In all likelihood, you work in an office that has everything to be expected – a water cooler, desks, snacks, and a coffee machine. However, you probably also have a large filing cabinet (maybe even multiple filing cabinets) collecting dust in a supply closet, or worse, taking up valuable floor space in the middle of your office. Even though scanning and document management technology has advanced to the point where organizations can operate completely paperless, filing cabinets are still prevalent in offices around the country. How can that be?
Physical document organization cabinets, filing cabinets for short, were once all the rave. They were viewed as a critical tool that made business management possible. Now, however, they are seen as a necessary evil which only exists because the number of documents stored within them has amassed to a point where there is no option but to keep using the traditional method. Auto dealers, doctor and dental offices, hospitals, insurance companies and financial institutions are a few examples of the many businesses that tend to have whole rooms and/or even staff dedicated to managing the contents of these metal behemoths.
It is more than a daily chore for those tasked with finding, replacing, and organizing documents in filing cabinets. Even while using colored tabs and other widgets, managing a filing cabinet can be a difficult undertaking. Luckily, for those who want to go green but don’t have the staff or time to handle such an operation, there is a solution.
Outsourced document scanning services has been the growing norm since the launch of digital scanners. In most cases, getting started with an outsourced scanning provider is as simple as shipping your documents to the expert’s facility, informing your consultant about your specific needs/project delivery requirements, and conquering.
The advantages of using an outsourced scanning specialist opposed to starting a new project in-house are as follows:
- There would no longer be administrative costs affiliated with the extended process of unearthing, organizing, and liquidating documents within a cabinet. All files would be digital and therefore accessible on the network.
- Documents that are scanned to the cloud mitigate risk in the event of a disaster. Whether a fire, flooding, hurricane, or another catastrophe, if the building is damaged, chances are that the paper in storage is as well. Digital documents can be backed up and/or cached in the cloud, making the recovery process significantly easier or completely unnecessary..
- Many companies consider hiring a temp or an intern to champion scanning and cataloging stored documents. Regrettably, temps and interns are not turn-key. They require on-boarding and need to learn how to use your hardware, software, develop a streamlined process, and keep track of progress without a hitch. If they make mistakes, you pay to correct them, either in additional financial resources, or with your job.
- Overhead costs and equipment depreciation is another problem. If a machine were to break down or stop working, the whole operation could be put on hold until a broken device is serviced or replaced. Either way, your company is responsible for eating those unforeseen costs. An outsourced document scanning company has the equipment, expertise, and experience needed to eliminate common roadblocks encountered during a document scanning/digitization project.
- Having the right tools available and at the ready is also critical to undertaking a digitization project. For those who are dentists or practitioners, you likely have X-rays or other unique documents which cannot be digitized while using a standard scanner. An unusual and often expensive purchase, such as a large-format scanner, may be required to complete the task in-house.
Do your organization a favor and create a plan to decrease the number of things that tie you down and add more working space to your companies goals. Take the opportunity to streamline your business processes so your staff can focus on more revenue-generating operations, while saving your document management team from the inevitable paper cut.
If you are looking for an outsourced document scanning service, our team at Recordsforce can help.
Recordsforce has been successfully managing paper processing, document scanning, and document automation since 2001. Leave the scanning jobs to the experts and empower your team to do what’s really important to them – delivering results for the company.