Jemina Boyd • October 1, 2021
A more efficient method involves optical character recognition (OCR)—a software used to convert scanned images of printed text into machine-readable information. Here’s how it can benefit your business.
Manual data entry forces users to dedicate chunks of their day to processing files and documents, and it’s also prone to errors. By this method, it’s easy for people to make typos, forget to include important details, and misfile documents.
OCR software spares your company from such ordeals. Instead of labeling and indexing each file manually, OCR automatically transposes all the information without any mistakes. This significantly cuts the time your employees spend on paperwork and frees them up to focus on more important projects.
Another benefit of OCR is searchability. Rather than sifting through stacks of documents to find specific information, all you have to do is type a few keywords in your document management system (DMS). This saves you a lot of time, especially when you have to retrieve specific records for auditing or customer service purposes.
OCR also turns files into editable formats like Microsoft Word, Excel, HTML, and PDF, allowing you to correct typos or update information on the spot, without having to transcribe printed documents.
Companies can also rely on OCR to automate workflows. For example, DMS software can be programmed to recognize invoices and route them to the right accounts payable manager.
They can even be used to automate document retention processes and ensure sensitive records are processed on time.
OCR cuts costs in several ways. For starters, you won’t have to hire full-time staff to manage mountains of paperwork. You never have to rely on paper once documents have been scanned, so you save on printing, copying, and document distribution costs.
This also means you can get rid of all the expensive file cabinets cluttering up your office.
Paper documents are susceptible to theft and destruction. By converting your documents into digital formats, those risks can’t pose a threat to your business anymore.
If you’re using a reliable DMS software, your files will be stored in geo-redundant data centers that are protected from any catastrophe and can be recovered when you’re connected to the internet.
What’s more, strict access restrictions and advanced encryption can be applied to electronic documents, which ensures documents are safe, and your company is compliant with data security regulations like HIPAA or PCI-DSS.
Transcribing documents or entering data into a database is mind numbing, and over time it can take its toll on your staff’s sanity and performance. But by eliminating the entire process with OCR, you can increase employee engagement and morale, which leads to increased business efficiency.
It’s clear that OCR has a host of business benefits you can’t afford to miss, especially if you manage thousands of paper documents on a daily basis. OCR technology is also getting more accurate and advanced, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be incorporating it into your document management strategy.
PairSoft is world-class DMS software that’s designed for nonprofit, education, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, and professional services organizations. It comes with OCR-enabled data capture, advanced search, and powerful automation capabilities. Sign up for a free personalized demo today to see how our OCR features can bring order and increased efficiency to your business.
Jem Boyd has 10+ years of ERP strategic marketing and implementation experience across a variety of platforms. She specializes in developing PairSoft's platform relationships as well as campaigns with Microsoft, NetSuite, Sage, and Blackbaud. She is based in Nashville.
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