Scanning is an essential part of day-to-day office life, but many companies fail to efficiently streamline the process.  Whether it’s by investing in new equipment, incorporating cloud technologies, or even outsourcing the activity, there are many ways you can improve this area of your business.

Necessary Equipment

Previously, the scanner was another expensive piece of equipment to go alongside your printer, photocopier, and fax machine.  Fortunately, though, you can now find modern devices that incorporate all of these functions.  The biggest distinguisher you’ll have to decide on is whether or not to buy a flatbed scanner or a sheet-fed scanner.  A flatbed has a hinged lid that reveals a pane of glass where you place the document to be copied. A sheet-fed model resembles something more akin to a printer where you slide the documents through the feeder.  The advantage of a flatbed is that it can scan anything that can be placed against the glass (such as a book), whereas a sheet-fed scanner can only deal with unattached sheets of paper.  However, a sheet-fed model is much quicker than a flatbed, especially when dealing with large volumes of files, due to its automatic process rather than manually placing each document on a flatbed.

20120612_0045 by Heidi Frank, on Flickr.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Cloud Management

The next feature you’ll want to incorporate into your scanning process is the integration of cloud storage.  This will mean your files will be automatically uploaded to the cloud whether as part of a storage platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox or a note-taking applications like Evernote.  This not only provides a simple form of backup to your paper documents, it’s also much easier to find what you’re looking for when searching for a specific file via keyword search on your computer.  However, you’ll have to get into the habit of editing the metadata that goes along with these files if you want to ensure everything is kept organised.

Third-Parties

If you find that the admin that goes along with organising your data is affecting your company’s workflow, you could consider outsourcing the process to another company.  Specialist providers can tailor the service to your needs whether you need physical, digital, or a hybrid mailing solution.  The time normally spent handling your document management can now be better spent dealing with the core areas of your business.

Find the model that best suits your company and make the necessary changes.  How does your business deal with its document management?