Document Management and Secure Document Scanning

Businesses that have implemented document management systems and secure document scanning would never go back to the paper files that once drained productivity and negatively impacted budgets.

“It seems like the phone is ringing nonstop today.  And for every call, I’ve had to go look for a file to answer the question.  Then put the file away.  And the phone rings again.”

Sound familiar?  The time professionals spend looking for information dramatically outweighs the time they spend reading that information.  And then consider the other frustrations caused by paper files:

• Files being misfiled or lost
• Stalled work when a file can’t be located
• Paper costs
• The expense of storage cabinets and the space they take up

Could it be time to do things differently and store all those documents electronically?  Businesses that have implemented document management systems would never go back.

What is Document Management?

Dan Rickert, Director of Solution Sales

Simply stated, document management is the electronic capture, storage, retrieval, distribution, and management of paper documents.  Ultimately it includes the destruction of the scanned paper documents.

The benefits of a document management system are numerous and can have a substantial impact on a company’s bottom line and productivity:

• Cost savings in paper – with electronic files, there is no need to print paper files.
• Cost savings in storage cabinets and gained office space – electronic files don’t need physical storage cabinets, so you won’t be buying more expensive cabinets, and you won’t need to dedicate valuable real estate to cabinet storage.
• Time savings/productivity gains – employees quickly retrieve documents electronically, at their desk so no longer need to spend time walking back and forth to file cabinets searching for files.
• Document security and regulatory compliance – there is no risk of physical documents being destroyed by fire or other disaster.  You’ll also have reliable and searchable files for legal purposes – an important issue for some organizations.
• No lost or missing files – because employees do not have to physically file documents the risk of checked out files being misfiled or lost is eliminated.

• Better customer service and greater efficiency – employees find documents quickly without leaving their desks so can answer questions immediately.

What to Look for in a Document Management System

As your organization plans for a document management system consider one that:

• Is affordable and provides an attractive Return on Investment.
• Is easy and intuitive to use.
• Is compatible with company and computer industry standards.
• Is scalable to adapt as your organization grows.
• Provides extensive search capabilities.
• Provides revision control, archiving, and automatic deletion.
• Provides configurable, multilevel security.
• Manages millions of records securely and in multiple formats.
• Provides a quick and easy means of data distribution.
• Provides a single source for rapid information retrieval.

Planning is Key

The best advice businesses that have implemented document management systems share is to carefully plan the structure of your system.  Focus on common, searchable elements in your documents and how your employees will access information.

Think outside the box, realize that you aren’t locked into the same constraints you are with a paper file system, and understand the capabilities of your system.  Get the right people from your organization involved upfront and rely on the expertise of your document management vendor.

Other advice is to keep things simple as you implement your document management system.  Some businesses start with one area, for example Accounts Payable, and structure a simple folder organization.  This ensures employees know how to access information.  You can build complexity as your system grows.

Document Scanning and Conversion as Next Steps

Jerry Rozek, Daily Operations Manager – Back File Scanning

The final issue to consider is the back filing of old paper documents and files.  Once implemented, a business can use a document management systems to start scanning and electronically filing new records immediately, but what about the storage cabinets full of old files that employees still need to access? 

Document scanning can alleviate these concerns.

An important initial step is determining just what needs to be scanned. Are there any documents that are eligible to be purged, or are there are any non-essential documents that may not be scanned at all?

The level of activity for back file records is a reliable guide as to the level of detail in which documents are scanned. Do I need to invest the time in having each file or document itemized on a detailed level if I only need to look for something once a year? The key is having enough detail so that you can efficiently find information, but not so much detail that the scanning process becomes long and cumbersome.

So now what is the best way to actually do a large size scanning project?

It may seem logical for a business to use internal staff and existing equipment to scan documents in their available time. The amount of time that it takes to remove staples from documents, scan them and then check that images are up to quality standards is so often underestimated. This results in a back file scanning project that seems never ending.

Some organizations bring in temporary staff to scan old files into the new system. There is still an investment of time in training and managing the staff as well as checking the quality of the completed work.

Another option is finding a quality resource partner for Backfile Scanning.

This can allow a business to apply some resources to a project to help offset cost, and have all other aspects handled by a contracted company that has the people, process, and technology that is specific to bulk scanning. The end result is the scanning is completed in a shorter time frame and often times much less than trying to do it internally.