The process of manual document capture goes like this: The mail is opened. The document is routed to the next person in your organization. The receiving person files the document. With a document management system, on the other hand, the documents are scanned into digital documents that can be used as legal original copies. How does no more manual paper processing sound?

Scanning documents into the document management system will capture them as digital images that can be viewed from an online portal. The files can then be viewed as PDF documents, or many other formats are available as well. Different formats work best depending on the type and size of the document. TIF format is better with documents with larger volumes, such as large contracts. However, if the contract was created in MS-Word, and the PDF was created directly from Word, the image would be better quality than a scanned document.

You also must consider the documents that are not black and white, such as images. These may need to be scanned in and saved in different formats that simply a Word document. To ensure that they are high quality, you may need to try out a few different formats to see what works best. They may be scanned in as TIF documents, JPEG files, etc.

Aside from scanning documents into the system, you can also import already electronic documents with document management. Say you scanned in a document created in MS-Word and saved it as a PDF. However, you may want that original Word document as well. It’s easy to import that electronic file into an electronic document management system.

The main and most important power of a document management system is its ability to tie all of your documents together. You have the ability to electronically place all of your documents, whether they are stored away in file cabinets or saved on your computer desktop, in one location.

There may be instances when you choose not to import various electronic records into the document management system. Let’s say you want to keep your accounting records within your accounting system. You can do this, yet still tie all the information together.

One way to accommodate your electronic records in another system is to link that system by pulling in the data from these records. The second way is to have the system (accounting, etc.) link to the document management system, which will display the needed information. The AP team will do their work within the accounting system, but when they need supporting documentation, they will refer to the document management system.

Want to find out more about how document capture is used? Then visit DocuVantage on how to choose the best online document management software for your business.

Popularity: 1% [?]