Document scanning could offer your business a number of benefits and with this in mind, we thought we’d offer advice on how to make the most of this essential document management tool.

Plan to scan

When it comes to document scanning, planning ahead can help you save time and money. For example, identifying and prioritising in advance which documents are to be scanned is probably the single most important step in the scanning process. Although 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: identifying the documents you need to scan and making sure they have been indexed appropriately.

It can be tempting to scan all documentation, however, it is important to identify documents which will offer the greatest increases in efficiency once they have been scanned. Over time you are likely to find that some documents are accessed less frequently than others, meaning that there might not be any benefit to having them digitized. In addition, 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. Don’t forget that you can always have additional documents scanned at a later date. However, by ensuring your most used documents are scanned immediately is an efficient way to keep costs to a minimum.

To ensure your business gains maximum benefit from scanning, it is essential 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.

Lastly, you will need to spend time considering how and where you will store paperwork once it it has been digitised. A number of different 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.