Posted by Stephanie Jones on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 @ 02:04 PM
The path toward a paperless office is a noble quest and typically begins with the purchase of a scanner. But, while a scanner will help you eliminate some of the paper in your office, it won't get your documents better organized, more secure or more compliant.
Yes, a scanner can help you convert your old paper files into an electronic format. Then what? What do you name the files? Where do you store them? How do you protect them?
File naming.If you're like most people, you try to name your files to make them easier to find. So, if you are saving a sales contract for Jones Manufacturing, you might name the file JonesManufacturingContract.pdf. or 2010 JonesMfgContract.pdf. That's about two pieces of information - who and what.
With a document management system, not only would you be able to identify the customer name and document type, but you could add the project manager assigned to the client, the date the contract was signed (or is up for renewal) and version number, if any. You can sort by those values as well.
File storage. After you've scanned your paper, you have a few options for digital file storage.
- Hard Drive
- Tape
- CD
- In-House Server
- Cloud-Based Virtual Drive
While all of these are options, none offer the protection you'll find by scanning and storing your files with an online document management system. Hard drives and servers crash. CDs and tapes can malfunction. Some cloud-based drives are little more than a pretty web site. And, more importantly, you or your IT staff need to spend time each day/week/month/year backing all of the files up. This makes scanning and storing files in your office time-consuming... and a little dangerous.
File compliancy. Depending on the industry you are in, storing your documents unprotected and unencrypted on your hard drive might mean you're not complying with certain regulations. HIPAA, for example, requires that patient information be stored in an encrypted state at rest and during transmission to and from your office. The Red Flags Rule also requires that sensitive information be stored securely in electronic formats to prevent violations. Do your PDFs meet those requirements? Are you sure?
A scanner, like a treadmill, is a great piece of machinery. But, like the treadmill, if you don't have a trainer and a goal, your scanner will probably end up in the corner of the office. But, under a pile of paper instead of a pile of clothes.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 @ 07:55 AM
Do you know how much file cabinets cost? I spend a lot of time writing about why people should go paperless with eBridge Solutions' web-based document management. I often cite eliminating file cabinets as a reason. But, I was recently looking for some metal file cabinets for a video we're working on and got a big surprise: file cabinets are expensive!
Online, I found file cabinets that cost anywhere from $100 to $500 (and that doesn't include shipping). Then, I thought I would be able to find cheap ones at the used furniture store, but even there file cabinets were $40 or $50.
What I want to know is WHY? Why are businesses continuing to store their important documents in heavy metal boxes? Don't they know that putting files in file cabinets does not mean they are stored permanently? Nor does it mean those records are secure. (Who can't pick a lock these days with all of those CSI-type shows?)
eBridge Solutions' document management customers have all but done away with file cabinets. In fact, one of our favorite insurance customers, George Dakkak, was able to donate 15 cabinets to his local church after his staff finished scanning in all of his old customer files.
If you are getting ready to buy a file cabinet, stop. Instead, buy a document management system like eBridge. Scan the files you were going to store and then you can shred that paperwork. Documents scanned into eBridge Solutions are given a date and time stamp that allow them to be considered legal originals.
If you want to find out other ways document management systems can save you money, sign up for one of eBridge's online webinars.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Tue, Jul 13, 2010 @ 09:51 AM
A 2009 survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed only about 6.3 percent of physicians posses a fully-functional EMR/EHR system. About 21 percent of physicians use a basic EMR/EHR system, the release said.
That's good news for document management providers, like eBridge Solutions.
Office managers and support staff in physician's offices can start moving toward a fully-functional EMR/EHR system by slowly transitioning patient records from paper to digital images, then storing them online in a reputable document management system.
This is far more than scanning and storing patient records onto your hard drive or zip drive. Moving documents into a document management system will allow you to create an organized, searchable database of all your records. And, once you've scanned in any records, you are allowed to shred them, since you've captured the original and date/time stamps will help verify its authenticity.
Financial and technical assistance will continue to be offered to physicians as incentive to move toward full-blown EMR/EHR systems and that's a great thing. Based on the statistics, however, total adoption of systems like that may never happen. And, that's okay with us.
Take a baby step. Start storing your medical records online with eBridge today and see what happens with the EHR/EMR systems tomorrow.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, May 17, 2010 @ 09:52 AM
eBridge Solutions is a web-based document management company as you know (or should if you read this blog regularly!). And, we are virtually paperless - marketing is the exception. I bring this up, because we moved all of eBridge this weekend and it took hours, perhaps days, less than a normal office move, because we don't have any file cabinets or paper.
In one weekend, the movers and our team moved an entire 5,000 square foot office. Would you be able to do that? If you had to leave your office today for another, how long would it take you to get your files organized, packed and moved? By scanning and storing your paperwork in a document management system like eBridge's, it wouldn't take long at all.
I also bring up the move because eBridge Solutions' new office looks just FABULOUS! Our new server room is TWICE as big as the last one - giving us plenty of room for growth. So, if you aren't participating in our referral program (refer a prospect and receive a $100 American Express gift card if they become a client) and know of anyone moving now or in the future, they would be good candidates for starting the paperless process. Visit www.eBridgeSolutions.com today for complete details.
Posted by Aubree Spiering on Mon, Apr 26, 2010 @ 01:28 PM
eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system is the most efficient way to share documents with your customers. Reason #8 to love eBridge Solutions: Let your customers scan documents into your electronic file cabinet and eliminate couriers.
By putting your trust in eBridge, you know your important documents are in safe hands. Your customer scans in their documents that you can then pull up in your own secure electronic file cabinet. This ensures your documents won't end up in the wrong hands, they won't get lost in the mail or accidently taken from the fax machine.
Even waiting just 24 hours for an important document to be delivered can feel like an eternity, by scanning your documents directly into eBridge you no longer have that down time waiting for the courier, overnight delivery service or snail mail. Once a client scans their document into their file cabinet,
it will be available to you in mere seconds.
On top of all of that, eliminating couriers with document management will save you hundreds, if not THOUSANDS, of dollars a year. For one low monthly fee with eBridge Solutions you will reduce the amount of paper products you buy, virtually eliminate all postage, photocopies, fax machine and off-site storage.
It doesn't get much better than that. Visit eBridgeSolutions.com for more information and contact a sales representative today. Say 'Bye Bye!' to your courier and 'Hello!' to savings!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Apr 19, 2010 @ 09:39 PM
Many businesses turn to electronic document management because their paper files are getting out of control: taking up too much space and making it too hard to find the records you need. Classic examples include schools or medical offices, but many other businesses can benefit as well, from small one or two-person organizations to Fortune 500 companies.
But, once you've found the perfect document management system, what do you do with all of that paper? Who scans and when? Considering all of your options can make the transition to a paperless office easier.
To convert or not to convert?
It's important to understand that you don't have to start a document management solution with a total conversion of all your old paper files. There are three ways to transition from paper records to electronic: back-file, on-demand or scan-forward method. And you have to decide whether to do the scanning yourself or enlist help. Your budget and available resources will determine which method is best for your business.
Do your own scanning.
If you have the time and space, scanning your own documents is the simplest and most affordable way to convert your paper files. Most companies have someone go through their paper files to remove staples, paperclips and duplicate copies before anyone starts scanning. While you have the file in your hand, why not scan?
"We recommend that our clients do their own scanning, if possible," explains my boss, eBridge CEO, Leslie Haywood. "Only someone involved in their business can tell which paper REALLY needs to be archived. Why spend time and money on duplicate records or documents you are no longer required to keep?"
Back-file. Back-file scanning or batch conversion is the most immediate and most expensive option. It involves scanning large quantities of records at the same time. Businesses eager to start taking advantage of a new document management system sometimes choose to scan their entire archive, feeling that the extra cost is justified by the ability to access all their records through the new system. But, that may not be necessary.
"The summer we started using a document management system, we had our teenage daughters come in and scan two days a week," explained one insurance agent in Raleigh, North Carolina. "It was a great way for them to make some extra money and it allowed us to keep our documents on-site and under our control. They scanned in everything that came in the office on Tuesdays and worked on our old files on Thursdays. It took the entire summer, but it was worth it."
On-demand. The on-demand method is a more gradual, less disruptive approach. Instead of converting all paper records at once, a system is set up where every time a paper file is accessed, it gets scanned into the system. The electronic document replaces the paper record from then on.
This approach is popular in medical applications: every patient who visits gets their record scanned into the computer. You don't have to pay a scanning service to set you up, and it can also help weed out records that can be archived separately or discarded: if some records haven't been accessed after two years, they may be good candidates for long-term storage.
Scan-forward. In a scan-forward implementation (also known as "day forward" or "forward scanning"), a cut-off date is chosen after which all new documents will be scanned. This approach means you can get started much more quickly since there's no delay while a backlog of paper is scanned. Once you feel comfortable with the document management system, you can decide to start scanning older files. The scan forward approach isn't for everyone, though - for some businesses, access to paper files is essential. In those cases, you may want to consider a scanning service.
Hire a scanning service.
To process years worth of old records, you'll probably want to hire a scanning service. You can either ship your records to their facility, or have them come to you with a mobile scanning setup. These services have the best in high-speed, automatic scanners, making it possible to scan hundreds of thousands or millions of records in reasonable amounts of time.
You can ship your documents to the scanning service or you can pay for them to come to you. That can cost more, but if your files contain highly sensitive material, it can be reassuring to keep them on site. Once the documents are scanned, the scanning bureaus can provide CDs of the resulting images or put them directly into your document management system. They'll can also destroy or return your paper documents, as you prefer.
"The paperless office is as likely as the paperless bathroom." While the restroom is definitely someplace I'd like to continue to see paper, going paperless in your business is a real possibility. Getting your paper documents converted can take time and money, but in the long run, it will make your business more efficient and compliant. Take the first step... go paperless with eBridge Solutions 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 Aubree Spiering on Wed, Mar 24, 2010 @ 09:26 AM
What is the most annoying thing when you purchase a cool new product? When learning how to work/use it takes forever! You want to start using that cool new product right away, and you want to know the ins and outs of it the same day so you can make use of all of the product's amazing features. Well, that's exactly what you get when you add eBridge Solutions to your business. This brings us to reason #7 to love eBridge Solutions: You can be up and running in two hours or less.
Our training staff is amazing; they're friendly and extremely helpful when training new customers. While our web-based document management system usually only takes about an hour to learn, we schedule them for two hours just to ensure we don't miss anything.
We also offer free monthly training webinars on our web site for all eBridge users, in case there's anything you need to brush up on regarding our system.
You really can't find an easier way to implement document management into your business. Check out eBridge Solutions' web site and find out for yourself!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Wed, Feb 24, 2010 @ 09:20 AM
It may have been touted ever since the computer was invented, but according to a new report from JP Morgan, the paperless office is now technically and economically feasible. Which we at eBridge Solutions have always believed!!
Released last week, the report states that the banking giant has helped 25,000 of its clients eliminate more than 24 million paper documents from operations in just 18 months by promoting digital processes.
It added that the campaign, which urges firms to replace paper documents such as payslips, invoices and bills with digital alternatives, aims to further reduce the volume of paper used by clients by 77 million documents.
The move towards less paper-intensive processes can also save companies money, according to the report. On average, filing and maintaining 500,000 pieces of paper costs firms an estimated $250,000 in workflow management, another $115,000 to research lost files, and about $150,000 in storage and disposal costs.
"Companies often pay extra fees for their paper trails, since the paper documentation they request often duplicates information they already receive from their banks online," the report adds.
Cutting annual paper use by 500,000 sheets can save a company $515,000 a year - more than $1 saved per sheet conserved, according to JP Morgan.
The report also argues that online billing and invoice solutions, remote capture solutions for payments received, and online banking and payment systems mean firms are capable of achieving a "zero-return" environment, where they send and receive information electronically without the use of any paper.
This is great news. The kind we love to hear. If you haven't made a step toward your paperless office, take a tip from JP Morgan and go ahead.