In all likelihood, you work in an office that has everything to be expected—a water cooler, desks, snacks, maybe even a few bean bag chairs. However, you probably also have a large filing cabinet (maybe even multiple filing cabinets) collecting dust in a supply closet, or worse, taking up valuable floor space in the middle of your office. If you don’t work in an office, odds are you’re one of the many workers who shifted to a WFH model in recent years, which means you don’t have access to all of those dusty filing cabinets back in the office.
Even though document scanning and information management technology has advanced to the point where organizations can operate completely paperless, filing cabinets are still prevalent in offices around the country. How can that be?
Physical document organization cabinets, filing cabinets for short, were once all the rave. They were viewed as a critical tool that made business management possible. Now, however, they are seen as a necessary evil which only exists because the number of documents stored within has amassed to a point where there is no option but to keep using the traditional method. Auto dealers, doctor and dental offices, hospitals, insurance companies, and financial institutions are a few examples of the many types of businesses that tend to have whole rooms and even designated staff dedicated to managing the contents of these metal behemoths.
It is more than a daily chore for those tasked with finding, replacing, and organizing documents in filing cabinets. Even while using colored tabs and other widgets, managing a filing cabinet can be a difficult undertaking, especially when everyone in the office has access. People borrow files and forget to put them back or return them to the wrong folder. This creates headaches and confusion for coworkers who need that same file later on and wastes time for everyone involved. Luckily, for those who want to go green and eliminate their paper flow but don’t have the staff or time to handle such an operation, there is a solution.
Outsourced scanning services have been the growing norm since the launch of digital scanners. With the rapid rise of hybrid and remote working models, the document scanning and digitization industry has seen a huge increase in demand, further normalizing these services.
Document scanning service providers will have facilities equipped with extremely fast and accurate industrial digital scanners capable of handling massive volumes of paper documents. Outsourcing a document scanning project is typically very simple. All you need to do is ship your documents to the expert’s facility, inform your consultant of any specific needs or project delivery requirements, and wait to receive the results.
There are many different advantages to using an outsourced document scanning specialist rather than diverting the time and resources to completing a document conversion project in-house.
The extensive process of unearthing, organizing, and liquidating documents within a cabinet that’s required when an organization uses paper filing can be incredibly extensive. Scanning and converting your files to a digital format removes the need for that administrative role and therefore reduces overhead costs. With all the files easily accessible on your network, there’s no need for filing administration anymore.
Documents that are scanned to the cloud mitigate risk in the event of a disaster. Whether by a fire, flooding, hurricane, or another catastrophe, if the building is damaged, chances are that the paper in storage is as well. Digital documents can be backed-up and cached in the cloud, making it easy to recover files and ensuring your company doesn’t lose valuable data because of external circumstances.
Many companies consider hiring a temp or an intern to champion scanning and cataloging stored documents. Regrettably, temps and interns are not turn-key. They require onboarding and need to learn how to use your hardware, software, develop a streamlined process, and keep track of progress without a hitch. If they make mistakes, you pay to correct them, either in additional financial resources, or with your job.
Overhead costs and equipment depreciation are another problem. If a machine were to break down or stop working, the entire document conversion project could be put on hold until a broken device is serviced or replaced. Either way, your company is responsible for eating those unforeseen costs. An outsourced document scanning company has the equipment, expertise, and experience needed to eliminate common roadblocks encountered during a document digitization project.
Having the right tools available and at the ready is also critical to undertaking a digitization project. For those who are dentists or practitioners, you likely have X-rays or other unique documents which cannot be digitized while using a standard scanner. An unusual and often expensive purchase, such as a large-format scanner, may be required to complete the task in-house.
Do your organization a favor and create a plan to decrease the number of things that tie you down and add more working space to your company’s goals. Take the opportunity to streamline your filing processes and document management systems by outsourcing document scanning so that your staff can focus on more revenue-generating operations while saving your document management team from the inevitable paper cut.
If you are looking for an outsourced scanning service, our team at Scan-Optics can help.
We have been successfully managing paper processing, scanning, and document automation workflows for over 50 years and ensuring that employees never have to organize a filing cabinet ever again. Leave the scanning jobs to the experts and empower your team to do what’s really important to them—delivering results for the company. Contact us today!
*This blog was originally published on Nov. 2, 2019. It has been updated as of Nov. 14, 2022.