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It’s Friday at 4:30 p.m. and your boss is just stopping by your desk on her way out the door.

“Hey Tom, can you just go through and approve these documents?” She places a generously sized folder full of papers in front of you. “I need them back to me with your edits by the end of the day Monday.”

You smile and say of course, because she is your boss, after all, and it’s your job to make sure your tasks are completed in a timely manner. But all you can think about is your planned beach weekend as you begin sorting through the papers, trying to breeze through the content as quickly as possible. You tell yourself you can always put it off until Monday morning, and consider doing just that – until you realize that on some documents, you need to verify information with co-workers, and there’s no way you can even think about stepping out of the office until the right sections are assigned to the right people.

You sigh as you pull out a pad of sticky notes and jot down which document you’re going to give to which co-worker so you don’t lose track, sorting the papers into individual piles for approval. Then you realize some documents have information that needs to be approved by multiple folks. Oy vey, you think, as you post sticky notes on each document as well, with details on who needs to approve which section, and in what order.

By the time you’re finished organizing, labeling, and passing out the document sections, it’s almost 8 p.m. You know that, instead of being filled with relaxation, your weekend will be spent wondering if the entire set of documents will be approved on time for your boss’ Monday-afternoon deadline.

Does the above scenario sound familiar? If so, your department could more than likely use some fine-tuning where its collaboration processes are concerned. These changes don’t have to be costly, time-consuming, or complicated, and can save you a ton of frustration in the future. An electronic answer to document collaboration and approvals may seem like an insurmountable implementation if your organization is used to file cabinets, folders of paper documents, and time spent at a copy machine. But once a more efficient solution is in place, you can breathe so much easier day after day.

A way to get everyone involved electronically has huge benefits. Below, we list five of them. Hopefully they help ease some of the stress in the workplace, and make your weekends more relaxing (the way they should be!).

1. Remote-access capabilities. Did you leave the office and remember on the drive home that you left a sensitive document on the wrong desk? Having the ability to access your documents remotely gives you the freedom to edit security settings, ensuring the right documents are seen by the right people. You’ll never have to worry about coming in on Monday morning to be reprimanded because of a mistake like this that could have been easily rectified.
2. Flexible workflows. Need multiple people to approve a document? Instead of depending on e-mail or, worse, a paper trail (shudder!), create an electronic workflow that can be easily monitored by all involved. This keeps your workflow going, and saves paper costs too!
3. Side-by-side comparisons. Want to know what has changed between document versions without having to scour the entirety of their content? Electronic document management tools allow you to view changes in a highlighted format, giving you an easy-to-read comparison from which to base your feedback and approvals.
4. In-application feedback. Speaking of feedback, wouldn’t it be nice to have the ability to collaborate in a single environment, without the never-ending back-and-forth e-mails? This fantasy becomes a reality with document commenting! You can even highlight sections of a document that pertain to comments, eliminating any confusion within the conversation.
5. Electronic signatures. Say good-bye to hours wasted standing over a copy machine and money spent on endless stacks of paper to deliver for signatures. Electronic signatures mean compliance while saving your payroll and sanity. Best of all, you can be notified when signatures are going to expire so you can have them renewed. What file cabinet does that!?

What are some ways you can think of that save time and money while collaborating effectively?