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Document capture software

 Written by Ana Canteli on May 18, 2018

Document capture software solutions are applications that provide the ability and functionality to automate the data extraction and document scanning processes management.

The primary objective of the implementation of advanced capture solutions is to reduce the resources and time dedicated to the data extraction and advanced capture processes; at the same time, other techniques are applied, such as zone OCR - optical character recognition - to manage the information contained in the documents, as metadata.

The information contained in paper documents is as valuable to the company as the electronic files generated by the organization. Often, this source of data represents a considerable proportion of the exchanges that the company makes with customers, suppliers or stakeholders. Having the possibility of managing the exchange of information and documentation with the help of a document management solution, can improve collaboration among employees or departments; while reducing the risk of information loss.

About the handling of critical documents for the business, such as purchase orders, delivery notes, invoice processing, etc., digitization, carried out with a content capture system, can help accelerate business processes.

The document capture software included in the OpenKM document management system uses the most advanced capture tools to index, classify and extract data from the document and store it; in such a way that the digitization of the company's historical archive is sought, while guaranteeing access to the data. The OpenKM enterprise content management system serves, in turn, to manage information regardless of the type of content; including fax, email -assets included- images, forms, claim forms and various complex documents.

OpenKM document capture software is prepared to integrate with multifunction devices, email servers, or other business applications of the company. OpenKM offers a document scanner client that allows the integration of the system with any device that follows the TWAIN protocol. It also provides ad-hoc integrations to other document capture solutions as ChronoScan, Kofax or Abby Flexicapture.

The capture of documents in OpenKM recognizes the type of document - to determine if the document is an invoice, a request, a form or any other - once the type of document is established, the zonal OCR is applied, to extract the critical information contained in the document. OpenKM also supports document capture pro applications, such as intelligent character recognition (ICR) or intelligent document recognition (IDR). Moreover, the OpenKM system suite offers SDK'S in Java, PHP, and .NET that makes the document management solution compatible with any third application.

Maximize efficiency, productivity, and results

Document capture solutions make the use of document management systems easier, increases productivity and increases the speed of business processes, thus achieving more benefits with the same resources.

On the other hand, it also serves to modernize the company's operations. By digitizing the documentation and carrying out the electronic capture of documents, collaborating and sharing information in the company is easier and safer.

The OpenKM document capture pro software allows the introduction of scanned documents into the company's document management system. The program recognizes the file, indexes it, extracts all the content of the document thanks to the text extractor, and the key data capture in the form of metadata.

In this way the document can be classified; stored in the appropriate location within the repository, categorized and subject to workflow automation software.

Also, the document capture systems allow the files and the information they contain to be easier to find. Through the OpenKM search engine, users can find information by searching for free text. However, also using the advanced mode, which allows them to distinguish by context; for example, if the data is filed in the taxonomy, or is stored in my documents, in emails, in templates or if it has been sent to the wastebasket.

Thanks to the process automation of capture and digitalization, users can search for documents through any word they remember, which is part of the body of the file. You can also search by name and by title assigned to the document. Keywords, language, author, or even by date range (the approximate period during which a document was created or entered into the system). You can also combine these search criteria so that the list of results is more specific. You can search for documentation depending on its location within the repository - the route on which it is archived - by category, by file type; If it is a document, a folder, a record, or an email. In this case, the search engine will provide us with criteria such as issuer, receiver or subject. We could even look for documents or information based on the file formats (document capture software usually digitizes in TIFF or PDF format) or even by notes added by users. The OpenKM search engine also allows us to search based on metadata; high-value information extracted during the capture process and attached to the scanned document.

The assignment of categories in OpenKM is a very interesting resource since it allows, by itself, the ability to browse through the entire repository using this criterion. For example: let's imagine that the creation of folders is a limited event; new folders can only be created (either manually or automatically) by new clients or new projects. However, by common sense, it is understandable that about any client we have several types of documents; or that concerning projects we have more than one department involved. For this reason, the assignment of categories allows adding extra information to folders, registers, documents and emails; They will be archived following the general premise on the taxonomy, but through the categories, we will find grouped according to other criteria. If next week we are going to have a meeting with our clients in France, we can use the Region / Europe / France category and see all the contents that share this condition; which will be archived in different routes or repository locations, but which are linked by this feature.

Another way of presenting the links that the scanned or digitized documents can maintain or develop within the organization is through Relationships. In OpenKM, we can define the links by types: if one document is equivalent to another; for example, identical contracts in different languages. If a file is considered the source of another document; A delivery note gives rise to an invoice. We can also define group relationships; several documents are related, all at the same level.

For example; we have an internationalization project and, to it, belong documents of the Department of Administration, AutoCAD drawings of the Engineering area. OpenKM has an AutoCAD module that allows the management and visualization of this type of file. Curriculums of candidates managed by the department of HR, etc. From the Relations tab, we could see the rest of the files with which a document in question is related. Relationships are also information accessible from the OpenKM search engine.

Documents or information processed by software to capture documents, within a document management software, can be subject to document workflows. The business processes applied with workflow engines, increase the cost recovery thanks to the reduction of manual document management, accelerate business cycles and improve the accuracy and quality of the data introduced in the company's systems; ERPS, CRMS, etc. They reduce delays in deadlines and deviations in compliance with procedures, standards or laws, thanks to the fact that document capture pro software contributes to the systematic application of extraction and verification classification rules, among others. The OpenKM document management system includes a workflow engine that supports the most sophisticated business processes.

All the activity developed in the OpenKM document management system is subject to the application of highly refined and effective security that allows you to manage the control of your documents at every stage. To start, only the users with a name and password can access the system, and therefore access the document capture software. After the assignment of roles, the profile determines the functionalities and accessible work areas. In third place is security management at the granular level. Each folder, record, document, email or attachment can be subject to a specific security definition. In this way, only the selected users will be able to see, edit, download, delete, etc., those elements on which they have access rights.

Benefits of a good document capture software

• Functionality: the acquisition of document capture software, in the context of a document management system, is not only converting paper documents into images. It can be used to extract high-value information, and make it part of automated business processes, workflows, etc.
• Affordability: OpenKM document capture software is included in all document manager installations. It does not present a learning curve, nor specific training, and it reduces costs when capturing documents in batches, it automates the tasks of indexing, classification, and categorization.
• Scalability: OpenKM is designed to grow and adapt to the needs of the company. OpenKM Cloud is designed for small or medium organizations, which do not have technical staff on their servers. It is easy to implement, and the organization can create its customized document management system. The technical support is included as are software updates. The professional version of the OpenKM software is installed them on the company's servers and is also adaptable to the needs of the company and its environment. Besides, the OpenKM Knowledge Center, included in both versions, gives access to all the components or extras to complete or increase the installation if necessary. The OpenKM capture solutions are prepared to perform barcode recognition, but also extract strings of data, figures, dates, etc. The plugin system let the administrator create their plugins to apply data extraction into more complex business cases.
• Accessibility: designed, implemented and configured to be able to access it from any device, where and when necessary.
• Compatibility: OpenKM offers a complete API, which allows companies to add plugins to integrate document capture software with a multitude of devices. Also, the SDK's will enable the use of the document manager as front-end or back-end of third business applications