Integrating Scanned Documents into Your Workflow

In today’s digital world, businesses are always looking for ways to work smarter and faster. One great way to do this is by turning paper documents into digital files and using them in your everyday work. This can make your company more organized, save time, and even cut costs. By going digital with your documents, you can make your business run smoother and keep up in a world where paper is becoming less common.

Key Takeaways

• Document scanning makes work easier and saves space
• It’s important to look at how you work now to see what can be improved
• You need a good system to manage digital documents
• Keeping digital documents safe and following rules is very important
• Using computers to automate tasks can make work even faster
• Always check how things are going and try to make them better

Understanding Document Scanning Services

Document scanning is like taking a picture of your paper documents and turning them into computer files. This makes it easy to store, find, and share information using computers and phones. Professional document scanning services use special machines and computer programs to make sure your documents look clear and are easy to use on a computer.

Scanning documents can help businesses in many ways:

• You can find information much faster, sometimes in seconds instead of minutes
• People can work together better, even if they’re not in the same place
• You don’t need as much space to store papers, which can save money
• Digital files can be kept safer with passwords and backups
• If something bad happens, like a fire, you won’t lose all your information
• It’s easier to follow rules about keeping records

Looking at How You Work Now

Before you start scanning documents, it’s a good idea to look at how your business uses paper now. This helps you see where using digital files could make things better. You might find places where paper is slowing things down or costing too much money.

Some common problems with using paper that scanning can fix:

• It takes a long time to find papers in filing cabinets
• People who work from home or other offices can’t see important papers
• Papers can get lost or damaged
• It’s hard for people to work together on paper documents
• Printing and copying cost a lot of money
• It’s difficult to keep track of changes made to documents
• Following rules about keeping records can be tricky with paper

Planning How to Use Scanned Documents

Once you know what needs to be better, you can make a plan for using scanned documents. This means setting clear goals, deciding what success looks like, and talking to people from different parts of your business to make sure everyone’s needs are met. A good plan will help guide you through the changes and solve any problems that come up.

Key Strategies

• Pick the most important documents to scan first
• Choose the right scanning equipment for your needs
• Decide how to name and organize files so they’re easy to find
• Teach staff how to use the new digital system
• Make sure digital documents are kept safe
• Connect scanned documents with other computer systems you use
• Set up automatic steps for handling documents
• Keep track of changes made to documents
• Check that scanned documents look good and are easy to read
• Create a system to find documents quickly

Setting Up Document Scanning

Choosing the right scanning equipment and software is really important. Think about how many documents you have, what kind they are (like regular papers or big drawings), and what features you need, like being able to search the text in scanned documents. Good scanners can process lots of papers quickly, and special software can make scanned images into documents you can search and edit.

It’s also very important to teach your staff how to use the new digital system. Make sure everyone knows how to scan documents, name files correctly, and find digital documents when they need them. Help people understand why the change is good and support them as they learn the new way of doing things.

Creating a Digital Document Management System

A good digital document management system (DMS) is key to making scanned documents work well in your business. This system should keep all your digital documents in one place, make them easy to find, and let people share them safely. When choosing a DMS, think about whether it can grow with your business and work with other computer systems you use.

A good digital document management system should have:

• A central place to store documents that people can access from anywhere
• A powerful search tool that can find words inside documents
• A way to track changes made to documents
• Controls to keep documents safe and only let the right people see them
• Tools to automatically move documents through your work process
• The ability to work with other business software you use
• A way to use documents on phones and tablets
• Reports that show how documents are being used

Keeping Digital Documents Safe and Following Rules

When you switch to digital documents, it’s very important to keep them safe and follow any rules that apply to your business. Use strong passwords, encrypt your data, and regularly check your security to protect sensitive information from being stolen or lost.

Storing documents safely off-site can add extra protection for both digital and paper documents. These storage places have special rooms that control temperature and strong security systems. This can be helpful when you’re first switching to digital or if you need to keep original papers for legal reasons.

Make sure your digital document system follows any special rules for your industry, like HIPAA for healthcare or rules about protecting personal data. Use features like tracking who views documents, keeping documents for the right amount of time, and safely destroying old documents to stay within the rules.

Making Work Faster with Automation

Once your documents are digital and in a good management system, you can use computer tools to make work even faster. These tools can change manual paper processes into quick digital ones, reducing mistakes and speeding up approvals.

Some examples of how automation can help with documents:

• Automatically sending scanned bills to the right department for approval
• Sending reminders when documents need to be reviewed
• Automatically storing old documents based on set rules
• Updating information in other computer systems automatically
• Creating reports on how documents are used and how fast work is done

Using these automatic features can really cut down on manual work, make processes faster, and help make sure everyone follows the right steps.

Checking How It’s Going and Making Things Better

To make sure your new digital document system keeps working well, it’s important to set goals and regularly check how things are going. This helps you find ways to make things even better, adjust to changes in your business, and get the most out of your digital system. Some important things to measure include:

• How quickly people can find documents
• How much faster work gets done with digital documents
• How much money you save by using less paper
• How happy employees are with the new system
• How often mistakes happen when using digital documents
• How well the system follows important rules
• How many people are actually using the new digital tools

Use what you learn to keep improving your digital document system. Talk to employees regularly to see how they like using it and what could be better. Keep learning about new technologies and best ways to manage documents to keep your system up-to-date and working well.

Make Your Business Better with Digital Documents

Using scanned documents in your everyday work is a big step towards making your business more modern. By turning papers into digital files, using a good management system, and setting up automatic processes, you can make your business work faster, safer, and more efficiently. This change not only makes daily work easier but also helps your business be more flexible and competitive in today’s digital world.

FileVault offers complete document scanning services and records management solutions to help businesses improve how they handle documents. Our team of experts can help you through every step of going digital, from looking at what you need and planning, to setting up the system and providing ongoing support. We know that every business is different, so we make sure our solutions fit your specific needs and help you get the most out of your investment in digital document management.

Ready to make your document management better and boost your business efficiency? Ask for a quote from FileVault today and take the first step towards a more efficient, secure, and paperless office. Our team is ready to help you navigate the change to digital documents and unlock your business’s full potential.