The idea of keeping on hand enormous amounts of documentation and maintaining a good record-keeping system can be quite a daunting idea for most businesses. For large-scale businesses, record-keeping means dedicating off-site storage facilities to manage documents. For small-scale businesses, on the other hand, paper records can be instantly overwhelming to small offices. A better and more practical solution for businesses would be to switch from paper to digital document scanning services. This not only saves them money but storage space in the long term.
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Going Digital
We live in a digital world. As days go by, the need to use paper documents is slowly becoming obsolete. It seems that everyone is going paperless—online purchases, gas stations, grocery stores, dry cleaners, airline services, and more!
Aside from being good for the environment, going paperless presents new challenges for businesses of all sizes. You may even want to consider using a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Company, to guide you throughout the transition and keep your records.
Digital record-keeping can be easy, but what happens to your paper documents and records?
What is Document Digitization?
Document Digitization involves the conversion of physical data to digital format using a software or manual process. If you’re transitioning to the digital realm for the first time, the amount of paper documentation on your hand can be quite overwhelming and the task of going digital may intimidate you.
Data digitization can come in different types, such as:
- Digitization of paper document/s
- Digitization of books
- Digitization of magazines and newspapers
- Digitization of large-sized document
- Digitization of aperture cards
- Digitization of insurance forms
- Digitization of engineering manuals
- Digitization of patient records
- Digitization of travel records
- Digitization of bills employees submitted for claims
The process of digitizing documents may vary depending on the industry. Every industry doesn’t preserve records in the same way or format. If you ever decide to avail the services from a document management service provider, go for one that has a wide range of expertise in converting any type of documents to any style of digital format.
Below are some reasons as to why it makes sense to avail a document scanning solution:
SAVES SPACE
Paper documents, when they accumulate, can quickly take up storage space. But with digitized files, you can store thousands of pages per gigabyte of storage space. The number of pages per GB depends largely on the type of file—for instance image files average 15,477 pages per GB, whereas Microsoft Excel files average around 165,791 files per GB. Regardless, you’ll end up saving large amounts of physical storage space when you decide to digitize your documents.
BETTER SECURITY
When you keep paper documents, the only way to ensure that important records are kept safe rom fires or other natural disasters is to keep an off-site back-up of each file. This not only doubles the number of documents and storage room needed, but it simply is just impractical for majority of businesses. But with digital files, you can keep records in a reliable cloud storage and backup files on hard drives for less space and time needed to copy paper records.
With document scanning services, you can be sure that classified information remains protected. All of your hard copy documents will be scanned and then either destroyed on-site or transferred to another secure off-site location for permanent storage. All digital files are guaranteed to be stored in your password-protected electronic archive.
HELPS REDUCE COSTS
By digitizing your document storage, you immediately bring down costs across the board. In addition, you significantly cut down, or entirely eliminate, costs associated with paper storage, copying, and mail and courier services. You no longer have to pay for off-site storage and there is no more need to pay employees for working overtime on lengthy file-searches.
Another perk to having a document scanning system in place is that you no longer have to pay additional for user licenses.
SAVES YOU TIME
Digitizing your files makes it easier for you or employees to search them. Rather than digging through paper files or spending money to have them shipped from your off-site storage, you can find what you need with just a few taps on the keyboard.
There are some document management systems that provide full-text search capability allowing you to find the right files and images quickly, metadata analysis access, and quick reporting with a touch of a button. Some systems even come with high-volume mailroom scanning that guarantees same day turnaround. Document scanning services provider will set up a system that automatically manages electronic image submissions, such as EDI and email, and they can continue processing hard copy files for their clients.
EASY ACCESS
Digital documents can be easily accessed anywhere, but only by people you provide authorization with. This means your records are kept safe and secure, but highly accessible at the same time. Only approved users can access the online documents anytime, anywhere, using any device with internet access. You can decide how many employees to grant access to the digital files you have.
INCREASES WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY
Data can be accessed by different departments within the company simultaneously. If data is not digitized, it will take more time and more effort to gain access to it. This will slow down productivity and affect the entire workflow.
DATA STORAGE AND RECOVERY
Digitized files and documents area easily stored at multiple locations, which means data is safely guarded. Storing data in multiple locations guarantees extra protection against data loss and corruption. Paper document are more susceptible of damage or loss in case of natural disasters or technical issues. Digitized data, on the other hand, is more secure and easily replicated.
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
You don’t have to print digitized data for distribution, and handling digitized data is easy as well. All you need is an email to share the data so you can avoid unnecessary printing. This, in turn, leads to saving natural resources, which means it’s completely environmentally friendly!
Conclusion
As we live in the digital age, it has become necessary to adapt to the changing times. This means that storing documents need to be upgraded as well. Going digital may be arduous, but it’s going to help your business in the long term. If you’re ready to transition from paper documents to digital files, find experts than can provide document scanning services and deliver work on time within your budget.
