Going Paperless



For an organization to go paperless is not as simple as it may seem to be. One might think that simply scanning the documents and keeping them in a folder, where it is accessible to multiple users is a general idea. For an organization to be truly paperless, working with all its documents should be done without the physical paper in hand. This can be achieved with a document management system. Odoo provides an integrated document management system that works seamlessly with all the other applications in the product suite. All that is required is for your organisation to have all the necessary processes in place to capture all forms of documents that come into the organization or are generated by it.

Some of these are listed below:

      • Vendor Bills and Utilities that come through the mail
      • Internal accounting reports, customer orders, shipping documents, requisitions, purchase orders, etc
      • Inbound Faxes are another source of documents.
      • Inbound email documents with receipt attachments or simply email receipts.
      • Expense receipts 
      • Reference HTTP links to online document content.



These papers, digital documents, and PDFs are delivered to the business and captured in the business systems as transactional records. A routine process needs to be established to fast-track these documents into the document management system on a daily basis, ie as and when the activities are conducted.

APPLYING META TAGS

Other considerations when going paperless are how to:    

      •  Secure documents and make them accessible to only the relevant parties
      • Apply tag labels to documents to help in the easy identification and routing of documents

e.g. #1: tags on one document to number, Timestamp: Indicates when the document is received, 12:59 pm, 16-2022-03, Department:  Business function where the document will be used, in Finance Department/Payables, Document: Shows the type of document, Contract/ Vendor Bill

Meta tags make it possible to quickly and easily filter documents.

MOVING FILES INTO WORKSPACES
PAYABLE VENDOR BILLS

Workspace for your Bill can be a dedicated location where bills are uploaded as soon as the company receives them. In addition to the workspace system, there is also Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and AI to facilitate the reading and uploading of PDF versions of bills directly into your Odoo accounting system for processing. The document management system can read the PDF version of the data and create a vendor invoice based on that information, and attach the PDF to the vendor account for reference. This makes it possible to verify the information and make any corrections needed. The document management system remembers the modifications made and applies those rules the next time that vendor document is captured, streamlining the payables billing entry process. 

REQUESTING MISSING DOCUMENTATION 

Gone are the days when you need to use email to request additional documentation and then move the documents from your email to the appropriate location. Odoo makes it possible to simply "request" a document from the workspace or any transaction you are performing. Select the "Upload Document Activity", and enter the description of the document(s) you need, the user it is for and how soon you need it. The recipient will see the summary of what is needed and the deadline for delivering the information. An upload button is available to upload whatever documentation is needed from the individual's device. These documents will be uploaded directly to the transaction from which the "request" was initiated. 

VERSION CONTROL ON DOCUMENTS

The document management system must have the ability to keep track of the changes that have occurred to documents in its repository. This functionality is important for many reasons, especially for audit purposes. 


ARCHIVING AND DELETING 

Paper piles up over time, and so do digital files. A sophisticated document management system like Odoo's document management system allows you to archive your files. This refers to moving the file away from being viewed or accessed. Archived files can be however unarchived and viewed but deleted files on the other hand completely erases. When it comes to Archiving or Permanently removing records, your business must have a properly defined document retention policy in place adapted from the industry in which you operate.

BENEFITS

There are several benefits of using a document management system. Some of these are:  

      • Printing less paper saves money and time as most reports are converted into PDFs.
      • Since most documents are online, it is easier for remote workers to access copies of reports. This would not have been possible in the past.
      • The Odoo application suite including document management is also available on your mobile device. This means, with a smartphone in hand, you can have access to all your data and documents directly from the palm of your hand any time and anywhere. 
      • There is also a positive environmental impact as there is less and less paper waste in the environment.
      • Productivity improves with well-implemented and organised documentation

SUMMARY 

Just like the saying goes, "the future is now". When you have the right tools to help you organize and manage your business documents efficiently and almost effortlessly, it is indeed the future in your hand.  

To find out more about "Going Paperless" and Odoo, give us a call at +1 317 203-0244,  contact us online or schedule an appointment with our dedicated account representatives to better understand how we work and how we will achieve your goals and improve your productivity.


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