with various technologies including AI, OCR, and NLP.
This workflow solution can be integrated with multiple applications that you are familiar with, for instance, Gmail, Google Drive, Outlook, Sharepoint, Xero, Dropbox, Zoho and many more.
Pros:
- Highly accurate data extraction software
- Customizable flow and modules
- Low-code platform
- Multiple integrations available
- Possibility to build your own document processing models
- 150+ language support for over 100+ document types
- AI-driven document processing
- Option to employ human-in-the-loop
- Onboarding support available
Cons:
- Lack of reported tools
- Limited offline access
- No built in electronic signing option
Jotform Sign
Jotform Sign is an electronic signature software designed for small and medium-sized businesses, but also multinationals. It is able to handle complex document workflows, regardless of the number of modules employed in the document flow. Users can create signable documents and share them with a link for others to sign.
Jotform benefits from robust customization features, so you can tailor it based on your own forms, to fit your specific document needs. The software has advanced user management features, meaning you can easily control who has access to the document. It can easily be integrated with Google Drive, Google Sheets, Slack, Dropbox, Salesforce and Mailchimp.
Pros:
- Good account management software
- API access
- Customizable flow
Cons:
- Lack of workflow builder
- Limited offline access
- Complex features or multiple modules can slow it down
Fluix
Fluix is a document management and workflow automation platform. This solution is mostly used for data collection and form processing purposes. Its simplified drag-and-drop interface gives you the ability to create various document types, to collect data from customers or partners. The modules let you sign the documents, add images or annotations on the file as you go.
You can build workflows for various business processes and automate repetitive tasks. They offer ready-made, but also custom templates, depending on your specific use case and document type mostly used in your organization. Fluix offers integration with Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft 365, Smartsheet and more.
Pros:
- Accessible on various devices
- Drag-and-drop interface for friendly user experience
- Template building option available
Cons:
- Important features come as add-ons and require extra charge
- Modules can differ between mobile and desktop devices
DocuWare
This workflow management software helps digitize your processes and supports both cloud-based and physician document archives. DocuWare is a complex solution, meaning the modules employed let users scan, upload and import files into the software. In addition, the use of their AI-powered software also allows users to classify and organize the documents.
You can establish which users can access, edit, export and delete files from the system. DocuWare’s cloud storage is built on Microsoft Azure, offering advanced security measures to protect the data. It can be integrated with SAP, Oracle, QuickBooks, SharePoint, Outlook, Sage, Xero and many others.
Pros:
- Cloud document management
- Preconfigured workflows
- Flexible search options for easy document retrieval
Cons:
- Template-based data extraction technology
- Limited access to the workflow
- Lack of customization options for document processing
- Lack of workflow builder
OpenText
This workflow automation platform has a wide array of software tools for business. It offers both cloud-based document management, as well as workflow and approval management features. You can send files for review or approval directly from the document record, add notes, assign designated personnel to access the file or set specific due dates, all applicable to multiple document types.
OpenText offers extensive implementation and onboarding support and ensures compliance with relevant data privacy laws and regulations, hence protecting the processed data and applying an additional layer of security.
Pros:
- Onboarding support available
- Implementation and product training assistance
- Approval flows and management features
Cons:
- Scarce modules for document processing
- Lack of available customization
- Template-based OCR
- Limited integration options
SmartVault
SmartVault is an automated document workflow solution, which lets you build document request lists that collect all the information you need in one place. Here, you can send any file to be signed electronically, receive alerts when all parties have signed the document in question and have the file automatically rerouted back to SmartVault.
This solution offers you the possibility to customize folder templates, so you can tailor the document workflow according to your use case. SmartVault offers an Outlook plug-in, but can also be integrated to various accounting, tax or productivity applications, such as Xero, Quickbooks, DocuSign, and more.
Pros:
- Built-in electronic signing options
- Option to build tailored folder templates
- Easy approval flow
Cons:
- Limited modules available to build the flow
- No specification of OCR quality
- Mainly used for financial documents
- Lack of workflow builder
Kofax
Kofax offers a broad range of business software products, such as document management software, which can be broken into various functions. These functions range from PDF management, e-signature software to image enhancement, process management and more.
Here, users get to acquire the tools that are most useful for them, one by one, giving them more control over the different modules needed in their specific document workflow. Essentially, Kofax offers the possibility to mix and match different document processing related features and create a substitute for a workflow builder, rather than the builder itself.
Pros:
- Ideal for PDF processing
- High-quality OCR technology
- Adaptable flow
Cons:
- Outdated user interface
- Lack of workflow builder
DocSumo
This document workflow software is best used for managing workflows of bank statements and invoices. It uses OCR technology, which helps convert documents to machine-readable data that is easy to process and use in daily business endeavors. It extracts the most important fields, such as total amounts, document numbers and line items, and can be integrated with Google Docs, Dropbox, Zapier and Salesforce.
Pros:
- Best used for invoices and bank statements
- Good OCR accuracy
- Integrations to other applications via API
Cons:
- Lack of document templates
- Not many modules available for use in the flow
- Limited workflow tailoring
Zoho
Zoho is a workflow management solution best suited for HR-related business processes. You can upload, organize and share documents, while having the option to keep confidential information private. With this solution, HR or sales departments don’t need to manually edit names or addresses each time they receive a request, as the created flow does it automatically.
Pros:
- Ideal for HR document workflows
- Option to keep sensitive information anonymized
- Custom approval and sign order
Cons:
- Outdated interface
- Lack of workflow builder
- Lack of customization and action modules
Choosing a document workflow solution depends on the accuracy of the OCR, the available features that let you customize your flow, but also the number of integrations within existing applications. However, with versatile software like Klippa DocHorizon, you can empower any of your document workflows through intelligent automation. If you want to learn more about it, keep on reading.
Eliminate Manual Tasks with Document Workflow Solutions
Klippa DocHorizon allows you to build your own document workflow instantly, so you have complete control over the complexity and particular order of the flow. With our low-code workflow builder, you can create your own workflow in a few easy steps:
- Determine the documents you wish to process
- Indicate the tasks you wish to be carried out in the flow
- Visualize your flow by creating a flowchart
- Test the configured workflow
- Launch it in your organization and you’re good to go!
Powered by AI technologies, our platform offers you various modules you can mix and match, based on your specific use case:
- Shorten document processing times with data entry automation
- Send data to existing applications with seamless document conversion
- Fully automate document scanning workflow with smart data capture
- Certify the authenticity of documents with document verification
- Stay compliant with personal data protection requirements with smart data anonymization
- Ensure accurate document verification processes with document fraud detection
- Streamline the digital archive of your business with document classification and sorting
Sign up for free to test our platform and see how you can automate document management, or contact our experts for any additional inquiries about Klippa DocHorizon!