Document Management for Growing Teams: Beyond Shared Folders

“It’s in the drive somewhere.”

That phrase signals document management has failed. What started as a shared folder became a labyrinth of nested directories, duplicate versions, and files nobody can find.

If you’re a growing team, now is the time to think about this before it gets worse.

The Problem Evolves

5-person team: One shared folder works. Everyone knows where everything is. Naming conventions are informal but functional.

15-person team: Folders multiply. Different people create different structures. Some things are duplicated. Finding stuff takes longer.

30-person team: Chaos. New people have no idea where anything is. Old files are recreated because no one knows they exist. Version control is prayers and file names.

Most teams hit real pain around 15-25 people.

The Three Models

1. Enhanced File Storage

Your existing cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, SharePoint) but with better organization.

What it means:

  • Consistent folder structure enforced
  • Naming conventions documented
  • Permissions properly configured
  • Search optimization

Pros:

  • No new tools to buy or learn
  • Works for most small-mid teams
  • Easy to implement

Cons:

  • Limited metadata and categorization
  • Search depends on good naming
  • No workflow or approval features
  • Permissions can get messy

Good for: Teams up to ~50 people with straightforward document needs.

2. Wiki/Knowledge Base

Tools like Notion, Confluence, or Slite for creating and organizing documents.

What it means:

  • Documents created in the platform
  • Linked pages and hierarchy
  • Better search and discovery
  • Often includes databases and structured content

Pros:

  • Built for findability
  • Good for process documentation and wikis
  • Collaborative editing
  • Internal linking connects related content

Cons:

  • Not ideal for external files (PDFs, spreadsheets)
  • Another tool to adopt
  • Content can get stale without maintenance
  • Different skill set than file management

Good for: Process documentation, company wikis, knowledge bases. Less good for file-heavy teams.

3. Document Management Systems (DMS)

Dedicated systems for managing documents as formal entities.

What it means:

  • Documents have metadata, categories, tags
  • Version control is explicit
  • Permissions are granular
  • Often includes workflows (approvals, reviews)

Examples: M-Files, DocuWare, SharePoint (properly configured), or industry-specific options.

Pros:

  • Proper version control
  • Audit trails
  • Workflow automation
  • Good for compliance-heavy industries

Cons:

  • Expensive
  • Complex to implement
  • Overhead that simple teams don’t need
  • Overkill for many SMBs

Good for: Regulated industries, contract-heavy businesses, larger teams with formal processes.

What Most Growing SMBs Should Do

Unless you’re in a regulated industry, you probably don’t need a DMS.

Here’s my practical advice:

1. Fix Your Folder Structure

Before adopting new tools, fix what you have.

Create a documented structure:

/Company
  /Admin (HR, Legal, Finance)
  /Marketing
  /Sales
  /Operations
  /Projects
    /[Client or Project Name]
      /Deliverables
      /Working Documents

The specific structure matters less than having one and enforcing it.

2. Establish Naming Conventions

Documents should be findable by name.

Example convention: YYYY-MM-DD_ClientName_DocumentType_Version.extension

So: 2025-11-08_Acme_Proposal_v2.pdf

Document the convention. Share it. Enforce it.

3. Clean Regularly

Old files clutter search and confuse people.

  • Archive completed project folders yearly
  • Delete obvious outdated versions
  • Move “reference” documents to appropriate sections

Make this someone’s job quarterly.

4. Add a Wiki for Process Docs

Keep files in your file storage. Add a wiki (Notion, Confluence) for:

  • How-to guides
  • Process documentation
  • Company policies
  • Onboarding materials

This separation works well. Files are files. Wikis are knowledge.

5. Train New Hires

Part of onboarding should include:

  • Where things live
  • Naming conventions
  • What goes where
  • Who to ask

New hires creating random folders is a major source of mess.

The SharePoint Question

Microsoft shops often have SharePoint available. Should you use it?

SharePoint can be excellent if properly configured, organized, and maintained. It has powerful features.

SharePoint is often a mess because those things don’t happen. Teams spin up sites randomly. Nobody owns the structure. Search becomes useless.

If you’re going to use SharePoint, treat it as a project. Plan the structure. Configure it properly. Assign ownership. Otherwise, it’s just another folder nightmare.

When to Consider a Real DMS

Signs you need more than enhanced file storage:

  • Compliance requirements mandate version control and audit trails
  • Contract management is a significant function
  • Multiple people need to formally approve documents
  • You’re in legal, healthcare, finance, or similarly regulated industries
  • Documents are legal records

If these don’t apply, basic approaches are probably sufficient.

The Ownership Question

Someone needs to own document management. Not as a full-time job, but as an explicit responsibility.

Their job:

  • Maintain the structure
  • Enforce conventions
  • Clean up periodically
  • Onboard new people
  • Address problems

Without an owner, entropy wins. Documents become chaos.

Start Now

If you’re at 10-20 employees and your documents are already a mess, fix it now.

If you’re at 5-10 employees and things are still organized, document your system now before it breaks.

The longer you wait, the more archeological the cleanup becomes.

Document management isn’t exciting. But it’s the kind of foundation that makes everything else easier.