Stacks of files and full filing cabinets may seem like a staple of any office but it’s an operating method that’s becoming more and more outdated by the day. The modern choice is to keep digital copies of all documents in a central document management system.
The process can seem a little intimidating at first. Many business owners worry about the time it will take to switch to the new system and how they will navigate it. However, there are several benefits that a company can reap when it switches to document scanning and using a new document management system.
1. Saves Time
Filing through physical papers takes a lot of time. No matter if they’re being filed and organized or if an employee is rifling through them to find what they need, it takes time. On average, most offices spend a total of two hours a day managing their files.
It makes sense that digitizing these files will save time. It’s an innate part of most technological advancements to bring convenience and speed to the user. The time an office saves isn’t minimal either. The introduction of a document management system can cut those two hours a day down to a mere ten or twenty minutes.
This extra time no longer bogged down by paperwork can be dedicated to more profitable activities. This will allow the company to increase their bottom line by using the time they may not have previously realized they were wasting.
2. Adapts to Scanners
To scan documents into a document management system, an office needs to have a scanner on hand. Luckily, there are three types of scanners that can be used which cover most offices’ resources.
Network scanners are probably one of the most common choices. Learn what is network scanning here. These are basically large, standalone printers that aren’t directly hooked up to any computer.
Then there are TWAIN scanners. These are desktop scanners that plug directly into a computer via a USB cord. TWAIN simply means that there is a TWAIN driver present, meaning that any program on the computer can link to the scanner.
Finally, there are standalone scanners. These are a lot like TWAIN scanners, but they don’t plug directly into a computer. Because of this, their functionality is slightly limited.
3. Increases Organization
This is probably one of the biggest benefits of scanning documents into a document management system. These systems make it easy to organize files in a way that makes sure everything gets where it needs to go without getting lost.
Every software choice has its own specifics as to how to keep files in order. For instance, use the style that users are used to with a traditional filing cabinet. They can use sub dividers to organize content in drawers, folders, and down to files.
A simple filing system will also make it easier for everyone in the company to keep up with the organization system. This will ensure that the system that’s set up initially doesn’t fall into disarray due to confusion about the process later on.
4. Find Documents Quickly
Once an electronic system is in place, sifting through files to find what’s needed isn’t going to be a problem. Instead, digital files can be easily searched. This can be done with keywords or full titles. With only a few keystrokes, anyone on the system can find exactly what they’re looking for.
This is another way that a document management system cuts down on wasted time. This is a benefit that comes from the instantaneous nature of modern technology. It’s much less time consuming than manually digging through a filing cabinet. Once again, this gives the user more time to work rather than waste time trying to find what they need to work on.
5. Optical Character Recognition
If someone scans an existing file into a management system, these don’t turn into word processor documents. Instead, they are created as PDFs because scanners just take pictures of what’s being scanned in.
At first glance, this comes with some downsides. Since a PDF is essentially a picture, it can seem difficult if not impossible to search by anything but its file name.
However, there is a way to make PDFs searchable. It has to do with something called optical character recognition or OCR. This translates the images of words in a PDF into actual words. This means that if you scan the pages to PDF, you’d be able to search them like standard documents.
This sounds pretty high-tech but that’s why it shouldn’t be the user’s problem. Some software makes this process nearly automatic. All a user has to do is click a command and the program will take care of the process for them.
6. Easy to Share
In a company, no matter how big or small, collaboration is a big part of success. This means that working on a project together needs to be simple and straightforward. Find out how to be more straightforward here.
Trying to pass physical files back and forth wastes a lot of time. Not only because of the time that it takes to pass the files from one team member to another but because working together simultaneously on a file incredibly difficult.
Then, there’s the argument for a digital file that isn’t in a management system. Sure, emailing it back and forth is an option but not an effective one. Plus, if people are sending multiple copies of a document back and forth, the more duplicate files there will be. This hinders organization.
With a document management system, it’s possible to share files and even have multiple editors working on them at once.
7. Better Backup
There are many safety solutions that come with a document management system. First, there is the physical comparison. Paper is fragile and paper files can be easily damaged. Even a spilled cup of coffee can damage files and cause a problem. But there are some DIY hacks which you will find useful. In the worst-case scenario, a fire or flood can ruin an office’s entire collection of files.
Storing them digitally prevents physical causes from destroying the files in any scenario. Since the files aren’t constrained to just one computer either, they’re also safe from a lot of technical problems.
For example, if a business owner sets up their management system on a laptop and that laptop gets broken later, it isn’t the end of the world. Those files can be accessed from a different computer with no problem.
8. Increased Security
Electronic files also allow businesses to set up security measures like passwords to keep sensitive documents restricted only to those who should have access to them. This is especially helpful if a company deals with sensitive information such as medical records. It’s also handy to keep operating information in management levels.
All in all, it will certainly benefit any business to take the time to scan its documents into a management system. It saves time, increases organization, and improves the security surrounding those files.
