How can the education sector deal with funding cuts in a way that won't bring the system to its knees?

There is no denying that education is one of the most important sectors in today's society. They are the bricks and mortar of British people with almost half of all young people progressing as far as further education. But government cuts to funding have long hampered the progress of educational establishments as they continue to look for ways to reduce costs without affecting the most important element; the education service they provide.

What is the Solution?

Schools are reluctantly trying everything to recover costs they have lost through lack of funding. Class sizes have been increased to attract more funding but staff numbers have had to be cut. There doesn't seem to be an ideal solution that won't negatively affect some part of the system. Short of abolishing free education and sending us all back to the dark ages, what can be done?

How Can Document Scanning Help?

The benefits that come with document scanning could go a long way to recovering costs for the educational sector while still providing efficient services. At the moment, a lot of schools (and other educational establishments for that matter) keep student and staff records as paper files stored in filing cabinets. These filing cabinets take up a great deal of space and they slow down file retrieval times even for the most efficient of reception staff. By having these documents scanned into a digital document management system, schools, colleges and universities can ditch those cumbersome cabinets and find files quickly and easily without the worry of loss, theft or damage. As a result, more space can be freed up or money will be saved on storage.

Less money will be spent in other areas too such as printing inks and paper. Files can be shared and accessed online almost completely banishing the need for hard copies. It is often forgotten how much money can be wasted on paper and ink, not to mention the electricity costs of running printers so often.

Implementing a digital document management system through document scanning can also improve the reputation of the institution. If a school looks like it works efficiently and can handle the information of their children safely and securely then more people will want to send their children there. The more children attending a school, the more funding they will get.

The benefits that educational establishments and any other organisation can get are always different depending on the circumstances, but one thing is for sure, document scanning can save money in one way or another.

Schools Have Gone Digital in Other Areas Too

While document scanning in education is a relatively new solution, the education sector has been embracing the digital age for some time. Attendance registers are now completed through digital softwares such as SIMS, whiteboards and blackboards have been replaced by digital doppelgangers and iPads are a common feature in lessons.

If you would like some more information about the document scanning services we offer, please don't hesitate to get in touch and we will even offer a free, no obligation, quote for your document scanning project.

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For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923          London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900

Over the years, the way we work has changed significantly. With the introduction of the internet and, more recently, mobile devices we can take advantage of their speed and efficiency to improve our workflow.

The digital age has brought with it many advantages. Here are just a few;

Access

With the arrival of technology to the workplace, we have gained the ability to access information easily. This has brought about a number of benefits;

• We can now complete work from anywhere, anytime without the need to be in the office. This has led to an increasing amount of 'work from home' jobs giving more flexibility to lots of workers.
• We can access resources from a number of devices so there is no need to wander back and forth from your desk to access them.
• Technology not only lets us access information but also people; business can now go international easier with the introduction of software like Skype, which can be used for conference calls, and emails which can send information around the world in seconds.

Communication

As mentioned above, communication between businesses and clients has become much easier with the introduction of Skype, email and mobile devices. Information, which in the past would have taken days to be delivered by post, can now reach its recipient in seconds.

Security

It's not just business technology that has advanced but also security at these companies. CCTV, code access, alarm systems and better building infrastructure have all made company premises much more secure. Some companies, like Pearl Scan, rely on secure premises to aid clients and protect their documents. Where in the past businesses could have suffered due to poor security, their premises are now protected so they can focus on providing services without that worry.

Efficiency

All of the above elements result in improved efficiency within the company and, we know you don't need telling, improved efficiency makes for a more successful business or organisation. Businesses with greater efficiency attract better customer reviews to which is essential to attract new customers and help the business to continue to grow.

Pearl Scan offer a range of solutions to help improve the way you and your company work in the digital age, from scanning services to document management solutions. If you would like some more information on the way Pearl Scan's scanning services can help you, feel free to browse our websites or get in touch today for a free, no-obligation quote for your scanning project.

Request a Quote   |   Contact Us    |    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Scan-do People^tm


For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923          London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900

While we have spoken in past blogs about the costs of document scanning, with large bulks able to be scanned for as little as 1p per sheet, in this blog we will look at the costs you could save through digitising your document management system.

We know that every office is different with regards to size and paper usage. Here, we have included Wrap's suggested equations for calculating the specific cost of your office's paper usage.

Total Reams of Paper Purchased Per Year ÷ Number of Staff in Your Organisation = Total Paper Use (Reams/Person/Year)
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Total Cost of Paper Purchased Per Year ÷ Number of Staff in Your Organisation = Cost (£/Person/Year)

Once you have calculated the cost of paper usage in your office, you may be a little shocked. Paper doesn't always come to mind when you think of large expenses in the office but it is a silent budget drainer. Add to this the costs involved in printing documents and storing them and you have a pretty hefty expense.

But how can you reduce this even when every document printed is deemed to be 'necessary'?

Investing in document scanning solutions may seem unnecessary but, through that one off payment, you can save costs for years to come. Just think, if you don't already have a digital system in place, here are some of the expenses coming out of your budget on a daily basis;

• Paper
• Printer Ink
• Electricity for the printers
• Storage items
• Storage space

If you outsource a document scanning company, like Pearl Scan, to fully digitise your store of documents and then securely dispose of them afterwards, you can reduce or even eliminate some of the above costs.

On average, a worker in a non paper-savvy office will use around 45 sheets of paper a day. A large portion of this paper is not needed in paper form and would be much more useful in digitised form.

Having a digital document can be useful in many ways;

• It can be accessed from anywhere.
• It can be shared with any number of people from anywhere in the world.
• There are no costs incurred every time a file is shared/duplicated.
• It doesn't take up any space.
• It can be efficiently searched for and available at the click of a button through OCR processing.
• Your document is more secure as it can be encrypted and password protected.

So there we have the advantages of getting your documents scanned and implementing a digital document management system compared with the costs of continuing to print and store documents. I think you'll agree that Document Scanning and Digital Document Management put forward a very good case. We all know that costs and profit margins are an important part of business so it would be a sensible and forward thinking choice to invest in document scanning services to cut down those outgoing costs so you can increase profit margins in the long run.

If you would like some more information on the document scanning and digital document management services we offer here at Pearl Scan and how they can help your organisation, please get in touch today. For a free, no obligation quote for your document scanning project, complete our online form by following the relevant links below.

Request a Quote   |   Contact Us    |    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Scan-do People^tm


For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923          London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900