Posts Tagged ‘document capture software’

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

Business document management software is a tool that saves time, money, and guarantees operational efficiency when installed in the setup of a business or an organization.

There is no doubt that running a business or an organization based on paperwork and file cabinets significantly reduces productivity and increases the costs of doing business in a wide range of processes of which labor costs is substantial.

Document management software permits you to capture, archive, store, and access your business information online. Once the deployment of business document management is accomplished in your business setup, you can access your business information from anywhere, securely and when you need it. Other major benefits of the electronic document software include ease of compliance with regulatory requirements where applicable and disaster recovery support which should give you confidence when it comes to critical documents.

Besides the basic functions of capturing, archiving, storing, and the ease of access to your online documents, business document management software does a lot more in a business or an organization some of which are stated as follows:

Document management software will ease your business inter-departmental approvals and improve customer care: With electronic document management, staff members’ ability to get urgent inter-departmental approvals comes with ease in a record time. This is because this electronic document solution creates a more streamed-lined and functional system for sharing business documents across the departments of a company which helps to improve customer care. Here is a scenario that explains this better:  If a client places a call to the Customer Care Department of your company where the document management software has been installed with a request for a refund, the Customer Care Officials will surely access the document online with ease within seconds. If after discussing with this client the Customer Care Officials proceeded to make a refund, the relevant document can be forwarded to the Billing Department within a record time so that the client gets a refund almost instantly.

Business document management solution improves the operations of a company’s accounting department: In an attempt to ensure a high level of success and return on investment, many businesses have chosen to start their electronic document management software deployment in the accounting department. Typically, document management system can create extreme evident efficiencies within an entire traditional business organization that has a pattern of conventional processes involving paperwork like the purchase order in requisition process of product or service procurement applications through the approval stages to the level of obtaining checks for payment by a bank. In this type of system, delays are bound to occur at some points in the approval process due to the non-availability of one or more of the managers or executives involved.

However, once the electronic document solution is installed in this company’s corporate network, the whole process can be completed in a record time with a single entry of information needed by the requestor and distributed to all managers concerned electronically. The concerned parties can be notified automatically about the arrival of a new document in their mailboxes waiting for their review and action after which the requisition is relayed directly to the purchasing unit while the entire procedure is done speedily and efficiently.

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

Business document management software is a perfect fit for all kinds of businesses; small and mid-sized companies inclusive. As a perfect fit, document management software has come to replace the file cabinets so perfectly and even much more with many benefits over and above the file cabinets. For example, document management software fits into the doctors ‘offices and relieves the offices of many paper based files and at the same time preserve the medical diagnostic  files online to meet regulatory requirements. Business document management application does a similar thing to the lawyer’s office and makes it free of all the old case files while the documents will continue to be legally and properly kept electronically.

The amount of floor space paper documents and file cabinets occupy and the time and human power spent in filing and retrieving documents the traditional way constitute the biggest headaches of businesses. Therefore, business document management can go far to ease every known documents storage headaches for all professionals including doctors and lawyers and therefore boost their efficiency.

The reasons you should dump the file cabinets for document management software includes the followings:

1.      It is often difficult to retrieve the documents if you are not on site or if the person who does the filing is away from your office. With the document management software, you can have access to your documents at anywhere real time with no confusion because the files will all be indexed and stored.

2.      Business document management will help you avoid jinx of any sort that sometimes occur when you have to locate important files urgently. No matter the quantity of your data base, you will never lose any file once you deploy the electronic document management solutions.

3.      You gain the time needed to re-file a document after use into a file cabinet when you deploy the document management application.

Now, here are some of the numerous benefits of using the document management in your organization.

Capacity to import: Good business document management software will enable you to import your file into where you would be able to organize and then store it where you wish to for easy retrieval.

Common storage: You can store all of your documents together according to your choice regardless of origin and file type. So, all drawings, correspondences, e-mails, images, MS office files, and other kinds of files can be stored together.

Ease of Retrieval: The rate at which you are able to find any document stored with the aid of the document management software determines how good the electronic file storage is. Within seconds, any document can be found when you deploy the document management system simply by using search terms which may be in full or in part.

Permits editing of files: Documents store online with the aid of the document management software can be edited at will by you or whoever you authorise to do so.

Improvement in automation and efficiency: The business document software guarantees the efficiency of your business operation and in fact, it allows automation so that things you were doing on paper before can now be done in a more efficient way. The security of your documents is guaranteed so that you alone can determine who should have access to your documents.

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

Document management software (DMS) is a computer- based application that captures, process, does document indexing, stores the file, aids easy retrieval, and distributes or even disposes of the document. This document which could be in any form is automatically stored online by the business document management software and it is protected from unauthorised access by the most sophisticated firewall security system.

DMS eliminates obstacles and reduces cost of doing business: The adoption of business document management software in a business removes most of the costs and obstacles associated with and created by the use of paper and file cabinets. The intensive labor costs due to paper duplication procedures, the effects of slow distribution of documents, the problem of misplaced originals and the near difficulty of retrieving files from off-site file cabinets are all completely eliminated when the document management software is adapted into a business set-up.

Experienced management experts have said that the methods of reducing or cutting business labor costs include the application of technology and by streamlining the processes of a business. When labour intensive jobs like manual document filings are replaced with technology, labour costs reduces considerably.

It is true that computers and the appropriate computer software applications can easily automate most normal tasks and eliminate errors. Good computer-based software ensures a hassle free, impartial, and orderly manner of meeting specific needs without any element of confusion. Electronic document management software has been declared to have a better accuracy of filing documents than the manual approach to filing documents.

DMS automates document filing and lowers labor costs: From experience, document filing is much of a chore. You have to always decide how to file a document, where to file the document, the location and the right sequence for the document. Besides, while filing the document you have to consider the ease of locating it when it is needed again. The labor costs involved in doing all these manual filing and retriever processes can add-up so quickly so that electronic filing is the way to go.

Let us assume that it takes an average of five minutes for an employee who earns $20 per hour to search for and locate a needed document in a file cabinet, retrieve the information needed from the document, replace it and walk back to her seat. If she needed to take the file with her to get more information, we should expect that the time taken would be longer than five minutes!

If this employee handles not more than five files a day, this translates to about 108 hours spent a year filing documents. In monetary terms, this translates to about $2,166 a year at $20 per hour. If the number of files handled per day increases to ten, the labor cost becomes $4,333 for just one employee who does document filing in your business organization. That labor costs could have been eliminated if computer based business management system is deployed where every employee that needs a file would get it on the computer within seconds without having to even stand up from their chairs.

This system of filing also eliminates the costs of recreating lost documents and it makes business operation effective and efficient.

Steve Breault “DocMeister”

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

Business document management software is a document filing system solution for your paperwork files that works just like your preferred Internet search engine in efficiency whenever you need to retrieve your files. Hence, it replaces the file cabinets and makes your business document management system more reliable and efficient. 

Benefits of Using Document Management Software: Document management system is a very powerful and yet it is an easy to use computerised file indexing system that guarantees to completely transform the relationship you and your employees have with your file cabinets. When this filing system is in operation in a business organization, it eliminate the costs associated with recreating lost documents when such documents get lost in transit due to the use of physical file cabinets. 

When you deploy the business document management software in your business enterprise, it removes the huge hidden cost that has to do with managing the paperwork in your office. Think of it, dealing with office cabinet filing system is a chore on its own that requires a decision on where to file the document, the sequential location of the file and how to quickly retrieve the file when needed. Much of that requires time and labour and the labour costs involved can be very substantial on the long run.

Good business document management software should be very easy to understand and use by whoever needs to access and make use of the records. The twin challenges of how to store the documents and recognizing the location where the records were stored will be solved once the document management software is deployed in an office. Whatever the nature of a business, good electronic file management software offers a great deal of adaptability, user friendliness and file storage efficiency.

How to Choose the Right Document Software: Now, if your company has employees on its payroll who spend a great deal of their time on daily basis at work on filing or retrieving documents using file cabinets, or your business has been spending a lot of money monthly on warehousing old paper documents, then it may be in order to consider finding out about how to choose the right electronic document management software solution for your business.

Here are some tips you can use to investigate and select the appropriate document management software solution for your business from the numerous applications available on the market today and hence save yourself from frustration.

1.      Understand what content is involved in your business documents and how your process works. This step is needed to choose the software technology that will improve your business processes the most.

2.      Choose a system support personnel who would be responsible for evaluating the potential electronic document management solution.

3.      Create a template for the required applications that are specific to your business needs.

4.      Use the following tips to evaluate potential document management vendors:

i.                 Find out the background of the company.

ii.                Find out if their products comply with the standard expected in the industry.

iii.               You may want to know the market share of the product.

iv.               Obtain and verify references.

v.                Ask questions about the financial strength of the company.

You may conclude your selection process with asking about the experience of the vendor regarding the product and its implementation and thereafter choose a system.

Steve Breault “DocMeister” 

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

In times past, businesses relied heavily on paper document filing systems and file cabinets to file and also to retrieve their documents when they choose to. However, times have changed and file cabinets are quickly becoming obsolete giving way to electronic business document management with the application of document management software. 

There are many benefits associated with the use of electronic business document management over the old fashioned paper documentation systems which use the file cabinets.  File cabinet document filing system requires more and more physical space with increase in the quantity of paper documents available for filing while electronic system requires just the bits and bytes of your computer and the electronic filing software for filing your business documents after scanning which will not compete with your employees for space.

The world is gradually going green in factually all things and lovers of the environmentally green concepts have argued in defence of the preservation of trees from which tens of thousands of sheets of papers were made for writing, office and contract documentation purposes. Think of it, when sheets of papers are discarded they turn into methane gas by chemical means which when burnt makes the environment unsafe for human habitation. However, by making use of the document management software process to file your business documents, you would through your business help to protect the forests and also help to protect the environment and keep it safe for human habitation.

The process of accessing and retrieving your data is another very important benefit of electronic business document management. It is much easier when compared to working with and filling paper documents. When more than one employee needs to work with a paper document, there is always the need to make copies of that document for easy accessibility by every employee concerned but with the use of document management software, the need to make copies becomes eliminated as employees authorised to have access to any document stored online can do so at any point in time and at the same time in different locations real time.

The security of your business documents are better guaranteed with electronic storage of files as most common business document management software available make use of the most reliable firewall technology security systems to protect your documents at all times and yet you are allowed the ease of access any time without any encumbrance from the security features since you and any other employees authorised by you will be given free access. In fact, your employees may also be restricted to the level of access you want them to have to your business documents once they have been scanned and stored with the aid of the document management software.

It is sure that the need to file business documents will always remain with us though methods of filing or managing information may change. It is then necessary to endeavour to go with the evolving trend in information management and the way to go when it comes to electronic document filing is the use of the business document management software.

Steve Breault “DocMeister”

Steve Breault, Vircosoft Founder / CEO

In today’s dynamic business world, there are a lot of expectations from a company in terms of administration and services offered. A company today is expected to offer world class services to its clients, increase profitability and keep costs to a minimum, all at the same time. Balancing these expectations is a huge task for a company, no matter what its size. In such a scenario document management software can be of great help as it offers a multitude of features that can be used for streamlining the document processing system.

Business document management can help resolve critical problems that an organization faces on a daily basis. Document management software enables an effective way of processing and distributing information throughout your organization. For instance, a digital documentation system eliminates many limitations of a paper based system such as misplaced original documents, inconvenience of retrieval from a remote location and slow distribution.

Apart from this, document management software has several features that make it possible to manage millions of documents and retrieve them within seconds. Being computer based, such a system also makes it easier to share and distribute documents through email, fax and other file sharing systems. Remote access also makes it possible to search and retrieve documents instantly while traveling or when in a meeting away from the office. Digital documents can also be backed up easily, making it easy to recover documents. 

Choosing the right business document management system specific to your business requirements is extremely important. Following are the key features that you must look for when selecting a document management system: 

Automatic data capture to incorporate documents into the system: The three critical features you must look for is scanning, import and conversion of electronic documents. Scanning allows you to convert paper documents into their digital version, which can then be stored on a computer. The indexing feature enables systematic storage of scanned documents which can be easily retrieved. Apart from this, a document management system allows you to import electronic files such as text, images, audio and video, and supports a variety of formats. Other files formats such as word documents and spreadsheets can also be converted into PDF and TIFF files and imported into a document management system. 

Storage and archiving: Document management software offers easy storage, backup and retrieval system. Storage is a major hassle with paper based system, both in terms of space occupied and safety. On the other hand, a digital document is much easier to manage and store. For instance, copying an electronic document onto a storage medium such as a hard disk or CD is much easier compared to creating paper copies. Similarly, a virtual repository is easier to manage compared to a physical one, both from security and location points of view. 

Sharing and distribution: Sharing of paper document is always prone to risks such as loss of document or accidental misplacement. Instances of time wasted looking for misplaced documents and recreating originals are many. A document management system can be accessed over a network, making it easier for you to share important documents. Employees need not pass a document from desk to desk or wait for a colleague to finish his work before he can access the file. With document management system it is possible for multiple users to access the same file at the same time. Similarly, electronic documents can be easily distributed through a network, fax, email, and so on.

Security: This is again a very big concern in paper documents. Not only are paper files prone to misplacement, they are also vulnerable to theft and physical damage. Although digital documents too are susceptible to physical damage, the easy backup and recovery eliminates this problem very effectively. Apart from this, the access control system in document management software allows only authorized personnel to access the files. Similarly, different levels of security can be set up depending on the requirement. For instance, a file may be read-only for a department, whereas modification or update rights can be given to higher management or others as needed. 

There are many more benefits offered by a business document management system that helps create a more systematic approach to document processing. With the right solution for your office you can not only dedicate your staff towards achieving your business goals, but also empower them to make informed decisions. 

Steve Breault “DocMeister”

Every organization strives to grow in terms of profit, revenue, consumer base and geographic or global presence. However, an organization can achieve its business goals only if the growth is managed carefully. For instance, a company growing at a fast rate may not be able to handle increased workload or capital costs successfully. Modern technology such as automatic data capture incorporated using optical character recognition is aimed at helping small, medium and large companies increase productivity and profitability.

The very first image scanner was developed and built in 1957. Earlier image scanners consisted of a single photo detector along with a rotating drum. Image scanners have undergone a variety of changes in terms of their size, quality and speed. With technological advancements image scanners now come in compact format and can be easily placed on your desktop. Apart from this, modern image scanners can be easily integrated with document management software to capture and store data automatically.

As your business grows, the number and types of documents handled by your company will also increase. Imagine a situation where your office receives thousands of invoices and remittances per month. Even if the entire system of documentation is computerized, there may be instances where managing data can become problematic. For example, a customer paying multiple invoices with one check can complicate document processing. In fact, this would involve manual entering of the amounts against each invoice. One small error can lead to repeat work, wasting precious time and effort. This will also reflect on the productivity of your company and seriously hamper its growth prospect.

Document management software coupled with technologies such as optical character recognition (OCR) helps simplify document processing. OCR software is an artificial intelligence system able to recognize, scan and store sequences of characters or lines. The characters are scanned, checked against a database and relevant information is stored for later use or forwarded for further processing. Automatic data capture using OCR and other such technologies can be of tremendous help to organizations that receive large number of documents on daily basis.

Every office has a document management system in some crude form or other. For instance, there may be some naming convention in place so a particular type of document or information can be easily searched in the computer. Similarly, your computer systems may have different folders for different types of documents, aimed at easy search and retrieval. However, how many times has an employee accidentally deleted a folder or forgotten where a certain information has been stored. It may also happen that a document has been stored in the wrong folder, resulting in unnecessary search or recreation of the document. Document management software greatly reduces such errors by automating the entire data processing system.

A document management system can be programmed for automatic data capture to scan and store data in certain format and location. The data is indexed so it can be easily retrieved whenever required. Such a system usually has a document feeder that feeds paper documents into the scanner. The document scanner then captures required information and stores it on the computer in a systematic manner. This stored data can be easily backed up reducing the time wasted in searching or recreating deleted or lost information.

Both information and time is of great importance in the success of any organization. Document management software provides a combination of different solutions with the sole aim of leveraging the process of document creation and retrieval. Such a system helps provide accurate information in a timely manner, thus increases productivity and helps manage growth effectively.

Steve Breault “DocMeister”

Computer technology was incorporated by many companies and organizations throughout the world as a means to automate information management processes. However, many still continue using paper based documents for a variety of reasons. For instance, many companies receive documents in paper format or have important archived documents in paper format. Even if receiving paper documents cannot be helped, filing, storing and sharing of such documents has to be done manually. This turns out to be quite inefficient, unsustainable and costly, compared to an automated system using document management software.

Many enterprises do not realize the loss they incur when handling physical documents. The loss of time and human resources in manual processing of documents is rather staggering. Apart from this, carelessness when handling critical documents, albeit unintentional, can prove to be disastrous for your business. Any organization can take care of common hazards and errors encountered while processing important documents, simply by adopting an electronic documentation system. Document management systems come with automatic data capture feature that can be programmed to scan and store data systematically. By doing this a well-organized approach can be incorporated to create, update, change, store, search and retrieve important information.

Some important features of document management software include:

Import document: The performance, usability and sustainability of a document management system entirely depends on how quickly and efficiently documents in different formats, from wide range of sources, can be imported into the system. Automatic data capture is one of the most important features of a document management system. The entire purpose of automatic capture of information is to reduce manual work and resulting errors.

Automatic filing: The document management system can be easily automated to capture and organize data, so that every document is saved in the right place. Document management software offers a variety of methods of integrating index data obtained from different sources such as databases, text files, address books and forms. Some of the methods are standard to all software while others can be customized depending on the requirements of your business.

Integrated system: A document management system offers an integrated platform to manage both paper and electronic documents. For instance, your office may receive invoices in both paper and electronic format. The document management system can be used to extract information from both types of documents and process it as required by company policy.

Disaster recovery: This is again an important part of electronic document management system. Though most companies find it easier to handle paper documents simply because they are used to it, paper is vulnerable to errors and hazards. For instance, a paper document can get completely destroyed in a fire or misplaced when passing from desk to desk. On the other hand, electronic documents can be easily stored, backed up and retrieved.

Apart from the benefits it offers in terms of document processing, document management software also helps cut costs. On an average, a company spends $20 per hour in searching for misplaced or non-existent files. Similarly, many man-hours are wasted in recreating lost documents. Using automatic data capture you can reduce manual handling of paper documents. Along with this, the information now in electronic format can be easily shared and backed up, reducing the hazard of losing or recreating documents.

Photocopying and printing paper documents are again costly, and this is greatly reduced when you use digital document management system. Apart from this, you no longer require bulky filing cabinets eating up your office space. Every piece of information in your paper files can be imported onto your computer system and organized using document management system. This reduces the need for physical storage space, both inside and outside the office.

Demand for information can come from many sources including upper management and regulatory authorities. Keeping control of proliferating paper and electronic documents can become quite a hassle, especially when making critical decisions for your business. With document management software you can take care of all your document processing needs and ensure consistency in work, thus achieving your business goals.

Steve Breault “DocMeister”

In today’s dynamic business environment, the need for technology to increase productivity and profitability cannot be emphasized enough. When computers were first introduced as a means to automate various business processes, technology was seen as something that would streamline the workflow and reduce or completely remove the need for paper. The dream of paperless office is yet to be realized by many businesses throughout the world. However, document management software comes as a solution that can clear up cluttered offices and create a better working environment.

Searching for important documents is one of the most time-consuming activities that employees carry out, no matter what the organization or type of business. Ample amount of research and surveys have shown that an organization with a strength of about 1000 workers wastes close to $2.5-$3 million per year simply searching for documents that do not exist or recreating lost documents. Professionals spend more than 50% of their time searching for information, both on computer and paper files. On an average, $20 is spent per document, for searching as well as recreating. Whether your business is large or small, you can imagine the impact this can have on your ROI.

Document management software is one solution that can benefit your business tremendously. In fact, most organizations use business document management in some crude form or the other. For instance, many professionals try to organize the data on their computer by saving it in different folders. So they may have different folders named Invoices, Images, Audio Clips, Presentations, Order Form, and so on, created with a view to manage document better. Though such a system may work well for one person or even for a team with 10-15 people, it becomes difficult to maintain when there are many departments involved.

Although going from paper to an electronic system for recordkeeping is a step in the right direction, complete automation cannot be achieved unless every paper in the office has been converted in the digital format. With the data capture facility available in document management software, you can convert every file in your office into an electronic file and simply do away with the filing cabinets. Once everything is on your computer, not only is your office less cluttered, electronic records are also easier to manage. You need not rummage through a file cabinet looking for files anymore. Simply type in the keywords for your files and it will be retrieved by the document management system.

Apart from being easy to manage, electronic data is also easy to update, modify, share and distribute. This can be achieved by setting up a centralized document management system for your entire office. Once your office is connected through a network, it will be easier to streamline the flow of information between various sections. For instance, a document goes through several phases during its life cycle, from creation to storage or deletion. With thousands of documents to handle every day, business document management system helps organize and simplify the process.

Records or data or information is no longer needed just for internal functioning of an organization. It has now become one of the critical and strategic aspects of a business. Most businesses today are required to share their progress and change in business dealings with various parties including shareholders, clients and customers. With a professional document management system, correct information is available at the right time and your business is definitely headed for success.

Steve Breault “DocMeister”

Records management has gained importance in the past few years, especially in view of regulatory compliance introduced by the government. Legal, financial and government organizations are always required to maintain proper records by virtue of their role and task, and have been known to be meticulous with information management. On the other hand, general recordkeeping with corporate and other private entities was not standardized, which is why regulatory norms such as HIPAA have been formulated. In view of this, document management software is something your organization will surely require at some point in time.

Computer systems and digital document management came as something that ‘can be’ used rather than ‘should be’ used. However, with the regulatory compliance issues, recordkeeping and information management requirements have changed. For instance, as per different regulations, any type of information should be accessible, classified appropriately and easily retrievable, whenever needed. Apart from this, no part of any information should be modified without prior permission or authorization. Some ways in which document management can help in recordkeeping are:

Capture records: Records may be in different formats such as documents, blueprints, audio files, photographs, databases and maps. The automatic data capture feature of document management software scans and registers a record using a unique ID along with the time and date when the document was added into the system. Along with this it also captures metadata details such as author, purpose of creation, source and so on.

Audit requirements: Companies are often required to maintain a record of flow of information through different departments. A digital document management system helps keep track of all the processes pertaining to a document. These may include creation, modification, updation, access and distribution of documents. For instance, at any point you can check who accessed which document and with whom was it shared.

Security and control: The main purpose of recordkeeping is that the information should be available whenever needed, making security a top priority. Apart from this, many establishments also look for solutions to problems such as loss of documents, accidental deletion and so on. With document management software you can monitor and control access to various records. For instance, you can have privacy settings such that documents are available on to those departments that need them, while others can only view and read them.

Automate retention and destruction of records: Not all records will be required for long term usage and some may be deleted after a certain period of time. With document management software you can automate the process of storing important records and deleting redundant ones. For instance, once a file has been converted into a new format, those in older formats will not be required anymore and can be deleted.

Store and preserve records: Risk management is one of the most important aspects of recordkeeping. With document management software you can easily backup all types of data for long term use. Apart from this, you can also migrate records to a newer system of hardware and software whenever needed, without loss of critical information.

Records are maintained by different establishments for various purposes ranging from administration and technical reporting to organizational policy. Most businesses require information management for functional purpose such as evidence of work done. A well-organized document management system will surely enable and support your organization’s vision and mission.

Steve Breault “DocMeister”