I’m talking about companies that must maintain the physical copy of a record for a given amount of time before it can be destroyed.  A common issue with an internal document storage solution is that it takes a dedicated employee to maintain the status of each and every record.

With a professional offsite document storage solution it allows your business to reallocate that employees time to more revenue generating tasks.  Because now all of your documents are in a secure location, each individual record has been tagged and entered in to a database with directions as to how long to store it as well as a destruction date.

By shredding documents as they have met the legal storage requirement you are doing your part in minimizing the amount of paper being stored … AND a professional document storage company will not only shred each document in to paper pulp, they will also make sure it is recycled!

How do you save money with this option?

Remember the employee that use to have to maintain your records?  Well now they are working on tasks that bring in revenue as well as you have opened up a rather large section of office space that can now be put to work as well, or even let go of if the space is not usable as office space.

In metro areas space can be very expensive, and going outside of the city can be cheaper per square foot.  Unfortunately the savings gets eaten up with the installation of security, fire proofing and the employee now having to drive across town to manage documents.

By using a professional document storage facility all of these requirements are in place and the cost is shared by everyone storing documents.  Again, you will not have to task the employee with driving out of town to pick up a needed archived record.  Make sure you find a record warehouse facility that provides an online system for requesting a document and can either e-mail you a digital version or hand deliver the document to your office.

How is document storage a better way to do business?

Simple, it’s more efficient and right off the bat you are working smarter instead of harder.  Document warehousing is far less expensive than converting every document in to a digital format, and sometime that is not a legal option anyway.

Implementing a professional document storage company is by far the cheapest way to rest assured every document is safe, secure and only being kept as long as required.  If your company has a ‘go green’ campaign in place you can see how offsite storage with a reputable company will be an integral part of that strategy moving forward.

If you choose to Scan and Store Business Documents Electronically, be cautious about the DPI (Dots Per Inch) that you choose to scan the files. There are many reasons to be cautious in selecting the appropriate DPI, including the desired level of clarity, readability, file storage requirements, and the type of image you’re capturing. For most Standard Business Documents, 200 DPI Bitonal (Black and White) should be adequate.

If you choose to Store files at a higher resolution, keep in mind that there are significant impacts to the size of the file. For Example:

A Standard office Document Scanned at 200 DPI, Bitonal as a TIF will be around 41K. The File will be Readable, and should be able to be emailed and downloaded fairly easily. At 300 DPI,  Bitonal, that same file balloons to 62K, which is still relatively small, but may consume much more space as you scan more pages.  Now here is where this gets interesting, if you choose to scan the same file at 150 DPI in Color, the file size increases to 164KB. There are a few reasons for this, most of which require big words like “bilinear interpolation”, but the point is that you need to be sure to use the appropriate settings when scanning files to ensure that you use the appropriate amount of storage, and don’t create bloated, slow-moving files.

To sign up and make sure that you’re getting these and more valuable Records Management tips, visit our website at http://www.shorelinerecordsmanagement.com and enter your email address on the right hand side so we can keep you up to date.

Create a Document Policy

Start by putting together a document policy for your company.  This should include specifics about how employees are to handle filing, retrieving and keeping files.  Lost documents can cost your business in lost time, money and reputation.  When documents are needed for tax purposes or for litigation the outcome depends on the ability to produce accurate records.  If records are lost it can cost your company thousands of dollars.

Stay Organized

Keep your company organized by putting a document storage policy in place.  Typically, the safest and most affordable place to store older documents in at a records management facility.  There your files will be properly inventoried and organized.  If you need a document you can easily get it with a simple request.  Files are secure and easy to find – the two main requirements of any file system.

Consider all Storage Options

In addition to storing paper files you can also choose to turn your files into electronic documents by scanning.  The scanning of files can either be done internally or outsourced, depending on your preference and needs.  For many companies scanning makes sense because it cuts down on storage costs and improves file organization.  Once files are no longer needed they can be disposed of by shredding.

Leverage Efficiency to Save Money

Lost documents can actually cost your company in the long run.  Choose a records management policy that you can work with and that properly does the task of organizing your documents properly.  Partnering with a reputable records management company will almost always save you money and provide you with ongoing support for all your records management needs.

Well, Both options have their pro’s and con’s and most often, the right choice is a mixture of both.  Physical Document Storage consists of files that are organized and packed into marked storage boxes for future use. Scanning converts paper files to scanned documents eliminating the need to keep the original documents.  The decision is up to you and will depend on several factors.

• Type of Business – the kind of business you have may dictate which storage method works best.  For example medical records are typically kept in well-maintained folders making scanning an easy option.  Some business files may include many notes, floor plans or other items that may make scanning more difficult.  If you want to keep originals available for access, it’s likely that you would choose storage over scanning.
• Accessibility – Scanned files may be easier to work with since they can often be emailed and kept electronically.  Stored documents need to be retrieved when needed which takes time and manual labor resources.
• Manpower – Document storage takes manpower.  If you choose to keep paper records or scan, consider using a Professional Records Management and Scanning Company to do the work for you.  You’ll save time and money by using this outsourced solution.
• Cost – Compare the costs associated with either type of arrangement.  While document storage on your own site can be expensive a much cheaper alternative is to use off-premise storage.  In most cased, off-site storage of the files is significantly less expensive than both on-site storage and Scanning. Again, a professional records management company will handle all storage and organization of documents.  They can also provide complete scanning services at an affordable price.

No matter whether you choose storage or scanning the important thing is that you’ve determined the need for finding a records management solution.  Pick a solution that works for your company, fits into your budget and will provide your company with the necessary documentation you need for tax purposes, legal reasons and customer support. Your business will be much better for it.

Founded in 1975, Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) is a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. Headquartered in Santa Rosa, CA, CCI is the largest non-profit provider of assistance dogs, and is recognized worldwide for the excellence of its dogs, and the quality and longevity of the matches it makes between dogs and people. The result is a life full of increased independence and loving companionship.

To find out more about Canine Companions for Independence and the amazing services that they provide, click here.

Also, be sure to check out the Long Island Way’s Bridging Sustainable Communities site by clicking here – http://www.bridgingsustainablecommunities.com. Shoreline’s President, Tom Doyle is among 12 Long Island business leaders supporting community causes this year, and we invite you to learn more about each of the other Cause Champions and support their businesses. It’s an easy way to obtain products and services while helping out Local Community Organizations at the same time.

Well, Six-Months later, SimpleCapture, Artsyl’s flagship document scanning and capture platform, is now a key component of nearly every solution that we recommend here at Shoreline. The software boasts unparalleled ease-of-use, and is allowing many of our clients to Scan their document and leverage the power of click-based indexing to void costly, manual data entry.

SimpleCapture works so well because there are no Volume Limitations (often applied by other vendors in the form of HASP’s, Dongles, or Hardware Keys),  It’s easy to Set-Up, and most importantly – it’s easy to use. The addition of SimpleCapture to our product portfolio has made functionality that used to cost $20,000 + Available to companies of any size and at a fraction of that cost.

Whether a client has Accounts Payable Documents, Bills of Lading, Proof of Delivery Tickets, Medical Charts, or nearly any other busienss document, SimpleCapture can be configured in a few hours to allow for quick, effective capture of these documents and their associated metadata (or Keywords). In addition, SimpleCapture has built-in exports that allow users to send files to Microsoft Sharepoint, ImageSilo, Filebound, or any number of other leading ECM Platforms.

If your company is not currently scanning business documents because the process seemed to complicated, or if your staff is scanning files but being burdened by massive amounts of manual data entry, there is clearly a better way. Take a closer look at SimpleCapture as a solution to avoid manual data entry and improve busienss process automation.

It’s pretty Simple.

For More information about SimpleCapture and Artsyl, Click Here.

Pre-Order Practical Records Management for the Busy Professional

The following is an excerpt from the upcoming book “Practical Records Management for the Busy Professional” by Michael R. Thomas, Vice President of Client Services for Shoreline Records Management. The book is now available for preorder via Shoreline Records Management’s Website, and is scheduled to be released August 2^nd, 2009.

Five Ways a Business Can Fail without a Records Management Plan:

1.        The business can be the subject of a government audit.  There are many stringent laws that regulate what types of records an organization or company must keep.  If one fails to meet these standards, the resulting fees and penalties can easily undo favorable earnings statements.

2.        The company’s headquarters can be destroyed by a natural disaster: Because all of the records of the company were stashed on the floor of a room … and let’s say that a tornado destroyed the room, the company has no way to reconcile its debts or track its customers or shipments.  The resulting lack of data destroys the company.

3. The business can be sued:  If an angry customer who has nearly choked to death on a paper umbrella sues this company, and this company cannot produce proper evidence of waivers, disclaimers, company policy notices and proof of insurance, the company will lose a major lawsuit and could be forced into bankruptcy while trying to settle.

4. The business can go bankrupt buying new space for the files: If the first room fills up, the business will need a rent a second, and a third, and a fourth, and so on, all the while spending more and more money per month on costly rent for the office space.  The business does not have an individual assigned to decide an expiry date for the documents, so they continue to pile up.

5. The company grinds to a halt: Without any proper Records Management, the company’s employees spend enormous chunks of their time searching for the proper points of reference and critical files.  Thousands of potentially valuable man hours are thrown down the drain.

Even though this company had the perfect business models, the best employees, and the largest customer base, it could still fail easily on those five (and many more) counts. The seemingly mundane and tedious chore of keeping the records was neglected in favor of lower short-term costs, and this company paid the price. This should illustrate to you the importance of establishing, maintaining, and enforcing an effective Records Management strategy.

There’s little debate that the concepts are sound and there are benefits to the patient are huge, but there may be better ways to implement, including letting the Patient drive the ways that they share and manage their personal health record – such as Google Health.

From our perspective, Shoreline can supplement either direction the industry chooses by helping Practices and Patients by scanning and converting their legacy patient information to digital images for retrieval via the EHR, but the public debate still needs to be settled on who actually “owns” that information.

“I already use XYZ Company for File Storage. Is it going to be a hassle to switch? Will it end up costing me more money?” or, “I understand why Shoreline would be a great partner for us, but I have an overly restrictive contract with a large vendor that treats me like a number, not a person. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I feel trapped with them. Can you help?”

So here’s the deal: It is worth switching and we can help. You can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars each month by switching to Shoreline for your Records Management and Document Shredding Service. Many times, we can even help to get you out of your existing contract and start realizing cost savings today. Even if Shoreline can’t get you out of your existing contract, there are things that YOU can do to escape the current situation and get on the right track for your Records Management and Document Storage needs. Here are some tips:

1)         Stop sending them Files - This one may seem pretty obvious, but many people don’t realize that they don’t have to keep sending their current vendor new boxes on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Simply select a new vendor, and start to send all of your recent files to them. Nearly all information lives on a bell curve – meaning that it’s accessed shortly after it’s created and shortly before it’s destroyed, and rarely in between. This means that most requests for records will be handled by your chosen provider, resulting in a better experience right away. Also, this means that once the old documents reach their destruction date, you’re left with no need to contact your current provider.

2)        Check the Contract, or forward it to us to have us take a look – When you sign a contract with a Record Storage Provider, most will use a Standard Storage Agreement, which has been approved by PRISM (Professional Records & Information Services Management). This is the agreement that Shoreline Uses with all of our clients. Some companies however will put in special clauses that implement automatic roll-overs, restrictions on inventory reductions, and Permanent Removal Charges, or Hostage Fees. The carefully examination of your particular agreement is important here, because many older contracts may not have such provisions, and leave you with the flexibility to select the vendor of your choice, which is how Shoreline believes it should be.  

3)        Destroy/Shred Documents that you don’t need – Many storage providers would be happy to have their clients store old, outdated files with them forever. The truth is that that’s not an effective Records Management Strategy. You shouldn’t maintain records for any longer than needed. This includes Legal Documents, Financial Records, Patient Charts, and Loan Documents. Store them as long as you need them, and no longer. You should, evaluate any inventory that is currently being stored and destroy records that are no longer needed. We encourage Clients to be careful, and to check with your company’s records manager or Legal Counsel before doing so, but often, you can destroy up to 10% of your old information per year without triggering the punitive inventory reduction clause. (By the way, This “Punitive Inventory Reduction Clause” is another one of those contract provisions that I’d alluded to earlier)

In the end, switching your Document Storage Provider is typically a very easy process, and requires nothing but a few phone calls to start saving money and receiving better value and service. If you find, however, that you do have one of these restrictive contracts, you can follow these steps to help mitigate the aggravation caused by the process and start heading down the path to improved information management. Either way, Shoreline is here to help and be a partner. Check us out at http://www.shorelinerecordsmanagement.com for more information.