Case Study: Woodland Trust achieves paperless, legally admissible records and increased gift-aid income with DocuWare

Becoming Paperless and Planting Trees

The Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, needed to modernize records ahead of a move to a smaller office and to support a largely home-based workforce. They faced the challenge of creating a secure, long-term electronic archive of legally admissible documents (deeds, wills, gift aid declarations, direct debit mandates, etc.), reducing physical storage, and integrating document management with CRM and accounting systems for easier access and compliance.

Working with an authorized partner, the charity implemented DocuWare, initially for the legal team and then across donor and estate records, integrating it with their Advanced NG CRM so staff can pull a donor’s documents with one click. The system shortened search times, enabled remote access, ensured documents are court-admissible, eliminated risks around missing gift aid confirmations, and increased income by capturing more tax-credit refunds — benefits that quickly offset the software cost while improving customer service and operational efficiency.

Woodland Trust

Richard Gardner

IT Systems Analyst