Records Management Blog | Practical Records Management

Google Expands OCR Capabilities for Document Scanning

Google is Now Offering Free OCR Services for Scanned Documents. Google announced yesterday that there is a new feature available in Google Docs to allow users to import Scanned Documents. The feature, describes as "Convert Text from PDF or image files to Google Docs Documents," allows users to import a Scanned PDF or Image File (JPEG, GIF, or PNG).

There are still some questions that come up as to whether or not this new functionality indicates an intention by Google to broaden the scope of their Google Docs platform, as well as questions about how Google Docs' new OCR functionality works and the functionality that it provides. These questions include:

What OCR Engine is Google using in the Google Docs Platform?

The OCR Engine used by Google in this process is not immediately clear. Google does Sponsor an Open Source OCR Engine and Document Analysis Platform called OCRopus, but Google hasn't publicly acknowledged that this is the technology being used by any of their services, including Google Books or the new Google Docs OCR Functionality.

Does Google Docs OCR Work with TIF Files?

During our testing, we noticed that the OCR functionality didn't work for one of the most standard image formats that we find clients using, TIF Images. TIF, or TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), Images are widely considered an Industry Standard for Scanning Paper Documents, so I found the absence of this functionality to be a surprising.

For those looking to convert TIF images, you may want to use Adobe Acrobat or another utility to convert TIF files to PDF, or check out ABBYY FineReader Online. For organizations looking to convert large volumes of information, I would recommend using an alternate document capture software for converting your images to OCR.

How Well does Google Docs OCR work?

The technology is still a bit new, as it was only released yesterday, but ars technica did some testing and was nice enough to summarize their experiences. Their results were about the same as the results we experienced during our testing, and they summarized their findings: "There are still cases where this OCR would be better than nothing." Not quite the ringing endorsement that you'd hope to see attached to a Google Service, but the offering is still new.

Because of the way the import mechanism is configured, Google Docs OCR may not be the best document scanning solution for every business case, especially if you're looking to convert a large volume of paper documents to digital images. For ad-hoc, low volume OCR requirements however, the Google Docs OCR functionality serves as a solid utility for converting paper into useable text.

Have you tried the Google Docs OCR tool yet? What have your experiences been? Have you had better success with other services or software? Share your experiences in the Comments!

Proof of Delivery Scanning Delivers Outstanding Value

There are so many specific business applications for Document Scanning and Document Management that it's a challenge to share all of them, but one application - Proof Of Delivery - continually stands out as an outstanding value for clients. Not all Scanning Applications make fiscal sense or improve Customer Service, but Proof of Delivery is different.

Proof of Delivery Scanning solutions enable companies to provide their clients with access to signed delivery receipts via a web browser, resulting in improved customer service and reduced daily sales outstanding (DSO). The technology hasn't changed much since the late 1990's, but a best practices implementation typically looks something like this:

• Creation of Delivery Ticket/Bill of Lading - When coordinating a Delivery, a vendor will create a Delivery Ticket or Bill of Lading to accompany the shipment. In an ideal scenario, these tickets will be printed with a Barcoded Ticket Number to help eliminate any manual data entry later on in the process.
• Delivery of Goods and/or Services - Vendor will deliver goods and/or provide services to a client and obtain a signature on a Bill of Lading or Proof of Delivery document as evidence that the transaction was completed.
• Vendor Scans Proof of Delivery Documents - With modern document capture software and today's affordable Scanners, Vendors can easily scan tickets and read the Barcode information to provide a quick lookup to that specific ticket number when a request is made. Additional information, such as Customer Name, Transaction Date, Branch Code, or Plant Code, can be obtained via ODBC Lookup, eliminating the need for any additional keystrokes.

Once the process is complete, the Documents are then placed into a Document Management Software application, such as OnBase or PaperVision Enterprise. From there, clients can be provided with direct access to review their completed POD's and search for transaction history and Internal Customer Service Representatives can quickly and easily field any questions or requests relating to Transactions. This is particularly useful for Collections staff looking to accelerate the payment cycle, as they're now able to quickly and effortlessly provide a record of the transaction and request prompt remittance of any required payment.

For clients that are processing higher volumes, there is also the option to leverage outsourced Proof of Delivery Scanning to even further reduce the costs associated with the process. In the outsourced scenario, completed delivery tickets can be sent to a third party vendor for scanning and posted to a hosted Document Management repository (ImageSilo or OnBase Online, for example) for web-based access by either external clients or internal staff.

In addition, advancements in integration technology from Providers such as Hyland Software and their Application Enabler utility have made it easy to integrate scanned tickets directly with ERP or Accounting Systems. This provides real-time access to Delivery Tickets directly from screens in systems like SAP, Oracle, or any other Line of Business application, even further increasing the ROI of Proof of Delivery Scanning.

If you're currently delivering goods and services and you're not scanning your Proof of Delivery Documents or Bill of Lading files, you need to take the time to at least explore these solutions. The investment required is far less than the cost of not getting paid for a delivery or service because of poor documentation, and the reduced operating costs provided by immediate action can save thousands of dollars in labor each month.

Scanning Services for Microsoft Sharepoint - including Sharepoint 2010

With today marking the official release of Microsoft Sharepoint 2010, I thought it would be an appropriate time to discuss some of the services that we provide to support companies that are moving forward with Sharepoint at the center of their Document Management Strategy.

To be sure, Microsoft has invested a lot of time and resources in improving upon previous iterations of Sharepoint, and the technology has come a long way since it's initial release. Today, I would not be alone in considering Sharepoint as one of the market leaders in the ECM (Enterprise Content Management) space, and we've been proponents of recommending it to clients when appropriate.

One of the challenges, however, is efficiently capturing paper content and delivering it to Sharepoint so that it can be searched and retrieved by users. There are many products available in the market to address this challenge, including Kofax Capture and KnowledgeLake - both of which are excellent solutions.

But what about Companies that want to leverage the benefits of Sharepoint without purchasing high-speed scanners and investing the time and resources in scanning the files themselves?

That's where our outsourced scanning services for Sharepoint come in. Our Production Document Scanning Bureau is capable of converting millions of pages on a monthly basis, and provides firms with a low price per page to convert paper to digital format. We handle the document preparation, scanning, quality control, and indexing, and return to clients a series of files that can be easily imported to Sharepoint.

Whether you're using an older version of the Sharepoint platform, or you plan to take advantage of the features that Sharepoint 2010 has to offer, consider outsourcing the scanning of your files. You'll be able to achieve a more rapid return on your document management investment, and save yourself a whole lot of hassle in the process.

Ready to take the first Step to getting your files scanned to Sharepoint?
Contact us today to discuss your Document Scanning Project and find out how our services can help lower your costs and accelerate your return on investment.

No Simple Tools for the Paperless Office

There’s a great post over on Mashable – 5 Simple Tools for a Paperless Office. It’s really a great cheat sheet on how to use some really cool, useful software and online services to reduce paper and become more efficient, but I found myself reading it and thinking about the clients that I’ve worked with over the past ten years. These are all very cool tools, but I don’t think that they’re going to really take you any closer to a paperless office.

More importantly, not one of them is going to ensure that you’ll actually be able to FIND something when you go to look for it. And therein lies the problem facing businesses today. Document Management tools have some fantastic bells, whistles, and doodads, but do any of them actually do anything useful?? Honestly, out of the whole list presented, the mention of Google Apps for Business at the footnote is probably the most useful of all of the items.

Google Apps for Business is missing one key component, however. They still have added the viewer. Plug Google's fancy document viewer (you know, the one they use for Google books), into Google apps and bam! – Now you’ve really got a solution for a Paperless Office. You’d be able to tag metadata, search, and view documents from anywhere that there’s a browser.

Except… There’s no audit trails. There are still no annotation capabilities. There’s no really great, easy way to efficiently scan large volumes of documents to Google Apps. Perhaps most importantly, the more consumer-like these tools become, the biggest thing that’s missing isn’t feature functionality- it’s guidance and best practices. Scanning files isn’t hard. It’s preparing them for scanning, indexing them, and making sure that people can find them that makes it difficult. 

The State of the Long Island Employment Market - Guest Post from Jason Banks of Lloyd Staffing

The following Guest Post is from an interview I recently conducted with Jason Banks, Executive Vice President of Lloyd Staffing. Lloyd Staffing is and is one of Long Islands most respected Employment Service Providers offering recruiting, hiring, retention and outsourcing, and is also a Strategic Partner of Shoreline's for staffing Document Scanning Projects.

Recently, I had an opportunity to ask Jason some questions about the Challenges and Opportunities in Long Island's Employment market, as well as how businesses can use the market to improve their operations. Here's What Jason had to share:

What are the biggest challenges facing Long Island Employers today?

Putting aside the current economy, which is starting to change and gain momentum, the long-term challenge for local employers is plugging the talent drain of fleeting Gen X/Gen Y workers needed to replace aging baby boomers who retire and move elsewhere.  This is a dynamic we have heard about, read about and had conferences on but there have been very little solutions presented. Both of these generational opposites may have trouble justifying remaining on LI if compensation is not competitive with cost of living.  This region is consistently faced with the challenges involved in relocating employees to this region.  LI companies need to make the investment in training and retaining their talent resources while exploring creative solutions to keep  an active talent pipeline.  Also, watch for the rapid increase in employees looking for virtual work options and consulting engagements rather than full-time direct employment.

Where are the biggest opportunities for those looking for employment?

Technology, Healthcare, Engineering and Sales.  Digital advancements and Economic Stimulus have ignited change in Healthcare, Technology and Engineering/Construction. Long Island employers are seeking versatile professionals who have dynamic skill-sets in these industries.  The need for Sales professionals has been steady for the last 8 months and now the mid-level sales management has come back. 

How can businesses use the market to help them improve their talent roster?

It has been a buyer's market, although we are now seeing small changes such as competitive offers and buy-backs. This is still a very good time to take advantage of the talent marketplace and acquire talent that might otherwise not be available financially, emotionally or intellectually.  However, don't bargain hunt; recognize value, take time to meet candidates, conduct exploratory interviews, bring on temporary staffing help to help with seasonal or project needs and keep talent close to your brand. Do not put your organization in the position where the market comes back, talent is scarce and you are stuck saying "we should have connected with the talent/candidates we often look for when we had the chance."   Recognize that good hires can be made at every level, but be mindful not to send the wrong message to your remaining staff.  Make it clear that such hires are not luxuries, but can put the company at a competitive advantage, during and after the economic recovery.

Thanks to Jason for taking the time to share his thoughts on the state of the Long Island Employment Market. Be sure to visit Lloyd Staffing for all of your Employment Service needs.

Long Island Document Scanning Services

Do you have lots of paper that you're looking to convert to Digital Images?

Are you frustrated by the lack of access to your documents? Have a general feeling that paper is slowing your business down?

Shoreline Records Management is Long Island's Leading provider of Document Scanning Services. We're located in Medford, New York, and have been providing Document Scanning Services since 1994. Our team can help you to convert paper to digital images for as little as $.04 per Page. 

For many businesses on Long Island, the cost of office space is a primary reason to consider scanning, but the real value comes from improved access to information, and improved collaboration. Our Team has over fifteen years of experience with:

• Medical Records Scanning
• Legal File Scanning
• Blueprint Scanning
• Microfilm Scanning
• and much, much more.

In addition, we've worked with many leading Long Island Companies to help with scanning projects in Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Human Resources to help eliminate paper and improve operating efficiency.

If you're considering starting a scanning project, take the time to speak with one of our Solution Consultants about your project first. It may turn out that outsourced document scanning services can be a huge boost to your productivity and your bottom line.

HR Document Management - There's still paper there?

Over the past two or three years, I've noticed a significant increase in the number of human resource departments looking for document management solutions to help them reduce the amount of paper and improve their overall business process related to access and maintenance of employee files. To me, It makes perfect sense that human resource departments are looking for document management solutions, when you consider all the filing organization and storage that goes on inside, and the increased pressure to do more work with less resources and time.

Last night, I was at a dinner with some friends and we were talking about our businesses and the areas in which we help our clients. During the discussion I brought up how we've recently finished scanning over 1,000 employee files for a large insurance firm. One of my friends, who owns a Professional Employer Organization, or PEO, asked the question "there's still paper there?" I confirmed this fact and shared with him some more about just how many projects we're seeing in this space recently, and he mentioned that he always operated under the assumption that most HR departments were early dealing with documents in an electronic format, and he was surprised to find how much paperwork we're seeing HR departments still working with. Well for those of you who are not in HR, you may be surprised too.

When I first started working with human resource departments I quickly learned that HR is not really one department, but rather an amalgam of many different business units loosely tied together under the term "Human Resources". Human resource departments may include payroll, recruitment, benefits, employee relations, employee development, risk management, and many other specialized departments. While many, HRIS systems and HR service providers offer fantastic solutions for their specific area, the main employee file is often still printed and stored in traditional file cabinets to avoid scattering the various documents throughout disparate systems.

Document management offers a unique opportunity to address this challenge. Human Resource Document Management allows you to create folders and organize data based not only on the employee but also into subsections for medical benefits, correspondence, training, emergency contact information, payroll and more. In short, an effective document management solution will allow you to create in a digital format what the employee folder provides in a physical format by tying together loose pieces of employee data into one easy-to-use system. In addition to helping to consolidate this information, a document management solution can help human resources to operate more efficiently by reducing the time spent accessing and searching for files and essentially adding capabilities to existing HR software.

In most cases when we talk about human resources document management with the client were talking about our enterprise-level solution, OnBase. OnBase is unique because it offers a number of features designed to integrate with other applications which is a common concern in HR. Whether you're using PeopleSoft, Lawson, or any number of other products OnBase allows you to scan paper files and integrate electronic documents into groupings in folders that can be retrieved directly through those application interfaces. Equally as important are the capabilities of OnBase to incorporate workflow to help drive HR related document processes. Workflow helps automate a number of the repetitive tasks that HR administrators deal with on a daily basis by allowing improved employee self-service and automated notifications of changes in status and other employee related updates.

In some cases, the budget or need for a full-blown document management solution is just not feasible right now. For HR departments that aren't ready to make an investment in a document management solution however we also offer outsourced scanning services for human resource documents to help archive and provide immediate retrieval for employee files. This option allows HR departments to box up and ship us both active and inactive employee personnel folders which we will scan, index, and provide access to via either CD or ImageSilo, our hosted document management solution. For many companies, outsourced backfile scanning services provide an excellent first step towards making the transition to a more robust document management solution.

In the end, human resources is like many departments within companies today, technology is takingthem closer toward the paperless office, but paper still provides a valuable medium for archiving, storing, and retrieving information on a daily basis. Through the use of a HR document management solution or outsourced document conversion services, though, firms can help reduce cost and focus on improving the quality of service to employees instead of spending time searching for documents.

Scanning Mortgage Files post-close. Does it make sense?

As someone who spent the better part of the decade working with lending companies on improving loan processing through Document-Driven Workflow, I've always thought that it doesn't make much sense to scan alone file after it's closed. Recently, however, I've realized that I was wrong. While the benefit of scanning loan files post-close may not be as strong as driving the process using workflow, there's a lot to be gained by scanning loan documents after the loan has been closed. Let's take a look at three main reasons why:

Loan Sale - Although the market in 2010 is not quite as hot as it once was, the loan sale industry is still alive and well. For Originators, increased competition and a wider pool of available options for buyers has forced competitive differentiation in any way possible. The ability to provide closed loan files in a convenient image format is one way to do this. Scanning mortgage loans post close and creating a series of PDFs or TIF images allows for faster transfer to the secondary market, meaning faster access to payment.

Servicing - Loan Servicing is one piece of the business that never seems to change. In spite of all the advances in online technology, there are still a number of questions that require reference back to the original loan files. Being able to access these files directly through the origination system in an image format, while customers are on the phone, improves client satisfaction and reduces costs for the servicer.

Foreclosures - The dreaded "F" word has led many lenders to go back and image archived loans. When a Lender is able to quickly provide all the required paperwork relating to a loan, they stand a better chance of success during foreclosure proceedings. In fact one of the most common causes for judgments against mortgage companies is the inability to produce an original note. Even if the note is available, many lenders have found that the onerous task of rifling through countless papers to find that precious document has been a costly process.

I continue to be a proponent of using document management and workflow for mortgage lending, as the efficiency gains by capturing documents accurately during the loan origination process provide significant savings and increased compliance. However, for those organizations that either have cultural or process-related obstacles to implementing workflow, the concept of scanning loan documentation post-close still holds great appeal. In a more competitive marketplace, the improved customer service and reduced wait times that scanned files can provide leads to happier borrowers, and as market conditions improve, hopefully more repeat business.

Scanning Documents Saves Space, but at What Cost?

One of the most common reasons that people start scanning documents is because they think it can help save space. While it is true that document scanning will help reduce the physical footprint required to store files, most of the time reclaiming space should not be a primary driver for starting a document imaging project. If you need to reclaim space in your offices, or if you're moving your facility and require a new place to store your documents, you should probably consider outsourcing the storage of your files before you look at document scanning.

I've seen some people in the document imaging industry make a business case based on the square-foot charges related office space and the overall overhead and operating costs of the facility, which may seem compelling, but the truth is that the ROI is just not there. If you consider that the average banker's box holds approximately 2,650 pages, and that the average price printed for scanning is around seven cents per page, you're looking at $185.50 to scan that box of files. In comparison you could store the same banker's box in a record storage facility like ours for about $.30 per month. That equates to off-site, secure document storage for 618 months for about the same price. 618 months that's 51 years! Well beyond the typical retention requirements for business documents.

The real reason to start a document scanning project is to facilitate ACCESS to documents. While the storage of documents and the conservation of space is not usually a good metric to base your return investment, the concept of improving access and retrieve ability to your important business files should be the force behind your document imaging project. Immediate access to corporate information often leads to better decisions and better customer service, both of which have positive effects on the bottom line of the organization.

Keep in mind as you start to explore the concept of document imaging that it's not the solution for all of your business records, and that you can use a hybrid approach and scan only those files that will be retrieved on a regular basis. If no one is ever going to look for and retrieve the file it's probably better off being put a box and archived to be retrieved at a later date. On the other hand, if documents are going to be retrieved on a regular basis, and they're retrieval has an important impact on business operations, you should consider investing in scanning those files. Another reason to consider scanning files, is if you can use the images to drive the business process or transaction related to the documents. By using images to drive process, in a workflow for example, you can reduce the likelihood the file will be lost and also reduce the latency involved in the processing of those documents.

Whichever option you choose, always be sure to keep in mind the real return on investment and make sure that your making the best financial decision for the storage and access of your corporate records.

Document management Software - Why we sell PaperVision AND OnBase

If you're looking for Document Management Software to help your business perform more efficiently and reduce operating costs, we offer two unique document management software programs to help  meet your needs. Why two products you might ask? Because in our 15 years of experience we've learned that no two companies have the same document management needs, and that no one product can solve everybody's problems.

If you are looking for a low-cost document management solution to allow you to search and retrieve files directly from the desktop or web browser PaperVision Enterprise is a fantastic solution. Featuring an easy-to-use, easy to customize interface, PaperVision Enterprise can meet the needs of most companies. PaperVision also has the tools to allow you to annotate documents, print your files, and e-mail documents directly from the user interface. PaperVision also has the ability to incorporate simple workflow and drive business process using automated rules, routing, and roles. PaperVision is also the software behind ImageSilo, the world's leading hosted document management solution, so scalability is never really a concern.

For companies with more advanced document management requirements, including workflow and deep integrations with line of business applications, we also offer OnBase. Developed by Hyland Software, OnBase is True Enterprise Content Management. Onbase Software provides a seamless solution to deliver documents to line of business applications in support for transactions that take place during normal operations. Two hallmarks of the OnBase solution are their sophisticated workflow capabilities, allowing dynamic routing of documents based on individual document characteristics, and their award-winning Application Enabler, which provides direct integration with virtually any other application without the need for custom programming.

Selecting the right document management software for your business is not an easy task, and that's why our team of professionals can help make recommendations as to the right solution to meet your business requirements. If you're in the market for a solution to help you reduce costs and improve efficiency and ensure regulatory compliance, contact one of our solutions consultants to talk about your specific requirements and help make the decision as to whether PaperVision Enterprise or OnBase is the right solution for you.