Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Jul 05, 2010 @ 08:01 PM
I meant to write this yesterday, but the fireworks started going off and I had to run out and watch. There is so much to celebrate this year if you've started your journey toward the paperless office.
First, congratulate yourself (or your office manager) for taking the first step toward getting better organized and going green.
Second, try to remember the last time you had to get up from your desk to find anything -- unless you really wanted to. That's something to celebrate.
Third, be thankful that when your auditor called and said he was coming out, you were able to give him a secure login to your online file cabinet where your tax records are located, and he never had to step into the office.
Fourth, look around your office. Where are the file cabinets? Where are the messy desks? You've 'prettied' things up while making everyone's lives much easier.
Fifth, cheers to you for trimming your monthly expenses. You've cut down to a case of paper every quarter. You've stopped needing as many office supplies. You've canceled your off-site storage facility.
So many things to be thankful for! And, if you haven't started your journey to the paperless office, you should contact eBridge Solutions for a demo today! By next year, you'll be able to celebrate your independence from paper as well!
Posted by Aubree Spiering on Wed, Apr 21, 2010 @ 12:59 PM
Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day with eBridge Solutions on Thursday, April 22 by adding document management to your office toolkit.
As you reduce your dependence on paper and office supplies, you are reducing your carbon footprint. As defined by greenhq.net, "The term ‘carbon footprint' is used to denote the amount of carbon dioxide produced by your daily activities and use of material goods." The more office supplies we buy, the more CO2 emissions we create.
By implemeting eBridge Solutions' online document management system, you will no longer have a need for file cabinets, staples, folders, printers and fax machines, so get rid of them! E-mails and documents you receive electronically can be printed directly into your 'cloud' file cabinet using the eBridge Print Driver, so there is no need to print those documents and then scan.
Our Earth Day promotion will give you a nudge in the right direction. From now until May 21, 2010 we will be offering a FREE Print Driver (a $295 value) to new clients who mention the word EARTH to their sales representative.
In addition, eBridge's web-based document imaging will allow you and your employees to work remotely when necessary. Think of the gas you could save by working from home every Friday. Think of the couriers you could get off the roads by routing documents back and forth over the Internet instead of via paper folders and FedEx envelopes?
Earth Day is the perfect day to make the move to eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system. Sign up for a demo by calling (877) 676-6067 x 324 today!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 @ 01:58 PM
As part of our Earth Day celebration, eBridge Solutions will be offering a FREE eBridge Print Driver to any business that signs up for our web-based document management system.
"Earth Day is an event that reminds us to consider the environment as we grow our businesses," explained Leslie Haywood, CEO. "Before signing up with eBridge, many of our customers were struggling with mountains of paperwork. Whether it was part of the daily influx or file cabinets they kept in the back room for record retention, paper was everywhere. By using our document management system, they were able to scan and then recycle that paperwork while increasing organization in their offices."
"By adding our eBridge Print Driver, clients were able to take their ‘green' movement to another level by eliminating the need to print on paper completely. The Print Driver lets them print electronic documents directly into a secure, online file cabinet - quickly and easily." The Print Driver (a $295 value) will be given to new clients that sign up for eBridge Solutions by May 21, 2010 and mention the word EARTH.
eBridge Solutions' users find their information is even more secure online than if it was filed in cabinets or stored on a computer in their office. With online access to documents, important information can be monitored, protected for disaster recovery and only permitted users can easily search and find documents by keyword or index value from anywhere they can get an Internet connection. eBridge Solutions can help business in any industry:
- save money on paper, ink and office supplies
- eliminate the need for files, file cabinets and off-site storage
- improve compliance with record retention regulations
- allow for branch offices and telecommuting by putting files in one central online repository
- better organize documents like contracts, orders and invoices -- increasing staff productivity and efficiency
To learn more about eBridge Solutions and get a free eBridge Print Driver, contact Dawn Hott at dhott@eBridgeSolutions.com or (877) 676-6067 x 324.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Fri, Oct 02, 2009 @ 03:36 PM
A recent survey by The Association for Work Process Improvement (TAWPI)found that businesses add a document management system primarily for one of two reasons:
- Improved customer service
- Reduced operating expenses
We've been talking about time and money savings at eBridge Solutions forever, but it is nice to see that these truly are the biggest benefits of document management. At least among the 888 people who took this survey.
And, in the last two interviews we've done for case studies, both companies cited that giving their customer service representatives the ability to pull up client or patient files INSTANTLY while on the phone was their favorite feature of eBridge Solutions. If you can answer a question while the customer is on the phone, you're saving time (no walking to the file cabinet, pulling their file and calling them back) money (two minute call instead of two hour adventure in the file room) AND you're making your customer extremely satisfied -- depending on why they are calling, of course.
TAWPI is a professional membership association dedicated to providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities for practitioners, technology and service providers in payments automation, distributed capture, and imaging & forms processing.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Tue, Sep 01, 2009 @ 03:30 PM
Reducing costs associated with storing files is one of the best and most enduring arguments FOR a document management system. Even in this economy, the cost of real estate remains a major concern.
Now, more than ever, it is important for business owners to pay attention to reducing, if not eliminating, unnecessary storage space. Want some suggestions on how? OK. Here they are...
1. Purge non-record material. If you don't legally need to keep it, shred it. Many organizations find that a full 30 to 70% of the documents they retain on-site (paper and electronic) contain duplicate copies, drafts and outdated reference documents. Such non-record material should be disposed of when its usefulness has passed. Put the relevant, required files into your document management system (like ours) and clean out that file cabinets.
2. Inactive material. If you are required to keep documents, but never access them, this is another great use for a document management system. Not only will you be increasing compliance, but by scanning in these documents and then shredding the originals, you'll free up valuable office space.
3. Off-site storage. If you have more files than you can store on-site, you are an excellent candidate for a document management system. Whether you scan them yourself or hire a scanning bureau, digitizing your off-site records can be a great way to control costs.
There may be short-term costs associated with starting your scanning project, but the long-term benefits (and especially cost savings) will outweigh them in the end.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Tue, Jun 09, 2009 @ 12:48 PM
I've been reading more and more about Microsoft's SharePoint. Some people love it. Some people hate it. (That's how it is with everything!) But, the most interesting excerpts counsel businesses to use a separate document management system WITH SharePoint.
Why? First, SharePoint is expensive. Your business may not want to purchase a SharePoint license for everyone in your office. That means people without licenses wouldn't have access to the documents stored online. So, some companies are setting up a separate document management system so that everyone benefits from having records stored in a central location.
Second, if every system and program you purchase comes from Microsoft, you're pretty tied to Microsoft. Choosing a few reputable partners outside of the Microsoft network can create a better, more balanced office environment.
I think this is great news. I typically like Microsoft products, but I was not happy to see them enter the document management industry. Don't they have enough business? Can't they leave something for the rest of us to do?
Now, I can honestly create Google Ads that promote eBridge Solutions WITH Microsoft SharePoint. And that should cover me until Google gets a document management system of their own. What? Google Docs? Hmmm. I haven't heard anything about an iDocument Management System. Maybe there is room for us in the Mac world!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Tue, May 26, 2009 @ 12:41 PM
If you are considering document management, but are reluctant to begin because you fear your file cabinets, keep reading! It's easier than you think to transform your paper files into sortable, manageable electronic files. Here's how:
1. Don't. Meaning don't scan in your old files at all. It's kind of like drawing a line in the sand: pick a date and from that day forward, don't store any other paper in your office. If you are required to store documents for a specific period of time, keep the files until that date and then shred everything.
2. Scan as you go. Translation: scan files as you touch them. Example, if you make a change to Mrs. Smith's file, scan it and shred the corresponding paperwork. Leave the other files until the retention requirements have passed.
3. Systematically scan everything. Start with the files that you use most or least. Or the file cabinets that are furthest away from your office. It's your system. You decide what works best for you. Have a staff person scan in files throughout the day or for the last hour of the day. Some people have their children or interns come in for the summer or a few nights after school and sort through the files (removing staples and paperclips) and then scanning in large batches of documents.
Of course, the type of scanner you have will also play a role in how fast you can scan your documents. Make sure to consider the initial amount of back scanning you have to do with any scanner purchase.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Fri, May 08, 2009 @ 12:24 PM
People talk about going green all the time. At home and at work. Everywhere. They are also talking about saving money (as is everyone these days).
But, green and money savings are usually not used in the same conversation. Often, green products and services cost a little more than non-environmentally friendly products and services. Think paper plates vs. soy plates. There is a price to be paid for saving the planet.
However, there is an interesting story from Insurance Networking News by Lalitha Chikkatur.
Basically, Lalitha is saying that green Business Intelligence (BI) is long overdue and will help businesses in the long run when they focus on green suppliers, less energy-needy hardware and better data management options. Like web-based document imaging.