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Commercial Appraisal Document Scanning Options
GUEST BLOG
The Highest and Best Use Blog team looks for opportunities to bring our readers outside perspectives. This blog was submitted by Paul Janicek, the CEO and founder of DocuLock, a document scanning startup in Kansas City.
[fusion_dropcap boxed=”no” boxed_radius=”” class=”” id=”” color=””]P[/fusion_dropcap]eople love paper. That is a known fact; one you can easily check by looking around your own desk at work. Everyone trusts paper documentation. It’s easy to refer to and feels good to hold in your hand. But what happens when that hand is wet and the paper is damaged? What about when you need one specific page to finish your report, but you cannot find it? How about when that one document that was vital has been shredded?
As a paper-based society, we strive to make sure we have everything in printed form, including emails. Even though we know that they are perfectly safe staying in digital form, we print. Teams still sometimes share printed spreadsheets. Electronic options to share and edit are easy. So, why do they do it? The commercial appraisal industry loves it’s paper, but it’s not alone.
A quick Google search shows that this paper vs. digital debate is very common. Certainly there is a middle ground between going completely paperless and sticking with a paper-heavy environment, right? The compromise is surprisingly simple. Here at DocuLock, LLC®, we call it “Paper Lite.”
Going Digital in a Paper World
In a “Paper Lite” environment, you make essential documents digital at all costs, be it HR, Financial, Sales, etc. You need to ask yourself as a business owner, what will I grab if the building was on fire? What do you carry out and what must you leave to be burned to ash? All of a sudden, everything seems indispensable and should be digitalized to protect against loss! Don’t wait for the fire.
Before hitting the panic button, we recommend following these guidelines when choosing what to store digitally:
Note: These docs have all the original signatures/notes
- Client contracts
- HR documents
- Payroll (this is becoming less paper-intensive with software like QuickBooks)
- Client notes, sketches, etc. (Add these to a Customer Relationship Management system ASAP!)
Regarding CRM (Customer Relationship Management), if you are not currently using one, consider changing that. CRM software is easy to use and even free in some cases. It allows you to protect your client info, marketing trends, sales activities, etc. For commercial appraisers, realquantum covers much of this function since it stores client information and has a history of all the assignments and properties associated to the client.
Challenges of Commercial Appraisal Document Scanning
Appraisers can certainly scan their own documentation. However, there are several challenges, outlined below. These factors tend to be showstoppers on an in-house project.
- Full-time employees are hired for their particular skill sets. Paying them to scan is a gross waste of company resources.
- Using the incorrect software/hardware produces scans that will not have searchable text. Therefore, research is a burden. Instead of a paper mess, you now have a digital mess.
- Some companies hire temps to scan their docs in. It always amazes me that a company would willingly trust a temp employee with their mission-critical documentation. This trend is very dangerous.
The alternative is to outsource the scanning process. DocuLock is an example, and there are others. What are the benefits? Simply opposite of the above:
- The scanning team works with employees, but keeps the disruption to a minimum. In fact, many teams do the scanning locally. That speeds up the process and avoids shipping costs or risks.
- Scanned files will have searchable text and will be easy to locate later.
- The trained scanning staff are accurate and quick.
We all love paper and that most likely will never change. But, embracing a commercial appraisal documentation scanning strategy is a logical step. It protects something that people love more than paper—their business and its safety.
About the Author
Paul Janicek is Chief Executive Officer of DocuLock, LLC. You can read his bio here.
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