A tax audit is coming up, and they’re asking for a contract from seven years ago. A colleague goes down to the basement, lifts boxes, and sneezes from the dust—two days later, the document turns up, all crumpled. The electronic document management system replaces this scenario with a single search: the document appears on the screen in seconds, authentic and legally binding. What’s more, the BürOffice electronic document management solution also keeps precise records of any remaining paper documents, ensuring that the two worlds don’t get mixed up.
On this page, we explain how reliable document archiving works and what ensures that an archived document remains authentic even decades later.
The electronic records repository is an organized, searchable, and access-controlled digital repository for the company’s closed cases and documents that must be retained. It is not simply a file server: for each document, it tracks the retention period, access rights, versions, and the complete history. The archive knows what needs to be retained and for how long, and what can be discarded.
In BürOffice, the archive isn’t a separate silo but the natural endpoint of workflows. Documents from closed cases are automatically routed to their proper location—the completeness of the archive doesn’t depend on the goodwill of colleagues.
The real issue with electronic archiving is not storage, but evidentiary value. A digitally signed contract will still be valid ten years from now only if the validity of the signature and the timestamp can be verified.
During certified (electronic) archiving, BürOffice preserves the original content, timestamps, and electronic signatures in accordance with the provisions of the eIDAS Regulation and domestic laws. For digitally signed documents, the timestamp can be automatically updated, ensuring long-term validity. The document retains its evidentiary value even decades later—including before a court or government agency.
For every document, you can see who made what changes, when, and why. Differences between versions are easy to identify, and previous versions can be restored. During a compliance audit, this distinction is the difference between a confident answer and days of searching.
Even after the digital transition, most companies still have paper documents—original contracts, notarized documents, and old files. BürOffice bridges this gap as well:
Every movement of a document—from the employee to the temporary archive and on to the central archive—can be tracked. Meanwhile, the digital copy is accessible from anywhere, while the original remains safely in its place.
The electronic archive stores valuable and sensitive material, so access can be finely tuned—by folder or even by document. Confidential documents can only be opened by authorized users, and comprehensive logging makes it possible to determine at any time who viewed what and when. GDPR compliance is thus not an after-the-fact explanation, but a built-in feature; the system also meets the “high” requirements of NIS2.
The cost of paper-based record storage consists of four components, three of which are invisible. The visible one is renting physical storage space or maintaining a warehouse. The invisible ones are the labor hours spent searching for and moving documents, the risk of lost or damaged documents, and the cost of delays—when a client or government agency has to wait for a document to be located.
An electronic records repository addresses all four of these issues simultaneously. Search times are reduced to seconds, the risk of document loss is minimized, and the need for physical storage space shrinks year after year through the systematic reduction of records eligible for disposal.
The value of an archive is determined by day-to-day operations. In BürOffice, documents from closed cases are automatically transferred to the electronic archive—there’s no “I’ll put it away later” pile left on anyone’s desk. Authorized colleagues can search from anywhere: the archive is just as accessible from home as it is from the office via the web interface.
Searches aren’t limited to filing numbers: the entire history of a case—correspondence, versions, approvals—is displayed together. Frequently accessed documents are stored in a fast repository, so there’s no waiting to open them. Once you’ve searched this way, you’ll never go back to paper.
Not all archived documents are of equal value. BürOffice works with multiple document storage systems simultaneously: frequently accessed documents can be stored in fast storage, while rarely accessed materials can be stored in a more cost-effective system—the user is completely unaware of this. The transition between storage systems can be carried out gradually, even during normal operations, so the archive adapts to the budget, not the other way around.
It delivers immediate, tangible results in three situations. In areas where regulatory or internal audits are frequent—such as finance, insurance, and public services—the ability to retrieve documents in a matter of seconds pays for itself. Where document volume is high and the need for physical storage space is growing, costs are significantly reduced. And where employees work from multiple locations or from home, the document repository is finally accessible to everyone—with appropriate permissions and full audit trails.
And here’s an often-overlooked benefit: an electronic archive also protects organizational knowledge. When an experienced colleague retires, the history of cases doesn’t disappear with them—all background information, decisions, and documents remain in the system, searchable.
For as long as necessary. With the automatic updating of the timestamp, the evidentiary value is preserved in the long term—even for decades—in accordance with the requirements of eIDAS and domestic legislation.
BürOffice supports multiple storage systems through its DMS connectors—such as EMC Documentum, IXOS Archive Server, MS SharePoint, and NScale—so existing data can remain in place or be migrated gradually.
Retention periods are stored in the system. When a document becomes eligible for disposal, this is indicated in the records, and disposal takes place through a regulated, documented process—for both paper and digital documents.
You don't need faith to make the decision, just a test: request the list of documents from the most recent inspection and see how long it would take to compile it from the system.
Request a demonstration and calculate with us how much you would save with an electronic archive compared to your current filing practices. During the first check, when the requested document is retrieved in seconds, you will already know the answer.
Lower costs.
Transparent operation.
Excellent CX.