5 tips for electronic recordkeeping.

Get rid of the piles of documents at your home or office. Learn handy tips on how to get started with digital recordkeeping.

Every individual, household, and business needs to hold on to important paperwork, like tax forms, invoices, and other documents. Digitizing your paperwork into handy PDF documents keeps them safe and easily accessible. But without proper organization, even a digital archive can get messy.

What is digital recordkeeping?

Digital recordkeeping refers to the practice of capturing, storing, and managing information in electronic formats rather than traditional paper-based documents. It involves the conversion of physical records and data into digital files, allowing organizations and individuals to organize, access, and preserve information with ease and efficiency.

With the transition from paper-based documents to digital documents, it’s crucial to adopt efficient practices that ensure the safety and convenience of your valuable information. Whether you’re a business professional managing important contracts, a student juggling academic papers, or simply seeking to declutter your personal paperwork, these five tips for effective digital recordkeeping will streamline your processes and keep your data at your fingertips.

Here are five good tips for organized digital recordkeeping

1. Scan every document.

If you choose to digitize your documents, scan them all into PDFs. You can certainly hold on to your original copies, but if you have a scan of every document, it’s easier to stay organized later. If you don’t have a scanner, don’t worry — a good mobile scanner app can digitize your papers quickly and easily.

2. Keep related files together.

Keep related documents together to ensure you can find them quickly when you need them. If you accidentally scanned unrelated documents into one file, split documents into separate PDFs. Then, you can save them in appropriate folders or combine them with other PDFs.

3. Name your document files carefully.

What does a document named “Scan82” contain? You can’t know without opening it. Give all your documents a simple and straightforward name that describes their contents and date, like “PayChecks_Linda_2022.”

4. Make your files easy to read.

Sometimes scanners mess up pages — like by turning them upside down. It won’t matter when you print, but it will make the document harder to read on a screen. Easy-to-use online tools that reorganize or rotate PDF pages can correct these quirks in just a few clicks

5. Create a backup of your documents.

Always store your documents in at least two places, both on a local hard drive and an online file storage platform. This way, you won’t lose your files if your computer breaks or you lose internet access. As a bonus, you can access your online file storage from anywhere.

These tips will get you started on digital recordkeeping. Now, just pull out your papers and start securing your documents.

Electronic recordkeeping vs. paper recordkeeping.

Electronic recordkeeping and paper recordkeeping are two approaches to managing information. Paper records offer a tactile presence but have limited accessibility, are prone to damage, and lack security. On the other hand, there are a number of benefits to digitizing documents that you can take advantage of. Electronic records allow for efficient retrieval, space and cost savings, enhanced security, disaster recovery, and improved collaboration. While digital recordkeeping has a dependency on technology and a learning curve, its benefits in efficiency, cost-effectiveness, security, and accessibility make it a superior choice for modern organizations.

Discover what more you can do with Adobe Acrobat to create, convert, share, and send PDFs.