A small firm that decides to go paperless usually starts by buying a scanner and ends with a drive full of unnamed PDFs, because the software was chosen before the rules were written. This page gives the order of work: size the backlog, write the numbering and retention rules, then choose software for paperless office use on the three records it keeps. It says how to read document managment software listings and document management systems examples without being sold a workflow engine, what records management software examples mean for a firm of ten, and how to track documents once the paper is gone. The free document capture worksheet on this site does the sizing.
Size the backlog before you buy anything
Count the boxes, estimate pages per box, and add the pages arriving each working day. The free document capture worksheet turns those into scan hours, the retrieval time the firm spends finding paper by hand and its cost, and the pages a retention period keeps. A firm that knows it has eighty boxes and forty pages a day buys differently from one that thinks it has a scanning problem; the first needs capture in bulk once and a small daily habit, the second needs neither.
Write the numbering and retention rules first
Going paperless without a numbering rule produces a drive where every file is called scan001.pdf. Decide the Bates prefix per client or matter, the retention period per document type, and who may share what, and write them on one page. Document management systems examples in vendor listings all support some version of those rules; what matters is that the firm has them before the demo, so the demo is judged on whether the software applies the firm's rules rather than on its feature count.
Choose the software on three records, then track documents by number
Software for paperless office use earns its place on the number it gives every page, the log of who opened and shared it, and the retention date it carries. Records management software examples built for a records department add classification schemes and legal holds a firm of ten will not use. Once the paper is gone, how to track documents is by number: the number is on the page, in the portal and in the export. Dropbox publishes $15 per user per month for its Standard team plan as the storage rate; Batesio Pro is $19 a month for the whole firm and is the record on top of the storage.
Questions people ask about go paperless
What is the first step to go paperless?
Sizing the backlog and the daily load with the free worksheet, so the firm buys capture for the volume it actually has.
Is document managment software different from document management software?
No; the misspelling is common and the listings are the same. Judge them on the number, the log and the retention date.
How do I track documents after going paperless?
By number. Every page carries its Bates number, the portal shows it, and the export lists it.
Does Batesio scan?
No. It numbers, shares and retains what the firm captures; the worksheet sizes the capture and any scanner or service does it.