Document Scanning Diary

I know its been 6 months but...

2007-08-09T13:54:00.000+01:00

.....i have been really, really busy ! Honest i have.

Anyway here's some words i have written, that you can read.

After the torrential rain and flooding, the clean up has finally begun.

How you survive as a small business owner after a natural disaster is all down to your disaster recovery planning and implentation.

This months newsletter will help you put together an effective Disaster Recovery Plan in case of a disaster.

As we know, it has been the wettest June since records began in 1914. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6270346.stm

This means the devastation and flooding that has been seen in Hull will result in 6,800 claims from businesses averaging £100,000 each. It is going to cost a total of 1.5 billion pounds to recompense everyone including both businesses and individuals. Buildings can be dried out and furniture can be replaced, but what about your business documents?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6276150.stm

Your client files for example. These documents are key to your business. They contain everything you need to know about your potential and current customers. From what they have bought from you in the past to potential future orders. Client files are essential to running a profitable business.

Here are some statistics from Blackburn's Government website. http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/upload/pdf/lcc_disaster_recovery.pdf

Disaster Statistics

· 90% of businesses that lose data from a disaster are forced to shut within 2 years of the disaster;

· 80% of businesses without a well structured recovery plan are forced to shut within 12 months of a flood or fire;

· Companies experiencing a computer outage lasting longer than 10 days, will never recover their full financial capacity;

· 43% of companies who have a business continuity plan do not test it annually to ensure that it works;

The statistics look pretty grim but if you write and implement a disaster recovery plan, then you are managing your disaster recovery solutions, keeping you and your business up and running.

Developing a disaster recovery plan

An effective DRP can be achieved by carrying out the following steps:

Identify the really crucial parts of the business and everything connected with it. E.g. if you scan documents for a living then you can't operate without your scanners. Make a full and comprehensive list of equipment and facilities that are essential to carry on trading in case of a disaster.

Assigning monitary values to every item of equipment you own will help you:

a) realise what equipment you own.

b) work out how much you need to insure your equipment for.

c) you can quickly ascertain what's missing and damaged if there is a fire or a flood, and speed up the claming proceess.

Define what customers, suppliers and stakeholders expect, particularly in terms of contractual obligations.

Make sure you spell out in your contract what the customer can expect if there is an unforeseen disaster. Go through contracts carefully with suppliers, making sure there are provisions made in the event of a disaster. Also find out what would happen if there was a disaster that affected your suppliers

Conduct 'what if' scenario planning to determine suitable responses for various disasters or emergencies (anything that can destroy or render resources or data inoperable is a potential disaster).

Communicate the plan to everyone, ensuring the necessary resources are adequately prepared and that includes your wife/husband/partner.

Test and review the strategy at least annually or if you expand your business.
Endeavour to integrate a planning and control process into every element of business planning, allowing DR plans to grow in step with the business and its changing requirements.

A well structured and rehearsed disaster recovery plan provides you and your staff with the peace of mind that if the worst really does occur, steps are already in place to turn what would been a major disaster into a minor inconvenience.

You can find a pocket size guide to Business Continuity Management from the Business Continuity Institute. http://www.thebci.org/PocketsizeGPGIC.pdf

The BBC also has some useful hints and tips on how to start your contingency planning.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2941338.stm

So how does document scanning fit in with your disaster recovery plan?

Being able to back up all your paperwork securely and online will mean your most important documents will be safe, no matter what the disaster. Gain access to them at anytime from anywhere so even if you can't get into your workplace it doesn't matter. You can still work from home or from an alternate location.

eFILE-it can help you and your company with your disaster recovery planning by keeping your documents online and retrievable, 24/7. Our secure server is also backed up by 3 other servers so your information is always safe and protected.

I wrote this article in a newsletter but i had such a good response to it i thought i would pop it on my blog for everyone to read. Of course i wont be doing this with all newsletters you need to subscribe to get all that information.

Where does all the time go?

2007-02-21T16:07:00.001Z

Well my baby is one this week and i am sat here thinking "where has a year gone?" I am sure its all got something to do with quantum mechanics or something. From being born a year ago she has managed to be weaned and is now walking and definitely talking her talk. As she gets older so time seems to quicken, why is that? Even Colin the Scanning Manager at Papershrink can't believe its only a year ago since i had her!

When we are scanning a clients documents we have logs in place so we can measure how long the entire process can and will take. These logs are necessary for complying with BIP 0008, but are also very useful for producing production timetables and also being able to keep the client informed of deadlines etc.

I don't keep logs on my daughters (although i suppose i could !) but i do keep photos, paintings and drawings to mark the passage of time.

I still don't understand though, how time seems to speed up the older you get?

Any answers anybody?

February Lurve xoxox

2007-02-01T14:24:00.000Z

So blogging two or three times a week hasn't really happened !! Thanks to Charles for pointing that out to me. I can only apologise and say my excuses... Which are i have been so busy i just haven't had the time to sit and write. This is a good thing though. I would worry if i had lots of time to write here. :)

So its February and it's the month of Amore so check out this love game

Happy Valentines to all, A big hug to everyone from Papershrink :)

I am hoping for champers and a big box of chocolates and a quiet night in. Funny how your wants change as you get older. Saying that if you want a banging night out and are in the Peterborough area my friend is having a Hip hop night all details are here. I guarantee a good night out.

Papershrink and eFILE-it have another top tip for you...if you are wanting to scan in-house...One very good way of separating pieces of paper is to use rubber thimbles. These babies on your fingers will save time and paper cuts, try them out and see.

And remember if you just want some scanning advice please call me.
I would love to help xxx

Christmas already !!!

2006-12-19T15:17:00.000Z

It doesn't seem like two minutes ago i was starting up this monthly blog !! LOL and now its December. Well in the world of document scanning we are very busy and getting everything done before the Xmas break seems impossible. I have every confidence in the production team though and i know we are on track to finish on Friday. YAY!!

So who has Xmas shopping left to do? I really should write my Xmas cards as well although i have done one for our customers on efile-its home page, if you would like a look. www.efile-it.co.uk

So if you haven't made a new years resolution yet then now is the time and if you want that desk clear for '07, remember we can help

Have a cool Yule and a Peaceful '07 from all at Papershrink

see you next year.

Happy Halloween

2006-10-31T13:39:00.000Z

Happy Halloween to everyone !

I hope you are all enjoying Robin Hood on the BBC as much as i am ...I know there are corny and cheesy bits in it but i am enjoying it. what do you think?

I have also started back at work full time after the birth of my baby. She is 8 months old now and is at nursery full time for the first time today.........she was fine when i left her there this morning and i doubt very much she is missing me at all. LOL :)

On the scanning front we have some extra capapcity in December so if you want your scanning done then get in touch and get the 10% discount.

I dont have any halloween parties to attend tonight but i am sure there will be some somewhere. I did go to one of my friends parties last year and it was brilliant. Just looked the set out of Beetlejuice, with spooky party games and food and of course drink. It was ace.

efile-it has expanded a little visit at www.efile-it.co.uk

Another scanning tip : If you have a lot of paper that you want to split up into multiple documents, instead of separating the paper manually, insert a separator sheet where you want one document to end and another one to start. Your scanner should recognise these sheets after you have set up the software and scanned one initially.

eFILE-it Launches

2006-10-06T10:32:00.000+01:00

We noticed that in the world of document scanning there is very little (if any) blogs about. So we decided to write one. We dont know if this is going to work or not however we will never know unless we give it a go. We are allowing ourselves 15 minutes 3 times a week to write something useful/funny/observational about the world of document scanning. If you have any suggestions about what you would like to see on here, suggest it. Also if you have any questions please ask, if we dont know the answer we will know someone/somewhere who will.

It wont all be about scanning. We are 2 female owners here at papershrink so we have all the usual pressures, children (babies), husbands,partners, cooking,cleaning and a business to run. Now we are wondering why are we doing this AS WELL ????? Madness..... :)

We have a merry little band of staff (homage to Robin Hood starting on Saturday night on BBC 1 which will all be contributing to this blog at some time in the future.

We will also be publishing a scanning, preparation,or QC tip of the day so watch this space.

We also have an offer on our brand new eFILE-It service...... check it out!

Todays preparation tip is ........ When preparing paperwork for the scanner, use a handheld metal detector to check if all the staples have been removed. Save your scanner scatches !!