Move to a paperless future: get started with document automation and scanning
We often see people still processing paper invoices, purchase orders, contracts, customer forms, employee files and job applications. If you’re looking to improve efficiency and focus in your organization, then reducing the time spent processing documents (especially paper files or emailed files) is critical.
To get away from the paper and inefficient processes, electronic scanning and filing can help. Here’s a quick overview of how to get started with software that helps you scan paper, extract metadata and move it to SharePoint.
Scanning options
When looking for a scanning solution, consider these questions:
Do you need a local or centralized scanning solution? Volume of documents and team size will be primary factors determining which way you go. Small teams will likely do their own scanning (localized), while medium to larger teams who manage large volumes of documents will have resources dedicated to scanning (centralized).
Once scanned, where and how will the documents be saved? This brings in the discussion of a document management system, cloud file storage or local network storage.
Will the scanned documents need to be searched by name/date only, other metadata, or fully text searchable? Searchable PDF files are larger than image-only PDF files and take longer to scan.
What will happen to documents after they are scanned? Will they be shredded, and if so, be sure you consider using a company that assures confidential shredding of your documents.
The answers to these questions will inform the solution that meets your needs.
The options we recommend
We looked at the market of scanning options, and there are two options we suggest for SharePoint/Microsoft 365 based ECM systems that cover most requirements:
Scanner + PSIgen’s PSIcapture tool. PSIcapture is a business process automation system designed to capture, extract and migrate information into usable formats. It’s relatively inexpensive and best for high-volume scanning (when you have a few thousand pages to scan a year). It runs on-premises on a dedicated machine, which in most cases is directly connected to the scanner.
Scanner + Power Automate + Microsoft 365 AI Builder / SharePoint Syntex. After documents are scanned into a folder, use Power Automate to take the scanned files, optionally rename them and upload to SharePoint for processing. Microsoft AI Builder and SharePoint Syntex are add-ons to Microsoft 365 that you train to read files and extract metadata. Recently, we shared how to build a model in AI Builder to read invoices.
For the rest of the post, I’m going to focus on PSIcapture because it can be more cost effective, especially if you don’t have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft.
How PSIcapture works
Step 1: Capture
As the name suggests, PSIcapture helps with capturing data from documents. It can get data from scanners, as well as other common places such as a “watch folder” on a network drives or a shared inbox.
Step 2: Extract
The real value of PSIcapture comes in when extracting data from these captures. It extracts data from documents, PDFs and images and puts that information into a usable format for a next step or classification.
Step 3: Migrate / Publish
The final step in setting up PSIcapture is to migrate (or publish) the document somewhere. The tool supports migrating to different Document Management, Line of Business and ECM Systems, including SharePoint.
The overall architecture looks like:
High-level architecture of PSIcapture - courtesy of PSIgen
Demo of how PSIcapture works with SharePoint
To see it in action, here’s a short video of processing invoices, extracting metadata and automatically saving searchable PDFs into SharePoint:
If you’re looking to increase efficiency and focus on your core business, then reducing your use of paper may be a route to consider. Reach out to us if you want help planning your process and transitioning to electronic records!
