The digital transformation of the financial department is essential to move a business forward.
The financial department handles a big number of documents on a daily basis. Paper-intense processes can be quite cumbersome and they’ll definitely contribute to productivity reductions. Moving to digital document management makes a lot of sense, reducing the risk of human error and inefficiencies.
If you’re trying to make the transformation happen, scanning financial documents would be the very first step. Due to the specific and confidential nature of such documentation, it’s essential to handle imaging in the correct way. Here are some tips and strategies for effortless, practical, and effective digitization that ensures thorough compliance with current regulations.
Prioritize Important Items for Scanning
According to many reports, finance is at the heart of technological change within the corporate world. There are many reasons why. Digitization increases efficiency, enables better financial planning, and reduces the burden on a team that’s probably already overwhelmed with the influx of data.
To start the effective scanning of financial documents, you’ll probably need to prioritize.
The finance department deals with many kinds of papers – contracts, invoices, cash flow statements, balance sheets, income statements, budget reports, bank statements, business plans, payment agreements, etc.
Get the team involved in deciding which of these documents needs to be digitized first.
Usually, priority should be given to high-volume documentation that plays an important role in everyday operations.
Scanning financial documents that impact just about every process first will maximize efficiency and allow for the more effortless management of supportive documentation in the future.
Be Careful in Terms of Outsourcing
Scanning financial documents on your own isn’t efficient. Due to the lack of knowledge and professional, high-volume equipment, you’ll waste a lot of time. In addition, the risk of getting a mediocre outcome is present.
Opting for document scanning services makes a lot more sense. Professionals in the realm know how to prep paper and how to complete a high-volume job within a short period of time.
If you intend to outsource, make sure that the company you choose for the job has the qualifications, certification, and reputation to handle the job in the best possible manner.
Onsite document scanning is always a good idea. You should also inquire about the compliance procedures and certifications a team has.
Finally, ask about the way that paper-based financial documents will be handled after the job is done. Very often, financial documentation contains sensitive data and it will have to be destroyed in a certain way to ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks.
Determine How the Digitized Documents Will Be Integrated with Financial Software
The purpose of scanning financial documents is to add those to a digital database. Next, that database will be integrated with financial software for the purpose of ensuring long-lived and thorough digitization.
While scanning is taking place, you should be thinking about the finance software product that your department would be utilized from that point forward.
Think carefully about your needs. A good solution should allow for effortless archive creation, sorting, indexing, and retrieval. Templates and automated workflows for the creation of new documents will also be required to simplify processes and manage some of the most tedious tasks.
Good financial software products can be integrated with other solutions that your team depends on like collaboration, project management, and document management apps. Thus, you need to have a comprehensive strategy that would allow effortless collaboration across departments and the creation of a cohesive approach toward the management and use of digital files in the future.
Plan for a Hybrid Setup When Scanning Financial Documents
While going 100 percent paperless may seem like the ultimate goal, chances are that you cannot achieve such a level of digitization at the time being.
You’ll probably have to consider a hybrid approach in the very beginning.
Some contracts, statements, and strategic documents will need to be maintained in paper format for a certain period of time.
While this period lasts, you’ll have to maintain both paper-based and digital archives.
Try to come up with a strategy aimed at optimizing both. Reducing the size and volume of the paper-based archive as much as possible should be your primary goal. In time, the volume of paper-based documentation will go down as new entries will enter your organization in a digital form.
Financial document management comes with specifics that you shouldn’t underestimate if you want to achieve proper digitization right off the bat. Scanning is just the first step and you’ll have to think about many other essentials while it is taking place.
Prioritize document safety, effectiveness, and ongoing digitization in the future if you want to get the best results. Also, research scanning service providers and ask important questions before hiring someone for the job. Doing your homework in advance will save you a lot of time later on and you’ll also reduce the risk of violating compliance requirements (a mistake that can prove to be very costly for your business).