Small manufacturing businesses rely heavily on paperwork that takes time and can affect business efficiency due to repetitive work. It also causes human errors in the data entry process and maintaining the records. The rise of technical evolution, such as cloud computing, IoT, automation, and user-centric solutions, has eased the manufacturing industries.
SMEs are shifting towards digital documents that allow quick access to data, work with remote teams and suppliers, save time in repetitive tasks, speed up manufacturing processes, and take a competitive advantage. However, the digitization process can become difficult if you don’t have enough resources, like the right scanner, perfect plan, or lack of knowledge about digital transformation.
In this blog post, we will understand how you can easily transform physical documents or paperwork into electronic files while choosing the right equipment.
Understanding Digital Documentation
Digital documentation is the process of converting hard-copy files into electronic documents. This process includes the integration of tools and technologies to speed up the work with accuracy. Digital documents can be electronically stored in computers or cloud ERP software and can be accessed easily anytime and anywhere you want.
Digital-based documents can facilitate collaboration through easy file sharing within the organization and suppliers. They also help you automate documentation for GST compliance and data analytics to make more informed decisions.
Read more here about What Is a Digital Document?
Preparing For Paper To Digital Transformation
Many SME businesses in India are adopting digital tools to convert their paperwork into digital format, which saves them time in data updates and automation. One such example is the cloud ERP software that allows manufacturers to automate their bills and invoice creations and have a digital record. Effective paper to digital transformation requires proper planning and integration of digital tools.
To begin the process, you need to identify your current documentation process, the time it takes to create POs and invoices, maintain payment receivables, and more. Your objectives to transform in paper digitization must be clear, with the expected result in terms of ease of work, maintaining updated data, and work efficiency.
Then, you need to make a budget by analyzing the useful resources such as manpower, software, and devices to convert hard copies into digital form. You also need to identify the existing backlog to be digitized and the level of automation you need to transform your paperwork.
Learn more here How Industry 4.0 Is Transforming Manufacturing Industry.
Common Challenges Faced During The Transition From Paper To Digital Documentation
You may face some challenges when making this transition. Knowing it early can simplify your digital transformation with effective preparation.
- Time-consuming: It may take months or even years, especially if you have a large volume of documents to work on.
- Resource Unavailability: Lack of resources like scanning equipment and storage solutions can cause problems in digitizing paper documents.
- Integration Issues: If you are using traditional ERP software, you may face problems integrating your document management system with it.
- Equipment Breakdown: The software and equipment you are using might cause malfunction due to overloaded work.
- Expensive Training: It may cost you more to train your employees to organize files and maintain the data.
- Data Loss: During the digitization process, there is a risk of losing important data due to improper handling, technical failures, or inadequate backup systems.
Strategies To Address And Overcome These Challenges
Digital transformation of your paper documents can be time-consuming and even cause equipment failure. Here are the right strategies to follow and overcome the challenges while digitizing paper documents.
- Preparing Ahead: Start by choosing important or high-volume files to convert paper to digital documents. Once it is done, you can continue with the remaining files.
- Choosing Right Tools: Use equipment like a bar code scanner, RFID, unlimited cloud storage, and cloud-ERP software to easily manage and maintain your documentation process.
- Integration Capabilities: Look for specifications of digital transformation in manufacturing systems that match your existing system and help you with data scalability.
- High-Quality Equipment: Invest in scanners, storage devices, document management software, and more that can run for a long time.
- Change Management: Train your employees about the new tools and technologies and communicate to support them in adapting to the change in digital documentation.
- Security Measures: Consider integrating cloud-based software for data management with features like encryptions, access control, and regular security audits.
Step-By-Step Guide To Digitizing Paper Documents
Here is a step-by-step guide to effectively transform your paper files into digital format with ease.
Step 1: Sorting And Categorizing Paper Documents
Start organizing your important files like your business reports, duplicate files, and client information. Audit and shortlist the files that are valuable for your business because the more documents you want to digitise, the more you have to pay. You can incorporate ILM (Information Lifecycle management) that will help establish a retention schedule for converting paper documents to electronic files while following industry compliance.
Step 2: Choosing The Right Equipment And Software
There are many ways used for converting paper to electronic documents, and scanners are among the best options. Select scanners that can scan large volumes of files without compromising quality and resolution. You can choose TranZact for document management and storage, as it provides a cloud system to store and manage your important files automatically.
Step 3: Scanning And Converting Paper Documents To Digital Format
Paper documents can be digitized through the combination of an effective scanner and digital documentation tools. You can choose a high-quality scanner to scan a large volume of files while categorizing them according to their values, name, and number. You can consider OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to convert them into machine language and then have easy access through ERP software.
Step 4: Organizing And Storing Digital Documents
Make sure to organize your files based on type, name, importance, and other factors while digitizing paper documents. You can start creating an electronic file structure that contains folders with file names similar to those of similar cabinets. You can choose a secured cloud-based storage space to keep your files safe and easily accessible by your team whenever required. For example, if your finance department has a cabinet labelled "Invoices," create a corresponding folder in your digital storage with the same name.
Step 5: Ensuring Data Security And Compliance
It is always a good practice to protect your digital documents from theft, cyberattacks, and other vulnerabilities. Choose the cloud-ERP software that provides security measures to protect it from getting hacked while following all compliance with industry standards. Look for features like encryption, access control, secured digital sharing, regular data backups, and additional security.
How To Convert Paper Documents Into Digital Format?
Converting paper documents to digital files can be time-consuming and challenging for SME manufacturers. It requires high-quality tools and document management software to convert paper into digital files. Here is how to convert paper documents into digital format with ease using different methods.
- Complete Backlog: It is the process of digitalizing paper files into electronic documents through IoT devices like scanners, barcode scanning system, and more. You can easily store them in the form of images and access them through your computer or smartphone.
- Image On-Demand: This process is usually executed when document scanning is not possible practically. It involves a partnership with document management vendors where you need to request document arrangement, repair for damaged files, and scanning to convert paper to digital documents.
- Day-Forward Digitization: This is a business process methodology service where a vendor helps to reduce the volume of paper transactions. In this process, the paper that comes first is scanned away, organized, and then stored for easy access.
Digital documentation requires effective tools for storage and management. Here is the list of top solutions for manufacturers to make your digital transformation easy and safe.
1. Odoo
Odoo is an online business management solution that helps to organize and access documents whenever required. It allows you to scan your files through your mobile or scanner and upload them to cloud storage. Its user-friendly centralized dashboard helps you monitor and have your documents in one place.
2. Oracle NetSuite
Oracle NetSuite is a popular cloud ERP software that allows businesses to conduct their accounting operations effectively. It provides easy conversion of paper files into digital documents in the form of images and PDFs. You can easily organize and navigate those files saved on cloud storage and use them to gain valuable data for business operations.
3. TranZact
TranZact offers easy-to-use document management solutions for Indian manufacturing SMEs with a centralized dashboard. It helps you integrate IoT devices like scanners to convert paper to digital documents and organize them based on their types and importance. It also provides visibility across your e-way bills, purchase e-invoice and other files, edits them, and organizes them in series to speed up the documentation work and meet GST compliance.
4. Tally Prime
Tally Prime is an ERP software that offers a dox2U solution, a cloud-based document management system. It helps you link your scanned documents and access them whenever you require them. You can easily edit, store, and share your files in the form of images or PDFs anytime and anywhere you want.
5. SAP
SAP is a business management software, and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software provides centralized data management for businesses. Its document management system helps convert paper files into digital format and save them on cloud-based software. You can easily connect with your employees and suppliers at SAP and share files through various online channels.
Best Practices For Digitizing Paper Documents/ Digital Documentation
Digital documentation provides easy accessibility of your important files under one platform. The best practices for digital documentation require automating your file management, regular updates, data backups, and many more, which we have explained below.
- Automate Documentation: Choose the right document management system to convert paper documents to electronic files and automate file creation, such as invoicing and billing.
- Regular Updates: Implement an online storage facility to regularly update your e-invoices, e-bills, business documents, and other important papers with team collaboration.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Integrate cloud ERP, which can be the best way to digitize paper documents and have real-time reporting and operations analytics.
- Integrate Security: Choose a document management system that keeps you updated on security measures to match industry regulations and protect your valuable data.
- Train Employees: Conduct training programs for your employees to make them aware of the new tools and their functionality.
Learn more about How Industry 4.0 is Transforming Manufacturing Industry for the best digital documentation practice.
Start Your Digital Journey With TranZact
Digitizing your paperwork can now become easy due to the ability of tools for scanning and software like OCR to convert them into machine language. TranZact is a cloud-based tool that provides a document management solution for converting papers into digital documents.
With TranZact, you can easily integrate OCR, file scanners, and other tools to automate your data storage with real-time updates. It is an easy-to-use tool for Indian manufacturing to simplify their inventory tracking, purchase order management, regulatory compliance, and more at a place.
Choose TranZact now to make your document management easy and take steps toward digital transition.
FAQs
1. What are digital documents?
Digital documents are virtual files that can be sent, received, or edited electronically through software. MS Word, Google Docs, MS Excel, Spreadsheets, PPT, and PDF are a few examples of digital documents.
2. Why should I transition from paper to digital documents?
You should transition from paper to digital documents to simplify your documentation process, provide the convenience of easy sharing to your employees, save time in repeated work, and many more.
3. What is the best way to digitize paper documents?
The best ways to digitize paper documents are:
- Prepare to digitize files
- Select document scanner
- Choose an OCR system
- Integrate document management tool
- Use the right naming structure
- Organize the document
- Train your staffs
- Back up data from time to time
4. How do I convert paper documents to digital format?
You can convert paper documents to digital format in the following ways:
- Organize your documents
- Choose the scanning methods
- Choose the file format
- Scan the document
- Save the file
- Rename the scanned copy
- Save in document management system
5. What tools and software are needed for digitizing paper documents?
Tools and software that are needed for digitizing paper documents are high-quality scanners, an OCR system, storage devices, and a document management system.
6. How can I ensure the security of my digital documents?
You can make sure the security of your digital documents by limiting user accessibility, encrypting data, using a secured cloud-based document management system, following the right practices, taking scheduled backups, keeping your system updated, and other measures.
7. What are the common challenges in transitioning from paper to digital documents?
The common challenges in transitioning from paper to digital documents are:
- Lack of equipment
- Unskilled manpower
- Time-consuming process
- Low-quality document
- Securing data
- Training employees
8. How do I train my staff to use digital documentation systems?
You can train your staff to use a digital documentation system by providing practical sessions to understand the uses, scanning the papers, storing the data, constantly communicating with them about the latest trends and technologies related to the tools, and more.
