document management services

Making the most of document scanning

/0 Comments/in /by

Our advice on how to maximise the benefits of document scanning

Following on from our recent blog post on the benefits document scanning could offer your business, we thought we’d offer advice on how to make the most of this valuable document management tool.

Planning for scanning

As with many things, when it comes to document scanning, planning ahead can help you save time and money. With this in mind, identifying and prioritising in advance which documents are to be scanned is probably the single most important step in the scanning process. Whilst it might sound obvious, many of our clients underestimate the length of time that this stage can take. The identification process should comprise of two different stages: finding the documents you need to scan and making sure they have been indexed appropriately.

The first thing to remember is that it is important to identify documents which will offer the most benefits to efficiency once they have been scanned. Over time you are likely to find that some documents are accessed less frequently which means that there might not be any benefit to having them digitized. Remember that you can always have additional documents scanned at a later date. However, by ensuring your most used documents are scanned immediately is a good way to help keep costs to a minimum.

Duplicate documents should be removed and although it does take time to sort through files, it is definitely worth it in the long run in terms of time and expense.

To ensure your business enjoys maximum benefit from scanning, it is vital that you identify which document management system you are going to use before the project begins. This is the best way to ensure that the process is configured according to your requirements and that the scanning process is as logical and streamlined as possible. Our team are happy to provide further advice and guidance on this if required.

Last and by no means least, you will need to spend time considering how and where you will store paperwork once it it has been digitised. A range of options are available, from off-site document storage, through to secure shredding and disposal. Whichever option you choose, don’t forget to make sure that you aren’t in breach of data protection rules.

Contact PDM to find out more

As document management specialists, here at PDM we work with businesses and organisation of all shapes and sizes. If you would like to find out more about the benefits document scanning could offer your business, or to talk through solutions designed to meet your individual requirements, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

microfiche document scanning

Cut costs with microfiche scanning

/0 Comments/in , /by

Improve efficiency and cut costs with our microfiche document scanning service

Once an essential way to store data such as plans, information or drawings, microfiche was widely used by engineering, finance and HR departments. Although microfiche is now an outdated technology, for many businesses it is still vital that they are able to access the information stored on microfiche documents. However, accessing the information isn’t always simple or straightforward and can result in a range of problems including:

  • Reading microfiche documents requires special equipment which can cost as much as £1000. In addition, as this type of equipment is rapidly becoming obsolete, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of.
  • Unlike digital files, files stored on microfiche cannot be indexed. This makes it difficult and time consuming for staff to find the information they need.
  • Unlike digital files, the information stored on microfiche cannot be easily shared. This means that the costs of sharing the information can easily spiral, whilst there is the ever present danger that the information can be lost in transit.

Document scanning services from PDM

Here at PDM we offer a range of cost-effective document scanning services, designed to help businesses and organisations reduce costs and improve efficiency. Ideal for converting microfiche documents in PDFs or any other format you require, we have the capability to scan information quickly and efficiently.

Not only does document scanning help improve efficiency and cut costs, it will also dramatically reduce the amount of physical storage space you need. Unlike their microfiche or paper counterparts, digital documents take up no storage space at all, whilst ensuring they secure and can be accessed at the touch of a button.

Contact PDM for further information

If you would like to find out more about our microfiche document scanning service, or to talk through your individual requirements, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by calling 01274 883459.

document scanning services from Pro-Doc

Could your Accounts Department benefit from using OCR?

/0 Comments/in /by

Improve the efficiency of your Accounts Department with OCR

OCR (optical character recognition) software has long been recognised to be a beneficial way for Accounts Departments to process high volumes of paper and electronic documents quickly and efficiently. However, despite that fact that OCR has been widely used for some time, many Accounts Departments are failing to make the most of the benefits that the technology can offer.

What is OCR?

OCR is feature of digital scanning which converts typed, printed and handwritten documents into a digital text format. Ideal for wide range of different documents including receipts, invoices, debit and credit notes, OCR allows different members of an accounts team to quickly search and then edit documents using a computer programme.

The OCR systems we use here at PDM are designed to extract the information you need from within documents in a wide range of formats. Not only does OCR reduce the human errors which can occur with manual data entry, OCR software can also be designed to check for duplicate transactions, helping to ensure that all documentation is completely accurate.

Using OCR offers a range of benefits including:

  • reduced need for time-consuming manual data entry
  • a reduction in costs
  • invoices are processed faster
  • productivity increases
  • enhanced data accuracy
  • more office space as less storage is needed for paper documents
  • efficiency is improved as less time is spent looking for information

Contact Pro-Doc

We offer our clients a wide range of cost-effective document management and storage solutions, designed to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

If you would like to find out more about the benefits that OCR software could offer your business, or to discuss your individual requirements, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.