Capture Documents While on the Road

Written by Bill Winterberg, Morningstar Advisor Thursday, 13 October 2011

Today's technology allows advisors to be more mobile than ever. Some advisors are able to perform nearly all of their business activities using only a laptop and cell phone with mobile broadband connectivity. One key technology that enables such mobility is the implementation of a paperless office, where important client documents can be accessed quickly and updated in real time.

But while on the road, advisors need a solution to manage paperwork they might collect and wish to add to their document management system. Examples include handouts from conferences, white papers and marketing materials obtained from vendors and wholesalers, and receipts to document travel expenses.

Portable scanners represent one solution for advisors looking to capture high-quality images for their paperless workflow. I looked into portable scanners from a variety of manufacturers before deciding to review the ScanSnap S1100 color scanner from Fujitsu (MSRP $199). I'm very pleased with my own Fujistu ScanSnap S1500 that I use in my consulting business, and I know that many advisors also successfully use desktop and network scanners from the company. Fujitsu kindly sent me an evaluation unit of the S1100 for this review. Read More..