Here’s a New Year’s resolution for 2021: scan smarter!
If one of your New Year’s Resolution is to reduce your paper, don’t immediately dust off the scanner as your solution. While it may seem like the easy solution, after years of helping many companies, we’ve found that it wastes time and money, doesn’t truly solve the problem, and ends up simply kicking the can down the road.
A comprehensive document management strategy, while it sounds more complicated than hitting scan on a desktop scanner, will create a simpler, more effective solution at a fraction of the cost! Secure Records Solutions is a full-service document scanning and information management services business. We will scan your documents, index the required information, store the images or upload the files to your systems or servers. We can also store the physical documents in our storage facility as a redundant backup, and then shred the material when you’re ready. Simply put, we make it easy for you.
How? Let’s break it down.
We get to the bottom of exactly what records you have.
Have you ever rifled through drawers and found five pair of scissors and two dozen pens? It’s easy in the day-to-day shuffle to lose track of what you actually have. The same can be said for your business records. When SRS takes control of files, we first index them to help clients understand what they have. When clients see what records they have organized at the file record, they are able to make informed choices about what they need to keep/scan, what can simply be stored, and what can already be shredded. This way, even if you do still need to scan items, it is typically a much smaller volume than originally thought. We’ve typically found that businesses can destroy about 20-30% of their records immediately, resulting in immediate savings in both time and money.
We help you form a strategy around what to scan – and when.
Let’s be honest for a minute. Scanning everything is the equivalent of shoving all your possessions into a closet before your in-laws come over. It solves the immediate solution, but in a few weeks, all the contents will be scattered over your house again, and you’ll be no better off. Instead, if you took time to go through what you were shoving in your closet, you’d probably find broken toys, shoes and socks without mates, and maybe even holey shirts that have seen better days. By getting those things out of the way, you’ll create a better, long-term solution. The same thing goes for scanning everything. You’re simply moving the clutter into digital form! Creating a strategy around scanning involves figuring out which files you access frequently v. those you are required to keep for a certain amount of time. We also go through and organize – a process we call indexing – to create a better, more organized system.
We actively manage the records on an ongoing basis.
We’ll let you in on a secret. Many traditional storage companies want you to forget about your records. That way, they have a steady stream of income for eternity! At SRS, however, we think differently about records storage. We actively manage them, sending you a list of records that have met their retention on a regular basis and destroying them over time so that your storage costs go down every year. By actively managing your records, we keep you compliant and save you money! If you haven’t yet put a retention policy in place, don’t worry. We can help you create a retention policy based on regulatory standards and industry best practices.
At SRS, we always seek to create a total solution that’s precisely tailored to satisfy each organization’s needs and budget. Whether that’s a full scan job or a more comprehensive and tailored document management solution, our main goal is to help you improve your organization!
Scanning your paperwork, files and documents can often improve the efficiency of your organization by allowing easier access to information. Or, it can create unnecessary hassle and expense that only serves to convert a current physical problem to a future digital one. The difference in outcome depends on the overall goals you have for your project and is determined before you choose a vendor company or make a buying decision. So why not talk to an expert who can help you establish goals, plan your scanning project, and execute it to provide the results you need? Contact SRS today and let us help you begin 2021 right.
