If your office is a mess with all the papers and documents scattered everywhere, then you probably have thought about employing better means to keep everything organized. If you’re pressed for space, then maybe you should consider document scanning services.
Document scanning services transforms paper files and documents into electronic ones. This means that you no longer have to deal with messy and large quantities of paperwork in your office every day. Electronic files are necessary especially for those who are working remotely. Remote workers need access to proprietary information, and scanning your documents help them in more ways than one. When you have your document scanned, you not only streamline operations, but you also increase workplace productivity, security, and also reduce storage costs.
Let’s take a look at what kind of industries and workplaces benefit from digitizing documents, and how you can get started with your transition to digital documentation.
Document scanning is not just about scanning documents
When you hear ‘document scanning’, you probably think it’s as easy as taking a picture of a document. If it were this easy, then we would have no need to outsource scanning services. However, document scanning isn’t just about scanning documents. Taking a picture of your documents will only give you a digital copy of the paper version. While in theory it is a great move, it isn’t worth investing at all as it doesn’t help move things forward.
Rather than some useless system to organize your files, what you need is something that converts paper files to electronic files. This way information that has been tucked away in a filing cabinet or drawer for years, becomes searchable in an instant! You can collect important information from a digital file without any issues. This is possible with indexing, a feature that marks makes specific characteristics of a document (such as name, contact info, date, invoice number, etc.), making it easier to find and use them. When you store your data in the Cloud, make sure it is integrated with tools such as the Office 365, so you can improve productivity using a menu of enhancements.
Digitizing your documents also creates insight, which you can do a lot using analytics.
When Do You Need Document Scanning Services?
It can be said that any company nowadays, even entrepreneurs that operate alone, should start digitizing their files. Scanning paper files and converting to them to digital ones will get you closer to achieving a paperless office. Document scanning solutions, however, should only be used when volume goes beyond in-house scanning capacity. This means that your office is unable to digitize the on your own due to the volume of documents at hand. Below are other situations where a document scanning service could come in handy:
- When the workforce is forced to stay at home due to a pandemic
- When you’re changing office locations or downsizing
- When you must keep records to comply with industry regulations
- When you want to update your record-keeping methods and modernize them
Digitizing documents not only remove office clutter, but also improves productivity throughout your workplace.
Below are some ways businesses can benefit from employing document scanning solutions.
1.Free Up Office Space
Digitizing documents helps free up much needed space. Instead of dedicating an entire room or row in the office for storing documents, you can reallocate it to a more useful area for your business. Regardless of what format your files and documents are in, whether they be invoices, tax files, or patient records, scanning stores and keep that information stored in a secure cloud database instead of an old, dusty file cabinet.
2.Better Compliance
Regardless of the industry you work in, you would want to make sure that your business is operating legally—that it complies to all legal and regulatory requirements. Paper documents do not only pose a challenge to organize, but they’re also quite easy to lose or misplace. Digitizing your documents provides you with secure access even to the most confidential documents, anytime you need them. This way, you’ll always be ready even when you’re faced with the most rigorous auditor or annual evaluation.
3.Improves Efficiency
With a cloud-based document management system in place, employees are able to put their focus more on the things that matter, instead of having to dig through mountains of files for a specific document. Sharing digital documents with multiple staff members in different locations around the globe, makes business processes more efficient and practical.
4.Better Security
Paper documents are usually more prone to deterioration or damage due to a number of factors such as time, climate conditions, or natural disasters. Fortunately, digitizing your documents provides you with better disaster recovery options. This way even if a document is damaged physically, there is still a way to recover it digitally. There is minimal impact to your business, and you can get up and running right in no time. Digitized documents are safely backed up so you can be sure that any information won’t be permanently lost or accessed by an unauthorized entity.
5.Better Customer Service
We live in a world where everybody demands answers and solutions immediately. Digitizing your documents provides employees access to information right away. This way, they can respond to customer inquiries and requests faster. As a result, customers are satisfied and recognizes your business as one that provides good quality service.
6.It’s Environmentally Friendly!
Converting your paper files and documents to digital files contributes to an environmental management system (EMS). Just think of how scanning your documents can contribute to the reduction of pollution, fossil fuel usage and deforestation. As a long term-benefit, digitizing documents eventually work to reduce the amount of paper distributed in offices and workplaces, thus promoting a more environmentally friendly environment.
7.It Saves You Money!
Although digitizing documents might seem like a costly investment up-front, it can actually save you money in the long run. Just think of how much time, money, and resources you can save by going digital. And the best part of it all is that you can scan documents that you need now, and save the rest later.
To Sum it Up
Your business and your entire company can free up more office space and be more productive if you don’t dedicate time and money on paper documents. If you want to update your document storage methods and save money, maybe it’s time for you to consider using document scanning services.