Regardless of how large a company is, the challenges of working with paper-based records are there every business day. Small businesses have the added concerns of how to address them with a limited amount of time and resources. Working with a trusted resource partner can help small businesses understand where they are, where they want to be, and the course that will take them there.
There is no denying that paper takes up a lot of space. Take a quick look around the office. How many file cabinets are filled to capacity, or maybe even an entire room in your office? Are paper records taking up space that you pay for each month? Or, are you renting additional space to store files, maybe at an offsite location? Now, consider this: how else might you better utilize that same space? Or, how else might you use your rental expenses to grow your business, instead?
Beyond the physical footprint, your paper files take up, there's another consideration: time. Whenever you or your staff have to find a file, it uses up valuable productive time. More, paper files, even when they are well-organized, often have documents that are misfiled. As anyone who has spent a day looking for an essential piece of paper can tell you, finding misfiled documents is a huge headache. And lest we forget, there's the refiling of documents. Add it all up, and the costs are significant. But one of the benefits of scanning documents is that they can be clearly named and filed electronically, so your people can find what they need fast, at the touch of a button, and no refiling is necessary.
The paper itself is relatively inexpensive, but the information contained in it is invaluable to your business – it is your intellectual asset. Records in paper form are much more at risk compared to digital files stored on a server. Paper files can be easily copied or photographed by anyone who has access to them. Partial or total loss of information to water, storm damage, or fire can be devastating to a business. Digital files can be protected through encryption and password protection, with access only granted to the employees who need it. And because data is backed up, all information can be recovered in the event of a disaster.
Technology plays an important role in any size business. Technology is always pushing us toward innovation that provides greater efficiencies and effectiveness. As the workspace becomes more digital every day, small businesses have to keep up to remain relevant and competitive. The good news is, digitizing your records and files is a big step toward your digital future, and can actually make your small business's transition to the digital space easier.
Recruiting top talent requires a bit of flexibility when it comes to remote working, which ranks high among the benefits employees value most. Digital files enable employees with access to pull up the files they need most, without having to go to the office. That means they can be home when the kids get off the bus or can dial in for that emergency project you need help with when they're out of town. Bottom line: your employees will value the flexibility digital records gives them to do their jobs well.
We saved the best for last.
For small businesses, decisions like this often come down to the bottom line. So, will document scanning save your small business money? It can, and we can prove it. At EO Johnson, our Document Scanning professionals are experts at efficiencies. They can come to your office, develop an estimate for the cost of digitizing your records, and show you exactly how it will save you money. That includes freeing up space you're renting for storage, time savings per employee, the cost of paper and ink and printing, and much more.
The benefits of scanning documents abound for small businesses
There are so many clear benefits of scanning documents for your small business, but it isn't a job you can trust to just anyone. After all, your files contain sensitive information that must be protected from project start to finish. When it's time to find a document scanning vendor and partner you can trust, Locknet Managed IT and EO Johnson are here to help. Contact us to learn more about our Document Scanning services, and how we can help you take your business to the digital level.