It’s only tempting at first glance: To create a Procedural documentation To create and maintain procedural documentation, many companies rely on word processing software such as Microsoft Word. Whilst this task can certainly be carried out using such software – but at what cost? The enormous effort involved in this solution quickly makes it clear that the first option that comes to hand is not always the most satisfactory one. We have summarised the key benefits of a professional solution, which demonstrate that Word can only be a temporary option for process documentation.
You definitely need a structure in order to draw up procedural documentation. However, the format you choose will have a significant impact on the amount of effort required. A lack of clear guidelines leads many companies to resort to using Word – even though this decision is usually short-sighted. The Principles for the Proper Management and Retention of Books, Records and Documents in Electronic Form and for Data Access (GoBD) merely stipulate in general terms that procedural documentation should consist of a general description, user documentation, as well as technical system documentation and operational documentation. You can also find a structure for creating and maintaining procedural documentation online, often as a Word template, and in some cases even tailored to specific sectors. At first glance, it seems straightforward to purchase such a template, customise it for your own company and do without professional software. However, if you only refer to the instructions on the relevant websites regarding the application of the Sample procedural documentation As you read through them, you’ll quickly realise that these templates are no more than a guide.
The key details must be right
Although, at first glance, using a word processor may seem to be the method of choice, this is often accompanied by a considerable amount of work involved in maintaining the procedural documentation. A software solution that, for example, provides a structure for procedural documentation based on a taxonomy is a more effective and cost-efficient way of working. The benefits of a suitable solution lie in the details. In accordance with GoBD, procedural documentation must be versioned when changes are made, and a traceable change history must be maintained. If you use Word for your procedural documentation, this means you have to write and summarise the required change history manually. Even if your word processing programme includes a function for comparing documents, this method of editing does not technically produce a consolidated document that may contain only the changes from the previous version – even though this amendment to GoBD 2.0 is currently still under review.
Fully prepared for a tax audit
A closer look at the features of software that uses a taxonomy to create procedural documentation quickly reveals why Word is the wrong choice for this purpose. Only the items populated in the taxonomy are included in the report. As a user, you can see what the report looks like immediately. What’s more, the table of contents and list of appendices are generated dynamically – without you having to format or maintain them. Even in the event of a tax audit, a suitable solution pays off, as a change history can be generated with just a few mouse clicks. Versions from the required years can be compared, and the software generates a summary of the changes in a single document. This allows the auditor, for example, to read the complete procedural documentation for a specific year and then, for subsequent years, to review just a few pages containing the relevant changes from all the required years.
Save valuable time
It is worth noting that using word processing software involves avoidable effort. This is particularly the case when changes to the company’s computerised procedures mean that this data has to be inserted into the existing document. Other time-consuming tasks that can be eliminated with the right software include formatting tasks such as maintaining the table of contents and list of appendices. Furthermore, an enormous amount of manual work is required when the tax authorities request further details regarding the content of procedural documentation. The time saved by not having to incorporate this into the existing document can be invested productively in other tasks if you use the suitable software solution set.
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