Going paperless

[sea-tax]

Thank you for the feedbacks and advice. Just one more question...how time-consuming is the scanning process? Like how long will it take to scan a 10 pages tax return?

IMHO it will take a little getting used to , the whole scanning thing. But once you and your staff become accustomed to it you will wonder why it took so long to implement.

I have personally seen an increase in productivity. Specially on my bookkeeping and payroll staff. It has shaved approximately 1-1.5 hours off of there day.

[dsi]

I've been using the fujitsu scansnap for a couple of years now and it hasn't given me any trouble at all. A 10 page return can be scanned in about 1 minute (color docs and duplex scanning also part of the package).

[Holland]

Time will vary

The time it takes to scan will vary primarily upon the resolution you choose. 300 dpi will give a pretty good copy. My scanners (all in ones) have all been able to scan at about the same speed as they print. So I would suggest that 10 pages should take a minute or two on a reasonable machine.

[NotEasy]

Thank you

Thank you for the feedbacks and advice. Just one more question...how time-consuming is the scanning process? Like how long will it take to scan a 10 pages tax return?

[veritas]

I believe

Fujistu is the leader for scanners. We have several and they are work horses.

[taxmandan]

Paperless office

I use a Xerox with flatbed and sheet feed ability, like Holland says it's good to have both feed capabilities. Avoid getting a multi-purpose fax/scanner/copier machine, they do each function OK, but none really well and are very slow in scanning mode. I use Paperport 10.0 for scanning software and it works well, saves everything in pdf format and allows you to add notes, edit information on the scanned document and save to a database in that format.

[Holland]

Not much difference

I haven't found much difference between brands. I would recommend that you buy a scanner with an automatic document feeder (ADF) and a flatbed. This will make scanning multiple pages much faster and easier. Small and flimsy pages can then go on the flatbed. We found that in our office the least expensive method was to buy a machine for each workstation. You should select a scanner that is "TWAIN" compliant, but almost all scanners are now.

[NotEasy]

We are thinking about to go paperless. But we are no technology wizards and have no idea which kind of scanner suits our need the best though. Does anyone of you have suggestion on the brand/model of scanner that suits the need of a small accounting office the best?