Chances are that every major process in your business relies on documents. Your employees are constantly creating, altering, and transmitting these to people inside and outside the company. On a good day, your paper-based document management strategy runs smoothly. However, it’s just a matter of time before this system hits a snag.
Hard copy documents have major disadvantages that can risk your company’s productivity. Files can get lost, misplaced, or stolen. Pages may be torn or stained. Paperwork can pile up, languishing on a desk until it’s dealt with. All of this slows down workflows throughout the office.
Are you tired of these wasteful delays? Are you frustrated with paper-based systems? Are you considering going digital? If so, it can be intimidating to think about switching over to digital files. You may have a huge archive room of files dating back for decades. There could be hundreds of documents flying between employees on any given day. Where do you even begin? A document conversion service can help you make the transition efficiently and in an organized way.
The Importance of Converting to Digital
Why digitize your company’s paper documents? Going digital means converting your hard copy originals into an appropriate electronic file format. These electronic files are tagged and archived on a hard drive or in the cloud.
Converting to digital and building an electronic document management system (DMS) gives your business several advantages and protections. These include:
- Saving files in various formats, from JPGs to CADs.
- Data backup with just a few keystrokes.
- Easy data recovery following hacking attempts, fire in the office, etc.
- Freeing up office space by downsizing or eliminating the file storage room.
- Reduced operating costs and environmental impact.
- Tracking changes in a digital document and rolling back errors.
- Easy file lookup through searches, tags, and keywords.
- Near-instant file transmission via a computer system or the internet.
- Remote file access, even on the other side of the planet.
- Improved teamwork since everyone on the team can view the same file at once.
- Greater security as digital documents can be encrypted, password-protected, and more.
- Records of how data is accessed and used, showing adherence to data privacy laws.
The Benefits of Conversion Services
When you outsource to a third party, you’re paying to get the job done right the first time. These pros know how to quickly and correctly convert your files. It’s much more efficient to have your files digitized by people trained for this task than by an employee who watched a quick ‘How To’ video.
When you hire a conversion service, you get:
- Your documents preserved in various digital formats, with all important data intact.
- Files carefully tagged and organized within your new electronic DMS.
- Guaranteed discretion from the conversion service regarding your proprietary and sensitive company data.
- Freed up employee time so they can continue their work without distraction as the service handles this job.
- The old paper files (returned or securely disposed of) with all legal regulations followed.
This whole process will be handled with an eye toward minimizing disruption to your day-to-day operations. You and your people can focus on your work while the service takes care of this big task behind the scenes.
Reasons to Outsource To A Conversions Services Company
Going digital is a big job. It can be both time-consuming and complicated. What if one of your employees forgets to scan a page with the signatures on a contract’s last page? What if the wrong metadata tags are entered into a digital file? The chances of errors like this increases the more documents being converted. Any mistakes in the process make it tough to get your new electronic DMS up and running.
How likely are these mistakes? For untrained employees tackling a multi-day to multi-week task like this, mistakes aren’t just possible. They are inevitable. Small errors may be annoying, but big mistakes can lead to files vanishing in your database or critical information getting lost.
So what do you get when you outsource to a conversion services company? You’re paying for speed, convenience, and peace of mind. These pros can tackle even ancient and faded files much faster than you can handle them in-house.
On the convenience front, the external service is buying or renting the scanners and associated software. They already know how to run those machines, and no employee training is needed. Finally, you have the convenience of a reliable cost and time estimate. Your own people may have never tackled a large-scale file conversion before. That’s why any numbers you hear from them are an educated guess at best. The conversion service, meanwhile, can tell you exactly what you need to know as you plan.
Finally, dedicated services know how to balance speed with output quality. You’ll have the peace of mind that your files are in good hands. The digital copies you’re getting back will be of excellent quality, ready for your people to dive back in and use.
Conversion Services Can Bring Your Company Into the Digital Era
Going digital improves the speed and efficiency with which your employees handle company data. It also protects that data from theft, disasters, improper access, and more. However, you probably haven’t hired your staff for their training and talent in document conversion. They may get the job done, but it will be time-consuming, and there’s a high chance of errors cropping up.
A third-party conversion service specializes in this kind of job. These experienced professionals work quickly and reliably through a mountain of old paper files. They will also add metadata and properly save the digital files, so your newly enhanced database is ready to go. The information you need will be just a quick search away, preserved forever as accurate digital images.
Are you considering conversion services for your Philadelphia, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware business? Contact IMR Digital, a KDI Office Technology company, today. One of our experts will be happy to discuss your options.