Do you have cabinets and drawers full of files and essential documents stored in them? Managing and organizing large documents isn’t just a hassle; it is also damaging to your work productivity levels. Trying to find your way through files upon files of paperwork to find the particular documents that you’re looking for can take hours, wasting a good quarter of your work day for no reason.
Moreover, organizing large documents and hefty folders can be quite a nightmare. You will need to invest in new drawers, file cabinets, and storage boxes to make space for all of these documents. It simply isn’t worth the hassle, not when there is a better, safer, and more streamlined way for you to preserve your large documents quickly. Here are some tips to get it done with large format document scanning!
1. Keep Digital Copies of Important Documents
The best way to store and preserve large documents quickly is by digitizing them through Smooth Solutions. It is a document scanning service that converts your physical documents into digital files that can be stored on your computer. Therefore, it eliminates the need to keep physical copies of the paperwork and have numerous filing cabinets around your office.
By digitizing your large documents, you can make the files easily accessible and shareable. You will be able to retrieve the documents you need in a matter of seconds as they are stored on your computer. It is the ideal way to reduce clutter, as by scanning paperwork into digital copies, you can put away the filing cabinets and just store everything within your computer.
2. Use a NAS or Cloud-based System
It can be frustrating to download or upload files from the cloud to your devices when you need them. The network speed always seems to become too slow and refuses to cooperate whenever you have an urgent task that requires you to retrieve a digital file.
The best way to manage large files and prevent any delays in retrieval is by using a Network Attached Software (NAS). This software is the best choice for organizing and managing large files as you can easily share them with other computers on the network. Moreover, you can access files over the network and even online, allowing you better accessibility with quick downloads and uploads.
3. Regularly Back Up Your Data
Once your files have been digitized through a document scanning service, you will need to ensure that they are preserved and well protected. The best way to make sure you don’t lose any important documents or sensitive paperwork is by making it a practice to regularly back up your data.
A simple and efficient way to do this is by storing your data over the cloud. Public clouds like Microsoft Azure are a great option for data backup. You can also use Google Drive, but it tends to work rather slowly when it comes to handling large files.
4. Buy an External Hard Drive
Backing up your data on the cloud can quickly get expensive if you are handling large files. They take up a significant amount of space and can slow down your computer. So, a better way to handle large files is by investing in an external hard drive.
External hard drives allow you to save large files that you don’t need to retrieve frequently. They are safer and most discreet than cloud-based networks. Additionally, external hard drives allow you to load terabytes of data at once, making the process quicker, easier, and cheaper.
5. Follow a Consistent Naming Method
Once your documents are properly stored, you will also need an efficient naming method to keep track of all the digital paperwork. Consistent naming methods also make it easier to retrieve files and share them without having to scroll through folders upon folders of documents.
You can further divide them into subfolders based on different clients, vendors, and colleagues. Use shortened forms of file names to make it easier to see what or who the document refers to. Also, try to make the most of color coding to easily identify the folders and documents.
6. Sort Them Effectively
Lastly, be sure to sort out the digital files appropriately. You can use chronological order or even utilize an alphabetic order to sort out the files. Another great approach to effective sorting is separating completed work from ongoing projects, so you don’t have to navigate through hundreds of files before reaching the document that you need to work on each day.
At periodic intervals, for example, two weeks, make it a practice to move files that you have completed or no longer require into the respective folders. It allows impeccable organization of your files and makes it significantly easier to manage your work for the day.