1C and Electronic Document Management: How to Transition to a Paperless Office

Imagine a typical morning in the accounting department of a medium-sized company. The chief accountant is looking for an invoice from a week ago, sifting through stacks of documents. The manager runs to the warehouse for the third time that day to verify data in the waybill. The director signs a contract that has already lost its relevance because approval took two weeks via couriers between offices.

Familiar scene? This is not just an inconvenience — it’s real money leaking out of the business.

What Happens When Documents Exist Only on Paper

• Time turns to sand. Employees spend up to 40% of their working time searching for the necessary documents, copying, approving, and transferring them between departments. At the same time, the average salary of each employee is a direct expense. Calculate how much a day of work by an accountant or manager costs the company. Now multiply by 40% and the number of employees.
• Errors multiply on their own. Manual data entry from paper documents into 1C guarantees 3-5% errors even among experienced specialists. A mixed-up figure on a payment order, an incorrect amount in an act, or a duplicate item in a waybill — each error triggers a chain of corrections, clarifications, and lost time.
• Control disappears. Where is the contract now? Who is approving it? Why is the payment stuck? The manager receives answers to these questions after several hours or days. Meanwhile, the client goes to a competitor who responded faster.
• Space consumes the budget. Document archives occupy expensive office space. Add the cost of shelving, folders, printers, paper, toner. The average company spends between 5,000 and 50,000 rubles per month on printing and storing documents — depending on scale.
• Risks grow unnoticed. Paper documents get lost, damaged, or worn out. Spilled coffee on an important contract or a folder left in a taxi can lead to legal disputes. During a tax audit, the absence of a required document creates serious problems.

When Transitioning to EDI Becomes a Necessity

There are business growth points when paper document flow turns from an inconvenience into a real brake on development.

• Growth in the number of counterparties. When clients and suppliers exceed 50–70, tracking all contracts, acts, and invoices on paper becomes practically impossible. Documents start getting lost, deadlines are missed, dissatisfaction grows on both sides.
• Opening branches. The need to transfer documents between offices in different cities becomes a logistical nightmare. Courier services, mail, scanning — all of this slows work multiple times and is expensive.
• Staff growth. As the team grows, so does the number of internal documents: approval requests, memos, reports. Without automation, the manager physically cannot control everything.
• Counterparty requirements. Large clients and suppliers increasingly demand electronic document exchange. Refusing to work via EDI can mean losing significant partners.
• Remote work. After 2020, many companies switched to a hybrid format. Signing a paper document when part of the team works from home is a challenging task.

How Electronic Document Management Works in 1C

Electronic document management is not just about giving up paper. It is a comprehensive system that automates the entire document lifecycle: from creation to archival storage.

External EDI: Working with Counterparties

The company creates a document in 1C — an invoice, waybill, or work completion act. The system automatically sends it to the counterparty via the EDI operator. The counterparty receives the document in their accounting system, checks and confirms it. Everything happens within minutes, and the documents are legally valid thanks to the electronic signature.

No more couriers, waiting for mail, or scanning signed copies. Data from received documents automatically enters the accounting system, eliminating manual entry errors.

Internal EDI: Documents Within the Company

Purchase requests, contract approvals, leave applications, inventory acts — all of this can circulate within the company electronically. Approval workflows are set up: the document is automatically sent to the right people in the correct sequence, the system monitors deadlines, and reminds about tasks.

The manager sees the entire process in real-time: what is under approval, what is signed, where delays occur. Decisions are made faster, and accountability becomes transparent.

Integration with the Accounting System

The key advantage of EDI in conjunction with 1C is not just electronic documents, but their deep integration with accounting. An invoice received from a supplier automatically creates a receipt document in 1C. An invoice sent to a client is generated based on the order and fulfillment. Data is not duplicated or re-entered — it exists within a single system.

Real Automation Scenarios

Scenario 1: Wholesale Trade

The company works with 300 suppliers and 500 clients. Up to 150 documents pass daily. Before implementing EDI, there were 4 employees in the staff who only printed, signed, scanned, and sent documents.

After configuring EDI in 1C:

• Documents are generated and sent automatically upon processing sales
• Incoming documents from suppliers are accepted with one click, data enters accounting
• Processing time per document reduced from 15 minutes to 2 minutes
• Three employees were reassigned to more important tasks — working with receivables and procurement
• Savings: about 450,000 rubles per month just on salaries. Plus faster client payments by 3–5 days.

Scenario 2: Manufacturing Company with Branches

A factory with a head office in one city and three branches in other regions. Documents circulated for weeks, deadlines were missed, and disagreements arose due to different versions of contracts.

They implemented internal EDI with approval workflows:

• Purchase requests from branches are approved at the head office in 1–2 days instead of a week
• The CFO sees all payments in real-time and approves them remotely
• Contracts with clients are approved by the legal department, commercial director, and CEO without physical transfer of documents
• Document revision history is automatically saved — it is always clear who made changes and when
• Result: decision-making speed tripled, disputes over document versions dropped to zero.

Scenario 3: Services with High Volume of Acts

An IT company servicing 200 clients on a subscription model. Each month, invoices, work completion acts need to be issued, signed, and returned.

Before automation, this took 5 days of work for two employees. Clients forgot to sign acts, reminders were needed, wasting time on clarifications.

After configuring EDI:

• On the last day of the month, the system automatically generates and sends all acts and invoices
• Clients receive notifications and sign documents in their systems
• If a client does not sign an act within 3 days, the system automatically sends a reminder
• The accounting department sees in real-time which documents are signed and which are pending
• Time savings: 80 hours of work per month. Closing documents sped up from 2 weeks to 3 days.

Typical Implementation Obstacles

• "We already have 1C, why change anything?"
  This is the most common objection. Indeed, 1C is already installed and accounting is conducted. But the program’s capabilities are used only at 30–40%. Without configured EDI, you lose the main advantage — automation of routine. Modifying the existing system is cheaper than maintaining employees who manually do what the program can handle.
• "It’s expensive and complicated"
  The cost of implementation pays off in 6–12 months solely due to employee time savings. Complexity depends on who handles the implementation. If specialists understand both 1C and your business specifics, the process proceeds quickly and smoothly.
• "Counterparties are not ready to work electronically"
  By 2025, more than 70% of companies already use EDI. Large clients require electronic document exchange. Small businesses gradually adopt it because it is convenient. Experience shows that when you offer partners electronic exchange, most agree willingly — they are also tired of dealing with paper.
• "How to control it?"
  With electronic documents, control is easier than with paper. Every action is recorded: who created the document, when it was sent, who received it, who signed it. Revision history is automatically saved. The manager sees the full picture at any time.

What is Important When Choosing a Contractor

Implementing EDI is not a one-time setup. It is a change in business processes, employee training, ongoing support, and system development. The choice of contractor determines whether automation becomes an assistant or a headache.

Experience Specifically with 1C

1C is not just a program; it is an ecosystem with many configurations, versions, and features. General integrators who do "a little bit of everything" often do not understand the depth of the platform. Specialists who live in 1C, know its capabilities and limitations, and can extract the maximum from the standard functionality before making customizations are needed.

Specialization in Automation

Anyone can sell a boxed version of the program. But configuring it for a specific business, automating unique processes, integrating with other systems — that is expertise. A company specializing in customizations and automation looks at the task deeper: not just installing EDI, but organizing work so that processes become faster and more transparent.

Time on the Market

17 years of operation is not just a number. It is experience in implementing across different industries, understanding typical and unique tasks, proven solutions. It is a guarantee that the company will not disappear in a year, leaving you with an unfinished system. It is an opportunity to receive support and develop automation as the business grows.

Approach to the Project

A good contractor does not start with installation. They start by studying your business: how processes are built, where bottlenecks occur, and what exactly needs to be automated first. They offer phased implementation, not everything at once. They train the team to work in the new system, stay in touch after launch, help solve issues, and refine functionality as needed.

Portfolio of Real Cases

Ask to see examples of implementations in companies similar to yours. Not presentations or brochures, but real stories: what was, what was done, what resulted, how long it took. If the contractor is willing to provide client contacts for feedback — that is an excellent sign.

How Implementation Occurs

Stage 1: Assessment

Specialists study current document workflows: what types of documents are used, how they move, who works with them, and where delays occur. They analyze the 1C configuration: version, customizations, integrations. They determine which processes can be automated quickly and which require adjustments.

Result of this stage: a technical specification describing the future system, deadlines, and cost.

Stage 2: Configuration and Customization

EDI operators are connected, exchange with counterparties is configured. Approval workflows for internal documents are developed or adapted. Forms and reports in 1C are customized for business specifics. Access rights are set up for different employee roles.

Everything is done on a test database to avoid disrupting current operations.

Stage 3: Testing

The system is tested on real documents. Errors and issues are identified and corrected. Various work scenarios are simulated: what happens if a counterparty does not sign a document, how the system reacts to errors, whether reports are generated correctly.

Stage 4: Training

Training is conducted for all employees who will work with the system — separately for accounting, managers, and executives. They are shown not only how to press buttons but also the logic of the work so that people understand what and why they are doing.

Instructions and reference guides are prepared for later use.

Stage 5: Launch and Support

Settings are transferred to the production database, and the system is launched. In the first weeks, they work in enhanced support mode: quickly respond to questions, help employees get acquainted, fix minor issues that appeared in real operation.

Then they move to scheduled support: consultations, updates, and refinements as needed.

What the Business Gets as a Result

• Speed. Documents are processed much faster. Decisions are made promptly. Clients receive responses without delays.
• Control. The manager sees the full picture in real-time. No more situations of "I don’t know where this document is."
• Savings. Reduced costs for paper, printing, archiving, couriers. Employees’ time is freed for more important tasks.
• Accuracy. Manual entry errors are eliminated. Accounting data is always up-to-date.
• Scalability. The system grows with the business. Adding a new branch, connecting a new employee, increasing document flow — all this does not require major changes.
• Security. Electronic documents are not lost or damaged, are stored as long as needed. Access is controlled, and revision history is recorded.

The First Step Toward Automation

Transitioning to electronic document management is not a technical task. It is a strategic decision that changes the company’s work culture. It is an investment in speed, accuracy, and business scalability.

It is not necessary to automate everything at once. You can start with one area: for example, exchanging documents with key clients, or automating contract approvals within the company. The main thing is to start with the right partner who understands both 1C and your business.

Over 17 years, we have set up automation for hundreds of companies across various industries. Our specialization is 1C and everything related to it: customizations, integrations, and process automation. We do not sell boxed solutions. We configure the business so that it operates at a new level of efficiency.

If you are tired of paper chaos, if your business has outgrown manual processes, if you want to see and control everything happening in the company — it’s time to act. Electronic document management based on 1C is not the future; it is the present of successful business.