Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Aug 23, 2010 @ 03:19 PM
Document management streamlines business processes, improves customer service, reduces costs and helps ensure compliance: all things that are extremely important to financial service businesses like investment service firms and wealth management advisors. That's why financial services is our document management industry of the week!
Financial service firms are paper-intensive organizations that need to reduce costs and increase service levels and operational efficiencies while complying with various regulatory laws (think Graham-Leach-Bliley, SEC 17a-3 and 17a-4, The Patriot Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, the IRS and many others).
Oftentimes, financial service companies operate in a hub and spoke manner: one main or regional office and many small satellite branches. That is another prime reason many financial service advisors are turning to web-based document management.
Corporate or regional management can place documents into one centralized repository for easy access by any authorized advisor.
Likewise, the advisors can put all of their documents online so corporate (or God forbid, an auditor) can log in and view the documents they need. An audit trail tracks all movement within the system.
"We set our document management system up so that our representatives can use it to view their documents through our system (using our Web Services) regardless of where they are located. We’ve been able to adjust security settings so that they can only see their documents, which is a huge benefit," explained Candy Osborne, JW Cole Administrator.
It is also possible for clients to log into the online document management system and add or review documents. Bringing service to another level!
So, there you have it. Our document management industry of the week. If your financial advisor or wealth manager aren't using document management, maybe you should tell them about it. It could end up saving both of you time AND money!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 @ 02:40 PM
It starts slowly. Someone in human resources hears about document management at a networking event or trade show. They come back to the office, excited to be getting rid of their paper employee files once and for all.
After a few weeks (okay, months might be more realistic unless they have interns) of using document management, the file cabinets in their department start disappearing. Desks are no longer piled high with resumes and benefit applications. People start to notice the paperless office, but don't know what to make of it.
Until... they receive their first resume electronically. Meaning, someone in HR e-mails a candidate's resume, writing samples and references to a hiring manager in the Marketing Department. There is NO paper involved. There is no paper to be found, in fact.
The Marketing Manager loves the idea of storing archived press releases, marketing collateral and product photos online. So, during the next manager's meeting, she brings up the idea of adding document management in the Marketing Department. The Sales Manager hears about it (and, of course, needs it right away). Legal is curious. Operations would like to add it next year. And the roll out of document management company-wide begins.
Most web-based document management systems are so versatile, any department in any company in any industry can use them. And, fees shouldn't increase much by adding additional users or file cabinets.
If you are currently using document management and haven't rolled it out company-wide yet, now is the time!
In weeks, you can have a customized document management system working for your entire company -- saving everyone time, money and space!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Wed, Aug 11, 2010 @ 01:21 PM
Maybe not entirely, but yes. Yes, you CAN virtually eliminate postage, overnight services and couriers by adding document management to your office toolkit.
How? Great question. Here's how it works:
You work in an office with two locations. You're in Office A. Someone in Office B needs a document. Instead of mailing it, driving it over, inner-officing it or faxing it (which is NEVER legible), you can simply scan the document into your online file cabinet. Once the document is scanned, anyone at Office B -- with the proper rights, that is -- can sign onto the Internet and pull up a crystal-clear version of the document.
And not to make this medical billing week, but eBridge Solutions' medical billing clients have saved THOUSANDS of dollars by adding scanners in their physician client's offices so they can end their daily or weekly courier trips to pick up their client's billing paperwork.
One of my favorite case studies is from long-time eBridge client, Professional Office Management Services (POMS). VP of Operations, Jeremy Evans, realized an unexpected benefit after they added eBridge in their office: a huge reduction in courier fees.
“Our courier fees averaged $5,000 a month, running back and forth from our clients offices on a weekly or sometimes daily basis,” Jeremy said.
eBridge Solutions' CEO, Leslie Haywood suggested that POMS buy their biggest client a scanner for their office. And they did!
"Now, clientscan their EOBs directly into our electronic eBridge file cabinet quickly and securely," Jeremy explained. "No more courier fees. No more fuzzy faxes. No more waiting three days for backup. It’s all online instantly!"
So, whether it's one piece of paper or an entire batch of medical records, by scanning and storing your records online, you can easily make them available to other people. Whether they log into your online eBridge file cabinet or you e-mail them the document, it's money you're saving on postage. And money saved anywhere these days is a good thing.
Just don't tell my postman. I want to keep getting my IKEA catalogs at home...
Posted by Leslie Haywood on Wed, Aug 04, 2010 @ 09:59 AM
Though the number of documents people only see in electronic format is growing, it doesn’t look like the world will be able to go completely without paper any time soon. That is why it is important to plan out a strategy for managing your paper and electronic documents simultaneously. While every department can benefit from electronic document management tools, there are some departments that might appreciate it more.
Accounting: Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, Tax and General Accounting teams will appreciate that invoices (paper or electronic), copies of checks and tax returns can all be stored in a secure, organized manner online. By having separate online cabinets or using customized index values, documents from different areas can be restricted from non-assigned employees.
Better yet, most document management systems can be integrated with accounting software packages to put copies of paper records with your customer detail. Easily manage documents like:
- Sales and Purchase Invoices
- Copies of cash receipts and payments
- Purchase and Sales Registers
- Cash and Bank Books
Human Resources: Mountains of paperwork continues to live in a HR professionals world. Resumes, benefit applications and W-2s are just a few of the documents human resource departments are required to keep for specific periods of time (lengths vary by document type, state and industry). By storing these documents in a searchable, organized fashion (think last name, first name, department, hire date and more) and making them simultaneously accessible, staff can bear more efficient than ever.
In addition, paper copies of personnel records no longer need to be stored on or off-site for a certain number of years. Once scanned, documents are considered legal originals according to The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), as long as the date and time they were scanned is captured and the owner can prove that the document hasn’t been altered. Document management systems have audit trails that record the date and time and show who has accessed the document and from what location.
Sales and Marketing: While sales and marketing typically aren’t labeled as paper-generating departments, they do have information and correspondence worth documenting. It is important to have the final, signed version of a contract on hand should a legal dispute arise. Likewise, e-mail correspondence where the buyer/seller communication can be documented can be helpful if a customer claims a salesperson did or didn’t tell them about a feature or function (or lack thereof).
Can’t find the perfect graphic designer in Cape Coral, Florida? Hire one from London. Using online document management, marketing teams are able to bring in resources from around the world, since documents can be accessed from any computer with Internet connection – making collaboration easier.
Customer Service: To better serve clients, put invoices, product information and contracts online so front-line employees can answer questions while the customer is still on the phone. And for added service, e-mail copies of those documents in a few keystrokes.
The call center manager for an online etailer is convinced that their document management system increases productivity and reduces its paper management costs significantly. “Instead of hunting for paper in one of twelve filing cabinets in response to vendor and customer inquiries, my staff can now pull up any document relating to that customer or vendor to resolve problems and inquiries, even viewing multiple documents on-screen at once if required,” she said.
Legal: Businesses must deal with a variety of legal documents such as government-related documents, franchise tax renewals, license renewal and reports of the company’s annual meetings. There are also legal documents relating to purchasing, leasing or renting of assets, processes of litigation and bankruptcy filing. And usually there are multiple versions of those documents. By storing them in a document management system, it is simple to see which version is the most recent and it’s easy to search for the right document with index values or keywords.
While all departments can benefit from better organization and fewer files lying around, some seem to have more documents to deal with than others. If these departments spend time and energy putting paper and electronic documents together in structured system, the company will definitely see a boost to the bottom line from time, money and space savings.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Aug 02, 2010 @ 02:01 PM
I know you've all been waiting to see what this week's featured industry would be and here it is: the surety industry. And, for those of you who aren't quite sure (like me) what a surety company does, here's the simplest definition I could find:
A surety company is a highly specialized form of insurance company that basically puts up the money to fund the bonds used by bail agents. So bail bond companies are not really the principal putting up the real money.
(This definition is specific to surety companies working with bail bond companies -- like the new client, Ninpo Surety, we added -- but apparently they also work with insurance companies, financial service firms, construction companies, mortgage companies and retailers, just to name a few.)
It makes sense, then, that Ninpo Surety signed up with eBridge Solutions for our web-based document management system. By storing their paper and electronic documents together online, Ninpo can quickly and easily manage the paperwork involved with the agencies and defendants they work with. They can share information via e-mail with a few mouse clicks and they no longer need to retain their paper files.
As eBridge continues to sign clients in new and exciting industries like the surety industry, I will feature them here for everyone to see. Perhaps it will spark interest from others or remind you why it's important to add eBridge's document management software in your office!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 @ 09:14 AM
Founded in 1965, Miller Welding & Iron Works is a custom job shop fabricator and finisher. The company manufactures parts, metal fabrications and machined parts for off-road equipment, mining machinery, oil fields and offshore oil rigs, wind industry components, broadcast antennas and farm equipment.
Miller Welding serves several major equipment manufacturers in the region and nationwide, including Caterpillar, Komatsu and Gardner Denver.
With hundreds of customers and thousands of parts to manage, the accounting staff at Miller Welding was constantly dealing with paperwork.
After the company was acquired by BTD Manufacturing, employees learned of an easier way to deal with their documents: web-based document management from eBridge Solutions.
The Challenge
Miller Welding & Iron Works (Miller Welding) is headquartered in Washington, Illinois — just outside of Peoria — and employs more than 125 full and part-time workers. As business increased, the accounting staff at Miller Welding needed a way to put all of their purchasing documentation in a centralized location where all employees could easily access it.
Luckily, in 2008, Miller Welding was purchased by BTD Manufacturing, so when Kevin Summers, Controller, mentioned that he wanted to centralize records, BTD’s accounting specialist, Angie Lehmann, was quick to offer a suggestion: eBridge Solutions.
BTD Manufacturing has been using eBridge Solutions’ web-based document management system to manage all of their accounting files since 2007. BTD’s accounting department, which includes accounts payable and receivable (AP/AR), payroll and purchasing, is more organized and documents can now be located and retrieved in seconds versus minutes. In fact, in their first year with eBridge, they saved almost $60,000 in labor and storage costs alone.
So referring Miller Welding to eBridge Solutions was a no-brainer.
"Manufacturers can really benefit from a web-based document management system," explained eBridge Solutions’ CEO, Leslie Haywood. "From the accounting department to HR to quality control to sales, every paper and electronic document can be centrally stored so that they are easily accessible from every department and off-site location. Some of our manufacturing clients even offer their suppliers access to documents from halfway across the world.
The Solution
Once Kevin sat through a demo of eBridge Solutions, he was sold. "It offered exactly what we needed," he said. "One central location for all of our paper and electronic documents."
Amber Bensen, Staff Accountant at Miller Welding, spearheaded the project from there. She learned the ins and outs of eBridge and was able to train key employees throughout the company on the basics of scanning and retrieving documents. "Everyone was very receptive to the new processes," Amber explained. "They knew that getting all of our documents scanned into the system would ultimately make their jobs easier."
Once eBridge Solutions’ document management system was implemented and everyone had been trained, two Miller Welding employees spent approximately one month scanning in more than a dozen of file cabinets full of documents from the accounting department.
The biggest obstacle Amber faced was getting people to remember the documents they need aren’t in file cabinets any more. Once the documents were physically shredded, that problem was solved.
On a daily basis, Amber’s team is scanning in their purchase orders, bills of lading and packing slips. Her favorite feature is eBridge’s optical character recognition (OCR) tool that lets users search through the typewritten text of any document stored in the system for fast and easy retrieval.
While a full cost analysis hasn’t been done, Amber knows the company is saving money on office supplies, postage and labor by using a web-based document management system.
Miller Welding’s Production Department has recently started using eBridge to store their documents as well.
If you are a manufacturer and need help organizing the paper or electronic documents at your facility, sign up for one of eBridge Solutions online demos and find out for yourself if document management is right for you!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Jul 26, 2010 @ 09:31 AM
Last week, eBridge Solutions signed our first moving company as a client. Which is surprising, because while many industries seem to be moving toward online transactions, moving and shipping companies seem to remain paper intensive.
The moving industry uses documents in almost every facet of its business. Whether it is writing orders, confirming orders, bill of lading, e-mail correspondence and delivery receipt, or generating invoices, all of these hard copy documents create a drain on corporate resources.
That's where eBridge comes in.
Like a virtual filing cabinet, eBridge Solutions' web-based document management software lets moving companies -- drivers and office personnel -- sort and store document images by numerous indexes, or classifications. Identify or group your documents with index values like Name, Address, Invoice Number, Ship Date and more. The indexes are completely customizable. And those documents can be retrieved using index values or keyword searches from any computer with an Internet connection.
Some moving companies also have storage facilities where they house records. In that case, adding document management as a service to YOUR clients can also be a revenue-generating idea. Offer to scan and store their documents online.
Thanks to KG Trucking of Mercer Island, Washington for being the first of many moving companies to sign up with eBridge Solutions!
Think eBridge Solutions' document management would work in your company? Sign up for one of our weekly online webinars today!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Fri, Jul 23, 2010 @ 03:45 PM
When one of our phenomenal eBridge Solutions' account managers came in and said, "we need to create a marketing campaign targeted at septic and sewer companies," I'll admit, I laughed. To be fair (to me), I don't have a septic tank and don't know if I've ever even SEEN a septic tank. So, septic companies were never on my marketing radar.
Imagine my surprise, then, when today we signed our first septic tank company! And, guess where they found eBridge Solutions? The Okaloosa County Health Department environmental health web site.
Every day, septic company employees (and other service professionals) go to the Okaloosa County Health Department site to find permit information. Their Environmental Health department issues permits for new, repaired, modified and abandoned septic systems and evaluate existing systems for compliance with all local and state laws and ordinances, as needed.
Karen Arnett of Superior First Response is the owner of one of those septic companies. After logging into eBridge Solutions' document management system on Okaloosa's web site several hundred times over the past few years, she'd gotten pretty familiar with how it works, so transitioning her office to eBridge will be a snap.
And Karen isn't alone. To date, Okaloosa County, St. Lucie County and the City of Cleveland are putting permits or restaurant inspection reports into eBridge Solutions (either by scanning paper documents or printing electronic documents) so the public can quickly, easily and, best of all, inexpensively retrieve their own documents.
In an economy where every penny matters -- especially the government -- it's nice to see that people realize eBridge Solutions and document management can actually SAVE money. Touch a paper document once while scanning and then it will be forever digital and you can retrieve it from any computer with an Internet connection.
P.S. I was going to title this blog post 'Document management goes to *(#&$)' but didn't think anyone else would laugh. Would you have?
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 @ 10:57 AM
eBridge Solutions is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. I say this because everyone in the State is looking toward the Gulf of Mexico, watching and waiting to see what the BP oil disaster is going to do to our beaches... and our livelihoods.
One group working over time since the disaster are the 90 or so Florida convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs). Every time I turn on the television, there is a commercial for Pensacola beaches. Every time I read the newspaper, there is a special Florida hotel rate on Clearwater Beach. The organization behind many of these promotions is the local CVB.
It is the CVBs job to encourage business and leisure travel through outreach programs, advertising and joint planning with hotels, event destinations and restaurants. There are countless meetings, marketing campaigns and RFPs going on. That leads to a lot of paperwork. So, for CVBs to survive this summer, many are turning to document management as a COST SAVING measure.
Using document management, CVBs save money by:
- eliminating files, file cabinets and some office supplies
- eliminating off-site storage facilities
- allowing staff to email documents with two mouse clicks
- putting documents at your staff's fingertips for quick retrieval
- allowing auditors online access to certain documents
- increasing compliance with record retention mandates
If your CVB hasn't started to go paperless, now is the time. Watch our document management demo or call one of our National Account Managers at (877) 676-6067 x 324 today!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 @ 03:21 PM
If you are like most bail bondsmen, paper is an important part of your day. Keeping track of bail applications, indemnity agreements, receipts and more is key to getting paid and staying in compliance with state and Federal regulations.
Document management, or document imaging, is the practice of digitizing, indexing and archiving both paper and electronic documents for easy storage and retrieval. Bail bondsmen across the nation are turning to this technology to keep track of documents they are used to storing in paper files and folders. Is this something that would work in your agency? Let’s look at five reasons why you should consider document management.
1. You can save money. With a document management system, you can reduce the amount of paper you buy and virtually eliminate postage, photocopies, fax machines, couriers and off-site storage. You can also decrease your paper consumption costs because you can directly e-mail or fax documents to other agencies instead of printing and mailing cumbersome paper files. Using this tool, you and your employees will quickly become more efficient and productive – giving them more time to focus on other tasks – which will save, if not make you, money.
2. You can save time. With document management, you can have instant access to files. Scan documents once and never print them again. No filing or searching for folders. View documents without leaving your desk. While you are out in the field, you can easily access original files through any web-based document management system. One bail bond company tracks clients in their document management system using indexes like:
- Client Name
- Power Number
- Bond Number
- Bond Execution Date
- Bond Discharge Date
Being able to search documents using any combination of those index values plus keyword searching makes it virtually impossible to lose a file.
And, if you have multiple offices, you won’t need multiple copies of documents. Storing them in a central location will let employees retrieve them from anywhere – even simultaneously.
3. You can free up space in your office (or off-site) by eliminating old files and filing cabinets. Electronic files are legally accepted as the original. Shred cumbersome paper files, save space and turn filing cabinet areas into productive work areas.
4. You can create a disaster-recovery plan. Meaning natural disaster and man-made disaster – like a lawsuit. Floods, fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, vandalism and theft place paper files in jeopardy each day. With a document management system, you can rest assured that your company is still in business when disaster strikes. The more you scan, the less you have to lose!
5. You can increase compliance. In Florida, for example, each licensed agent must maintain records of bail bonds in his or her office that were executed or countersigned by him or her. The agent must keep this information for three years after the liability of the surety has been terminated. “Though we are only required to keep our documents for three years by law, we want to be able to store them indefinitely in case we need to refer to them in the future,” explained Jeremy Swan of Moncrief Bail Bonds in Orlando, Florida.
A bail bond company’s records are open to examination, inspection, and photographic reproduction by the regulating authority and at any time, the department may require the agent to furnish to it, in such manner or form as it requires, any information concerning the bail bond business of that agent. Web-based document management systems allow the bail bondsman to grant temporary access to auditors or authorities to review records stored online – making everyone’s job easier in the long run.
A document management system is also the perfect place to store employee information, including licenses, certificates and fingerprint cards.
Bail bond companies everywhere will be surprised at how affordable and easy document management systems can be. “Not only are document management systems a great way for businesses to organize their paper and electronic files, but they are also great at eliminating unnecessary expenses – like postage, couriers and off-site storage,” explained Leslie Haywood, CEO of eBridge Solutions in Tampa. “We are seeing businesses of every size in every industry making the switch.”
Should your business be next?
Want to learn more about eBridge Solutions' document management?
Sign up for one of our weekly online demonstrations by visiting our webinars page.