Canadian businesses may have their heads in the sand when it comes to managing their documents effectively, a new survey suggests.

The national poll reveals 71 per cent of small and medium sized businesses (MBMs) are concerned about electronic document loss, yet 66 per cent have no prevention strategy.

The survey also suggests that the younger the business, the more likely it is to embrace technology.

Businesses of five years or younger are more likely to store the majority of documents electronically (37 per cent), compared with businesses older than 15 years (29 per cent).

Other survey findings: 

• Three-quarters of SMB owners and managers say it is easier to find electronic documents than hard-copy documents (75 per cent). 
• More than half (54 per cent) of SMB owners and managers are concerned about losing hard-copy documents.
• Almost half of respondents (49 per cent) who do not employ a document management strategy said it was because they felt it was not important to their business or customers.
• Only one-fifth of Canadian SMBs (23 per cent) are likely to invest in upgrades within the next 12 months.
• On average, Canadian SMBs say it takes employees more than one hour per week to find hard-copy documents, with a cost of $2,152 per year to manage and store them.