We talk to people every day who have realized the time has come to “Go Paperless.” Maybe a document has been lost resulting in a financial loss, or file cabinets are taking over office space, or customers wait for call backs while customer service searches for documents, or people in branch offices have to send documents to the head office every day. Whatever the reason, and there are many more, business owners and managers are looking to reduce operational bottlenecks caused by outdated methods of storing and retrieving documents. What seems on the surface to be a pretty simple concept – convert paper to images and keep them on a computer – can become a challenge without taking time to put together a plan.
Think beyond the scanning issue. While scanning is important, the real issue is where to put the documents and how do people access them. Most companies today have file cabinets containing paper files, shared hard drives with documents and other company information, and PC’s containing documents stored by individuals. By consolidating these documents into a centralized Document Management Software (DMS) system, you have the ability to put documents at the fingertips of the right people at the right time.
The key to implementing a successful document management system is to have a well thought out plan. Cabinet NG recently published a “Guide to Going Paperless” which will help you develop such a plan. It is located on Cabinet NG’s website at: http://www.cabinetng.com/alt/Guide_to_Paperless_homepage.php .
