Steve Breault, CEO & Founder, Vircosoft

Efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery and high productivity has been the major concern for many businesses these days. Every effort is put in place to ensure that this is achieved. In respect of this, business leaders have developed several ways in which they can create an effective office operation. Emergence of paperless office environment has been adopted by modern businesses courtesy of advanced technology that is causing change in all areas. This article aims at helping the reader understand how offices are running without the use of papers.

Paperless office environment can be described as the workplace that does not rely on papers in its operations. It may be where the use of papers is avoided or reduced greatly. This is where the use of filing cabinet and other filing facilities is eliminated and replaced with automated documents imaging. All the office information is computerized and is retrieved whenever it is needed. This has brought about numerous merits in terms of efficient delivery of services as well as increasing productivity in an organization.

Automated documents imaging is common in modern office environment. This is where documents are scanned and stored automatically in electronic form. This allows easy retrieval and sharing of the information stored in different offices thus improves the way things are done. There are several advantages that accrue to the adoption of digital offices which are discussed later in this article.

Paperless workplace is economical compared to traditional offices where a lot of money is spent on papers. Once the automated documentation software is installed, all the relevant office information is stored in computers. When the same is needed, it is retrieved and can be updated or shared among individuals within the office. This eliminates the cost incurred in maintaining physical filing system and purchasing filing cabinets. This has been seen as cost reduction measures thus enhancing profitability of the business.

By adopting paperless working environment, the space is highly utilized. This is because the office will need the desk, seat and the computer system. The small office is able to handle volume of tasks with ease. The use of many files, cabinets, printers and papers is reduced if not eliminated totally. This spares a space thus making the office neat and tidy. This has had a positive impact on the productivity of the employees within the organization.

The tradition methods of storing documents may be risky and unsafe. Many cases have been reported where sensitive information is destroyed either by fire or any other disaster. By adopting automated documents imaging, documents are safely stored and protected by use of passwords and effective back up systems. This has greatly improved the level of service delivery in an organization.

Paperless office is eco friendly and enhances the preservation of clean and habitable environment. Proponents of green revolution have backed the campaign for all the businesses to adopt paperless offices.

Total elimination of paperwork may not be realized since there are some of the sectors that demand physical documentation. However, with the current economic hardship that faces businesses, the adoption of paperless office has been viewed as the solution to many challenges encountered before emergence of digital technology.

Steve Breault, CEO & Founder, Vircosoft

For companies that have thousands of documents and files, whether it is a doctors office, or any other business that deals with various customers, accounts, and internal document work, the use of document indexing software is the ideal option to go with. Not only will this save time for the employees and front office staff who manually index the documents, but it is also going to save money for the company if a top notch document indexing software package is chosen, due to the fact that employees can focus their attention on other tasks that have to get done each day.

In businesses where various documents are added to client files each day, or where new merchandise comes in and has to be filed in to a particular account, the use of document indexing software will automatically do the updating for your business. Where in the past an employee had to pull down the folder, get the client information, and manually input the new information and documents in to their file and account, if the company employs the right document indexing software, this is no longer going to be the case. As soon as the document is inputted in to the system, the software will do the work, and will automatically input the information in to a client account, or in to the information about a particular product type.

By cutting back on the manpower that was required to do this work in the past, when a business chooses the most reliable document indexing software, they can cut back on staff. This is going to save on the cost of employee pay, and it is going to make the office more efficient, as only the most productive workers are going to be on hand, and will be working on other projects which were pushed aside in the past. The daily tasks in the office will also go by much more uniformly when document indexing software is employed in to the day to day business structure. Since employees are going to know their role, they are going to be able to pay more attention to customers, offer better customer care, and perform other tasks that have to get done in the office each day, rather than have to worry about setting aside time to file documents at the end of each business day.

Not only can staff get cut, but time is also going to be saved when the top document indexing software is put in to use at any business infrastructure. Employees can do other important work, the work and documents will automatically update themselves, and the clients are going to find much better customer care and satisfaction, as workers can focus their time on dealing with other issues. So, rather than do it the old way, choosing the top document indexing software on the market is something all business structures should consider, in order to cut costs, save time, and make the entire office structure more streamlined in their daily tasks.

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

Document indexing is the process of adding tags and marks to documents. These tags and marks are then stored in an index and used when someone wants to search for a document. Document indexing is normally used by engines to help retrieve information from different websites. It helps search engines to be fast in document retrieval. Document indexing can also be used by an organization which wants to optimize its filing system.

An organization which needs document indexing done automatically should use document indexing software for automation of the indexing process. There are many benefits which an organization can get from document indexing. Some of these benefits are discussed in detail below.

Faster retrieval of documents:

When the documents are indexed tags and marks are used to identify them. These tags are normally derived from the content in the documents and/or a short description used to describe the document. When a user searches the document index using a certain keyword the index quickly returns a list of documents with tags same as the searched keyword. Therefore a user can quickly select the document that he/she wants. Unlike document filing which requires a user to search the content of each file individually so as to find what he/she wants. There indexed documents are easily accessible.

Allows easy orientation for new employees:

When your organization recruits new employees you will need to familiarize them with the filing system and other aspects of the organization. With document indexing software the new employees will be quickly shown how to search for files in the organization. If you are using the old filing system for document organization then you need to go through the whole filing system so that the new employees can understand how to find files.

Faster Decision making:

In an organization decision making is normally made by using files which have important information about the organization. If the organization uses document indexing software they can quickly search through and find what need quickly enabling them to make faster decisions.

Increases efficiency and reduces running costs:

In organizations with indexed documents, document access speeds are highly increased. This makes the overall efficiency of the organization to increase especially when the organization deals with a large number of documents. When the efficiency of document retrieval is increased the running costs for document retrieval services is reduced. This is because you can employee fewer employees to do the document retrieval work.

Improved security of documents:

Tags can be used to represent security levels on documents. This can be used to restrict some users from accessing documents with certain tags. This greatly helps the organization to protect its organizational secrets.

Gaining a competitive advantage:

Many organizations do not use document indexing software. This makes their file retrieval system cumbersome. If your organization uses a document indexing and retrieval system you gain a competitive advantage. Better customer service and reduced cost are two examples.

Faster batch processing of documents:

Some documents have similar characteristics thereby they have similar tags. By using document indexing software you can quickly search through your documents and arrange them to be batch processed. Batch processing involves the manipulation of documents with similar characteristic in a queue. This also allows for faster and easy updating of documents.

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

There are a lot of misconceptions regarding the term ‘paperless office‘. Many believe that an office or work environment termed paperless will be literally devoid of any form of printed paper. Reality, though is somewhat different!

A paperless office should really be read as a less paper office. This term is more realistic in describing many offices and company’s today. People have been talking about achieving a paperless office since the 1970′s but in reality we are a long way from achieving the dream. Technology has developed at a fast rate and many innovations have reduced the need for everything to be recorded on paper but, as cutting edge as the new equipment is, it will never be able to completely eliminate the need for paper.

Not long ago everything had to be printed and stored in a hard copy. Now massive computer memories and new technology such as I-pads have reduced the need for printouts but many businesses will still eventually print a lot of information that they have stored on hard drives and the like. Despite the advantages in electronic storage many still need a tangible copy to refer to and many will often print out copies, ‘just in case.’

Paper use in business has dropped slightly for the last few years but there has also been an increase in the sales of household printer paper. Many companies will no longer print and forward an invoice, instead choosing to electronically invoice a customer in their attempt to move toward a paperless office only for the consumer to then print out the invoice for their own records.

In reality it will be nigh on impossible to achieve a completely paperless office. Recent studies completed by Hewlett-Packard have highlighted several reasons why paperless offices remain out of reach. Firstly, comprehension of information often results in documents being printed. Many find printed words on paper easier to understand than the same words on a monitor or screen. Secondly there will always be some ‘unenlightened’ staff members who refrain from using new technology to the height of its ability, again leading to more paper cluttering the office or workspace. Lastly, and on the same note, tradition will always hinder new beliefs. Many companies and businesses still feel better communicating with customers by using a traditional letter. Of course a copy of this letter needs to be kept and this is often achieved with a paper printed copy.

As more and more offices begin to see how using less paper may lead to reduced costs we will begin to see ‘less paper’ offices but it will be a long time before we see the two thousand year use of paper completely eliminated. Future generations who are more au fait with the use of electronic devices will grasp the benefits of hard drive mass storage but until the majority of people are enlightened offices will never be totally free of paper.

The move towards paperless offices is commendable but has yet to be achieved. Less paper offices are now the norm but it would be wrong to imagine a paperless office as a reality for now. In the near future, who knows?

Steve Breault, CEO & Founder, Vircosoft

Paperless office, as the name suggests, is just that, an office where no paper is used to store and communicate information and data. However, many offices are yet to achieve a complete 100% paperless environment. In fact, even after the arrival of computers and document management applications, the uses of papers has only increased and not decreased. There are various reasons behind it. The first is that most people still trust the paper more than the digital documents. Many have grown up with the paper documents and it is difficult for them to switch to computers that also requires going through some learning curve. However, the advantages of going paperless are too many to ignore.

Put simply, a paperless office environment is achieved in three ways. The first is to digitize existing paper documents by using document imaging and conversion options. The second step is to switch to using digital documents. It requires asking customers, clients, suppliers, resellers and employees to send, use and receive information and data only in digital format. The third option is to start using only the digital documents. It involves minimizing conversion of digital documents into paper documents. These three options are the basic and most effective methods to make an office achieve its goal of going paperless.

When it comes to the idea of a paperless office, many people only think of the advantage of an office that is clutter free. While that is a big advantage, there are other important benefits as well. A big advantage is that the business process speeds up and becomes more efficient and cost-effective. Documents can be stored and retrieved as and when needed. For example, a customer may enter the office and the deal may require fetching a document. Now, if the document has been kept in paper format then some time would be spent in searching the required document and fetching it from the storeroom. However, if the document was kept in digital format then it can be retrieved and viewed immediately with a few simple clicks. It is obvious, which option would be preferred and admired most by the customer.

Many business owners think that going paperless is expensive and risky. They think the job would involve hiring additional employees, hardware and software. They also believe that important documents must be kept on paper because documents stored in servers may get deleted. However, all these concerns are unfounded. It is especially clear from the success of companies that have gone paperless and in the process saved lots of money.

The fact is, in a paperless office, there is less need of employees and hardware. Documents can be stored, retrieved, edited and duplicated easily. A big advantage with the digital documents is that these documents can be sent and received immediately through the networked computers or Internet. The documents instantly become available to everyone across different locations and regions.

Documents are safer and more secure in a paperless office. The only thing is that each document must be backed up when it is received and after every instance of editing. This can be achieved easily by setting up a standard procedure for every employee. Initially, the cost of document imaging and document management software may seem expensive; however, when considered in the long term, digital documents are very cost-effective compared to the paper documents.

Steve Breault, CEO, Vircosoft

Electronic document management involves the storage of documents in digital form for ease of use and accessibility. Through document imaging, it is possible to automate an office environment through conversion of all hardcopy documents into more manageable digital formats such as pdf and others. Large volumes of hardcopy documents are not only hard to manage, but also consumes large office space. It is therefore evident that, planned document imaging plays an important role in improving office efficiency.

Ways through which planned document imaging program improves office efficiency.

* Improved document accessibility and security: digital documents can be kept in a document management system where they can be accessed quickly from any office computer if the documents are shared. This means that many matters or customers can be handled within a given time, thus increasing services efficiency. In addition, it can be defined who gains access to particular documents. Sensitive documents access may also be set to ask for authentication such as security passwords.

* Enhances automated processing: matching and merging capabilities enable different departments in a certain firm to populate fields automatically. In addition, there is software that can process scanned documents and get all the required information quickly. Also, when data is entered in a document management program, it is easy to carry out computations and analysis such as producing charts and graphs. Finally, automated processing eliminates human errors.

* Dependable file backup up: documents stored in a computer hard drive can be duplicated easily through a copy-pasting action. Other documents could be stored in removable storage devices like DVDs or external hard discs. In addition, documents can be stored in online repositories and be accessible anywhere in the world where internet is available. Having file backups eliminates inconveniences and delays caused by lost or damaged documents thus improving office efficiency.

* Enhances collaboration: multiple office workers can work on the same project from different computers. This
promotes team work and saves time; for instance, if a given worker only fills part A of a given document, while
another worker fills part B of the same document, the two could do it simultaneously. This saves time and builds a compact workforce thus improving the office efficiency.

* Improves external communication: with a well planned document imaging program, stored documents can be sent through emails and the required transactions carried out quickly. In addition, the general documents can be shared in a company’s website for interested users to download or preview.

* Increases office space: elimination of large files and filing cabinets saves office space and makes it look
tidy. In addition, rented file storage is also eliminated. Enough office space and a tidy look promote workers

freedom and ensure to proper air circulation thus making activities to run smoothly.

* Enhances Versioning:  Versioning refers to the ability to have different document versions depending on changes. This helps in work follow-ups and timely documentation. Record keeping and record management is every important in any office. The efficiency of processes in any office depends on the methods used. When modern good electronic document management programs are employed, things can be simplified. We can therefore comfortably conclude that, applying planned document imaging program improves office efficiency.

There are two ways to do this. The first is to keep the scanned copies of the original documents. The second is to convert the text matters printed on the papers into digital format. This not only makes it easy to retrieve the required information quickly but the data collected takes up minimum space on the servers. Images have to be scanned into image format and take up large server space. When the data present in the documents is converted into digital format, it becomes easier to retrieve, process and use the information and records. The required number of documents can be retrieved quickly as and when needed. This is simply not possible with paper documents that take up lots of space.

A company that relies on paper documents has to hire employees to handle the whole setup. The manual setup proves an inefficient method. It is difficult to store, process and retrieve documents. This problem simply does not exist when electronic document management system is used. Business owners interested in implementing document management system have to consider several things. The first is to be sure about the requirements. Different types of documents, such as invoices, bills, contracts and other documents are generated during the course of the business. These documents relate to sales, account, buying and selling. The document digitization goal must clearly identify how the documents must be stored. One should be sure about the techniques and processes that would be used to convert documents into digital format.

Developing an effective plan for document management is the most important thing. If documents are stored incorrectly under the wrong headings then it creates a big problem for the future. It is important to use document management software that is reliable, secure, and upgradable with all the required features. The business owner needs to be careful of using an application program that requires regular annual payment. The applications should be able to validate and upgrade over the Internet. It ensures that only the latest version of the software is used.

An important part is to plan the budget for the whole setup and process. In some cases, it may require hiring additional employees or temporary workers. They are needed to convert the paper documents into digital format. Initially, workers are needed if there are lots of documents that require scanning and handling. The document management setup is an integrated system that involves a combination of hardware, software, techniques and processes. Correct implementation of document management system speeds up the business process and makes the company more effective, efficient and economical. It becomes easier to authenticate, index and retrieve the required information with a few clicks.

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

Technological advancement has introduced a whole new technique for companies to carry out business activities and has played a crucial role in developing paperless offices. One of the best ways to create a paperless office is by using document management software which changes paper documents into digital files.

A good document management system provides an increase in productivity, reducing cost of document storage and saving on retrieval time. Document manager software is designed for both single and multiple users and is appropriate with your established business programs including Microsoft. Document management systems allow you to check, route and safely store records.

Some of the features of Document Management software include:

• A centralized electronic storage program containing details in any format that duplicates your current or new filling arrangement
• The freedom to search and access records by content or using the program structure which can be customized to your needs, to view documents multiple or single format.
• The ability to configure document protection by allocating users and groups to different levels of accessibility ideal to their needs and benefits.
• Easy access to information from off-site services anywhere anytime in the world

A paperless office in general provides your business with the following benefits:

• Less cost of printing, sending, distribution, and document storage
• An increase in your client support efficiency as buyer details is much simpler to locate
• The security of never ever losing documents again regardless of any circumstances.
• Updating documents information becomes so much easier because once a document is updated in the document management program all versions are immediately available to all who have access to the program.
• Paper use is decreased drastically so you can promote your company as an environmental friendly business.

One major benefit of investing in paperless office software is that it considerably lowers labor cost. In a standard installation, staff make use of paper to share information. This includes photocopying data, processing records and other related tasks. According to research, 40 to 60 percent of an employee’s time in the workplace is spent handling papers.

Investing in document management program will reduce company,s expenditures. If documents are changed into electronic copies, staff quickly access a needed document, thus making it possible for them to get more information with less time and achieve more task for any given day. Paperless program like Vircosoft’s VFiler easily manages all documents that have been digitalized through its program, so if one employee unintentionally removes an important document, the company does not have to go through great lengths just to find it; instead, programs like vFiler quickly creates backup for all documents hence no document can be lost.

Another big benefit is that companies can quickly send or transfer their documents to their companies various offices, so shipping costs are reduced. They may even choose to spread responsibilities to their staff located all around the world and benefit from lower labor rates in other regions.

So, whether a business is just starting out or is already well-established introducing a paperless office will help in reducing expenditure and generating more revenue. In the end, while traditional methods are hard to let go,  if they are turning out to be more expensive, then letting go for a more cost-effective but quicker method is clearly the better option.

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

The managing of documents in offices can be time-consuming and daunting.  According to studies, employees use a significant portion of their work hours just trying to scour through information that is already available within the organization.  This task includes searching, organizing, sorting, and creating and recreating documents that are sometimes redundant.  The manipulation of paper files or documents is actually contributing to an organization’s inefficiencies and is costing millions of dollars of wasted hours and productivity.  Using document management software can solve this issue.

A document management system (DMS) is a software that is utilized in storing and managing electronic documents and images of paper files or documents.  This software allows organizations to create a central database or repository of all forms of electronic and paper documents.  Listed below are advantages of using a Document Management Systems.

Reduced Storage – Scanning paper documents and integrating them into a DMS greatly reduces storage page within the organization.

Time and Money Savings – Sorting out documents and searching for them takes time.  Using DMS reduces the costs associated with the storage of hardcopy documents including the cost of paper, printing, and archiving.
Flexible Retrieval – Retrieving hard copy documents takes time.  Through DMS, electronic images of documents are created and stored centrally.  A lesser amount of time is spent in locating documents as this task can be done even without leaving your desk.  Access to documents through DMS can be over the internet on the company’s intranet.

Documents Security – Provide controlled access to your documents and folders.  DMS can protect these files from being accessed or modified by unauthorized personnel or potential intruders.  Access of the documents can be set on a user and password-based access and access rights can be assigned for both users and groups at the folder and/or document level.  The use of DMS for the documents is way more secure that filing them in traditional file cabinets.  Also, DMS has audit trail feature where you can view who last used the item and when.  Obviously with the hard copy files, this is difficult to track.

Disaster Recovery – A document management system provides a convenient way of creating back-up documents for offsite storage and disaster recovery.  Backing up documents the traditional way through paper is bulky and expensive.  Also, it is prone to damage and vulnerable to flood, fire and theft.
No Lost Files – When paper documents are lost, it can be expensive and time-consuming to replace them.  With DMS, image files of the documents remain stored when being viewed thus, it is never lost or misplaced.  A full-text searching mechanism is a very useful feature of DMS which makes storing, finding and moving documents very easy.

Improved Regulatory Compliance – Comply with government regulations such as SOX (Sarbanes Oxley),  Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA),  Food Safety Modernization Act, ISO, Medical device manufacturing (FDA), Healthcare (JCAHO), and Information technology (ITIL).  Your documents  which could include policy statements, workflow, procedures, and many other pertinent organizational documents should provide evidence of control.  Failing to conform with this may mean legal repercussions including fines.  DMS offers a combination of security control, audit trails, efficient archiving system and disaster recovery to guarantee that an organization can authenticate the validity of information stored in the system and demonstrate strict adherence to regulatory standards and requirements.

All in all, the use of Document Management Software in an organization or a business brings even more benefits other than the ones mentioned above.  DMS can further improve internal operations and enhance customer service and satisfaction while bringing a competive edge to the business.

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

Many owners and managers of small and mid-sized businesses think that digital document management solution is for  larger corporations or enterprise sized businesses when in fact, small businesses around the world have begun to deploy document management software into their business operations because the costs have gone down drastically. It is no longer as expensive as it used to be for you to now manage your business documents electronically and have to deal with less paper files while your business runs optimally.

There is no doubt that people all over the world are seeing the benefits of running a paperless office with efficient business document management though a slight learning curve might be experienced depending on your employees’ capability to use the computer systems and the brand of digital document solution being deployed. While some electronic document filing solution will be easier for employees to use than other brands, once your staff gets accustomed to filing and managing your business documents by using computer applications, it will soon be evident to you the height to which document management software will help your business attain through efficiency and optimum employee productivity. Here are some benefits a document management solution will help you achieve:

Easy filing and retrieval of your business documents. Filing your business documents digitally will help you maximize the processes involved with the retrieval and management of files greatly. For example, you could search for documents based on keywords or certain phrases and get your desired results within seconds, whereas such search could have taken hours before. Instant retrieval of documents is possible because when you scan and convert your business files, you can apply optical character recognition which will make it possible for your documents to be searchable based on text content so that searches based on keywords or phrases will return all relevant results to your search query instantly.

Reduced cost for paper management while increasing employee productivity: Since time is more valuable in this modern business age than ever, integrating business document management software in your business setup will help your employees to do more in as little time as possible and hence improve their capacity to concentrate more on tasks that matters most to the growth and profitability of your business. Once efficiency is achieved in running your business, it should save you on costs of doing business while also helping your business to grow in a way that could be difficult to calculate.

Electric document management will make your employees happier and satisfied with doing their work: Document management solution helps employees to speed up their work and employees that accomplish much more in a relatively little amount of time are bound to be happier doing their job. With more productivity and on-the-job improved performance, your team can earn more incentives linked to productivity and business growth and increase their job satisfaction and commitment to the goals of your business. Digital document management software is a win-win for all businesses and their employees.