Document management can be a real monster for businesses. This is especially true for document-heavy organizations dependent on paper and regulated by record retention laws. It can be difficult to decide the best course of action for your document storage solutions. Should you go paperless with a records scanning project? Do you need to ensure your paper records are retained? Would it make more sense to choose a combined solution? Our guide helps you answer these questions. We explain the differences between records scanning and records storage, including the costs, process, and typical applications, and provide case studies to help you decide if records scanning is right for your organization.
Records scanning, sometimes called digitization, is the process of converting paper files, microfilm rolls, microfiche, and larger format paper documents into digital files for storage. The most common digital formats are PDFs, TIFFS, or JPEGS.
Professional records scanning services use a four-step process that includes:
The fourth step is optional, based on the type of documents scanned and applicable retention regulations.
To get a better understanding of exactly what is involved in the record scanning process, we explain how each step works below:
Step 1: Document Preparation
This step is key to ensuring your documents are scanned and saved logically. Papers are sorted and stored in clearly labeled bankers' boxes for shipment to the scanning facility. Your boxes should be sorted based on the level of sensitivity to ensure they are managed safely, as well as prioritization so documents are scanned from the most recent and active to the oldest and inactive. You can also mark high-priority boxes with an additional flag if you know these documents will likely need to be accessed during your scanning project. Proper preparation also helps reduce costs.
Step 2: Scanning Paper Documents
The record scanning service will arrange delivery of your boxes to their scanning facility. Once the boxes arrive, they will review them and begin prepping the individual documents for scanning. This involves the removal of staples and paper clips, smoothing out folds and creases, and setting aside severely damaged documents to maintain quality control. The scanning technicians also review your plan to understand special requirements based on industry protocols or other special requests. They then begin feeding documents into the high-speed scanner, which produces high-resolution scans at 150 scans per minute. As the scans are complete, they are saved in your preferred digital format.
Step 3: Document Indexing
The saved electronic documents are indexed based on designated document naming conventions. Indexing applies “metadata” and keywords to files associated with logical descriptions, categories, and content terms your team is likely to use. An indexing plan ensures that all files follow the same conventions during the scanning process and for new documents added to your system.
This is the easiest naming convention if your existing document filing system is efficient. This is also an excellent time to improve your filing process, as indexing sets categories and assigns naming protocols to make document retrieval easier. It uses complex cross-referencing based on the words and categories that make the most sense for the document content. Different criteria include document date, client/patient name, project name, account/invoice number, etc.
Step 4: Document Disposal
The last step is optional. You choose the documents you wish destroyed and identify documents that must be retained based on industry, federal or provincial regulations. We will follow industry best practices to ensure you remain compliant, whether it is certified shredding or shipping documents back to you based on your retention schedules.
Records that can be scanned include:
There are several reasons to scan records and build a case for digitization, including:
Record scanning services offer both immediate and long-term benefits, including:
Immediate Benefits
Easy access: Digitized files take seconds to retrieve compared to manual retrieval, which takes an average of 10 minutes.
One version: Digitized files can be shared, ensuring there is always a single source of truth. This avoids the errors and confusion caused by having multiple copies and versions of the same document floating around the office.
Sharing: Digital document sharing provides access from anywhere, allowing multiple people to review a document simultaneously.
Secure backups: Backups ensure records can’t be lost and instant accessibility following a disaster. You also have improved security to avoid theft.
Save space: Less filing cabinets can free up as much as 14 square feet per cabinet. This provides either more functional space for your team or allows you to downsize to a smaller space.
Long-term benefits
Manageable storage: Digital files are much easier to manage using a document indexing plan and a cloud-based document management system.
Scalability: Following your record scanning project, you can continue to scan and index digital documents for storage on a scalable data management system. You never see an increased demand for more office space or third-party storage services.
Save money: The average lateral filing cabinet requires almost seven square feet for storage and seven more feet to access the files. Paying an average of $50 per square foot costs you close to $700 each year per filing cabinet. Bankers' boxes cost about $86 a year, depending on how you stack them. You also save labour costs, considering the average file takes 10 minutes to find, pull, and refile. That’s six files an hour, and across your team, every hour saves $22.12 per person based on the average Canadian administrative salary.
Record scanning is recommended if you:
Records storage is the retention of your “hard copies” using filing cabinets, employee desk drawers, and banker boxes, whether onsite or at a third-party storage facility. It also includes vinyl record storage solutions.
Hard copies can be stored in filing cabinets, boxes, desk drawers, shelves for large format documents that can’t be folded or rolled, etc. Depending on the type of document material, some records might require special storage considerations to avoid deterioration. Records can be kept onsite, at a storage facility, or both. It is common for paper-heavy companies to have active files onsite and archived records at a facility.
Physical records can be stored in the following:
The condition, age, and material type can call for particular storage protocols.
Common records retention policies and schedules impact most industries, such as payroll/employee records, financial records, personal records, and tax records. Some examples include:
Records storage is important for several reasons, including:
The most common reasons your organization needs to store records include the following:
There are some immediate and long-term benefits of records storage:
Immediate
Long-term
The average cost to store a banker's box of paper documents ranges from $0.24 to $0.52 per box per month. The costs of scanning are a little harder to pinpoint because there are several factors to consider. However, it usually comes in between $0.10 and $0.17 per page or $250 for a standard box of records.
It depends on the type of document and, as mentioned above, a whole lot of other factors. However, here are some very high-level averages:
This one is too varied to call. If your documents are stored in boxes, you can estimate it based on the number of boxes times $250. However, this can be very misleading as you have no idea of the condition of the documents, how many pages are single and double-sided, etc. It’s best to arrange for a quote with records scanning service.
As mentioned above, you are looking at about $024 to $0.52 per box, depending on the space. Storage facilities tend to charge by cubic foot as opposed to the number of boxes.
In Canada, long-term storage at a facility for a 10 x 10 storage space is between $190-$395 a month.
These real-life examples of records scanning projects illustrate common scenarios and outcomes of the average records scanning project.
Apollo Health and Beauty faced paper storage challenges as their business grew. They needed a solution to manage their paper documents, as their team needed help to keep up. MES provided a solution that led to a 75% decrease in labour and reduced printing costs by over $12,000 a year.
The Ontario Council retains precious artifacts reflecting the Girl Guides of Canada’s proud history. They discovered their paper records were suffering from the ravages of time and required a solution to preserve their heritage. MES provided document scanning services allowing them to go digital and preserve their past.
Zive faced a growing challenge managing the clutter and disorganization of their paper documents. MES assessed their needs and was able to digitize 45,000 documents to transition them to a paperless, stress-free office. They shredded excess paper and allowed Zive to remove all filing cabinets to free up office space.
AutoNiche had limited space making record storage a problem. They needed a more affordable solution to store their paper files. MES recommended an annual scanning for their files as their records became inactive, allowing them to free up space, improve their storage system, enhance productivity, and even boost customer service.
If you manage paper records, it’s always a good time to seek professional records management assistance. At MES, we specialize in records scanning and document management solutions for businesses of all sizes and industries.
Whether you want to adopt a scan-to-zero policy, go completely paperless, or need to retain both paper and digital records, we can create a cost-effective, cost-saving plan to streamline efficiencies, increase productivity and improve office space flow. Reach out to our team today.