Best practices for document capture

In today's business environment, companies that still use paper-based processes risk falling behind the competition. To achieve the highest level of efficiency, the lowest costs, and the best chance of remaining compliant with various regulations, documents and the information contained within them must be accessible through digital methods. Savvy companies are using document management to import, process, store and access information.

The first step in the document management process is document capture , which is the scanning and uploading of paper documents to a digital repository. This practice also includes uploading documents that are already in digital format. Basic document capture involves simply saving the document, while advanced document capture involves extracting the data contained within it for addition to data analysis or future research.

In the sections below, we explore what document capture is, how it works, and the various document capture automation and document capture solutions for businesses to explore.

What is document capture?

As mentioned above, document capture is the first step in document management and simply consists of converting a document to the target format, such as a paper document to an electronic format. The document management process continues as follows.

• Conversion – Processing to make the document more readable, such as improving text and image quality
• Verifying – Validation by the document management solution to ensure the document meets a specified quality standard
• Classification – Classify documents according to type, such as invoice, receipt or purchase order
• Extracting – Extracting relevant data and metadata from the document
• Indexing – The document is tagged with relevant identifiers, making it available to be found in searches
• Placement – ​​The document is placed in its final location within a repository and automated workflows

Once these steps are completed, team members can more easily find and work on documents as needed. Converting paper documents to digital allows companies to save space and money, as documents no longer need to be stored in a physical location. Team members can easily retrieve, share, and collaborate on documents. Additionally, the information is in the appropriate state to help companies meet regulatory standards that require document tracking and certain levels of security.

Who needs to capture documents?

There are many types of businesses that can benefit from document capture solutions.

• Companies that want to streamline processes and update customer service. Simply consulting an order, invoice or purchase order becomes much easier in an automated document management system.
• Companies that want to automate form processing. Some documents need to be reviewed or approved by multiple people. Such procedures become much easier when documents are in electronic format that can be shared with multiple parties at the same time.
• Companies that need to protect documents to ensure compliance with various regulations. To ensure the privacy of customers, clients and patients, government and other organizations require companies to ensure a high level of security that cannot be achieved with a paper-based system.
• Companies that already operate digitally but want to categorize and index documents more effectively. Documents can be found more easily within an organized electronic system that uses logical groupings and precise labels.
• Companies that want to effectively use their data to make more informed business decisions. The data that can be extracted from scanning paper documents is essential for gaining critical insights that help drive business success.
• Companies that employ a distributed workforce. A poorly implemented paper-based or even digital document management system is highly impractical for companies with employees working in multiple locations.
• Companies that want to save money. Office and storage space is expensive and getting more expensive. Companies that no longer need to store physical documents can spend the money saved on more important things, such as employee benefits or improving the quality of their products or services.
• Companies that want to dedicate more time to higher-value tasks. A paper-based document management system requires more time to find documents and locate the necessary information about them. Companies that can reduce this time empower employees to turn their attention to activities that can drive progress and success.

How to capture documents

A variety of technologies are useful for capturing documents, including the following.

• Optical Character Recognition (OCR) – Reads typed text and converts it into digital text readable by computer applications
• Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) – Reads handwritten text, as in the case of forms filled out by hand by customers or clients
• Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) – Reads marks, such as check marks or filled ovals, which are commonly used on documents such as exams and ballots
• Optical Barcode Recognition (OBR) – Reads barcodes and extracts information to help index and organize files
• Freeform Extraction – Converts images containing text into PDFs that can be edited

Document capture methods vary greatly depending on the format and volume of documents users need to collect. Small businesses can scan documents one by one using a scanner and software found on most computers. Other devices like tablets and phones can also be used to scan, supported by common apps like Google Drive. Some companies may even choose to capture document data manually.

Larger operations may require more sophisticated scanning hardware and advanced capture software such as Adobe Acrobat DC or Abbyy FineReader. These operations may employ batch scanning, which scans a large number of documents at once. The following video shows a batch scanning process.

Document Management for Business Success

As we have seen, document capture is just one step in a larger effort to digitize operations, creating a wealth of benefits that include time and money savings, improved customer service, higher levels of efficiency, greater ability to meet security standards, compliance, greater support for a dispersed workforce, and the ability to make more informed business decisions.

Document management, which starts with document capture, includes critical functions such as access control, data encryption, and retention policies. These benefits and functions are essential to the health and success of the business.