Virtual Business
Weighing the Pros & Cons of Document Digitization
By: Danielle Vermillion Genie Concierge Company
With the advent of technology and the continuing surge toward paper-free establishments, digitizing documents is the logical next step for business owners. Changing a lifelong habit, like converting traditional paper transactions to electronic forms isn’ t easy, so it is important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages before transforming to this new way of life.
Document conversion provides the agility a modern business needs where documents can be accessed from almost anywhere to allow a virtually seamless flow from professionals to clients and vice versa. Currently, individuals expect important information at the click of a button, from their phone or other portable devices, and anything taking longer than a couple of minutes will seem like an eternity. Accessing this information digitally is a simple and fast alternative to an employee rifling through box after box searching for the needed documents.
However, digitizing several boxes of sensitive documents does require the necessary time to research a reputable company that not only strictly follows HIPAA and FACTA guidelines, but also guarantees extremely high levels of accuracy. Additionally, the significant upfront investment may also be a deterrent to converting required documents, but over time, digitization can save a company thousands of dollars. storage unit fees increasing about $ 8.00 every six months, storing these undigitized documents costs $ 2,448.00 in the first year alone. Including the fee increases and rent, over ten years will cost your company $ 33,120.00.
Even if the numbers make sense and the company stakeholders collectively decide to invest in document digitization, is the transition worry-free? Decisions still need to be made on how to store sensitive documents. Securely backing up files is an inexpensive option, but internet-based systems can have connectivity issues and may slow with additional data. External hard drives are small and secure since they are not connected to the internet, but their small size may contribute to easily misplacing them so backing up these documents on additional hard drives is recommended. The hard drives also have moving parts and can be damaged easily, but do these risks outweigh the possibility of fire or hurricanes destroying vital paper documents? Damaged or missing documents that are necessary for an important case can be considered its own catastrophe.
An impending disaster is the last thing that a productive company needs. Businesses need to consider their long-term goals and weigh the pros and cons of document conversion. Regardless, society will continue to move forward where completing paper transactions will become obsolete.
The suggested storage time-frame for vital medical, law, tax, and real estate files is at least 7 years and long-term storage can be very expensive. Storage boxes are easy to forget when they are out of sight, especially if the monthly storage fees are automatically being deducted from your checking account. A 10’ by 20’ climate-controlled storage unit charges close to $ 200.00 per month. With typical
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