Cover sheets are pieces of paper that are placed in front of one or more documents prior to scanning. Cover sheets usually contain barcoded information, which streamlines the electronic indexing of scanned-in document(s).
Barcoded cover sheets are especially valuable when using a multifunction device to scan and index a large amount of paper documents.
Cover Sheet Examples
Use cases for cover sheets vary depending on the financial institution’s needs and the capabilities of its document management software. At Alogent, we see AccuAccount customers use cover sheets for three scenarios in particular:
- Customer or member cover sheets: For example, John Smith provides his bank with an updated financial statement. Inserting John Smith’s cover page in front of the financial statement tells AccuAccount to associate the scanned-in document with John Smith.
- Loan cover sheets: Scanning documentation for a new loan file can go much faster when a loan-specific cover sheet is utilized. That’s especially true when used in tandem with an LOS that prints document-specific barcodes onto the loan documents.
- Collateral cover sheets: Managing collateral documentation can be incredibly complex. Collateral-specific cover sheets allow financial institutions to image and index their collateral documentation in less time and effort.
Although some loan documents already contain LOS-generated barcodes, others like appraisals or tax returns may not. Some document management systems allow users to generate barcoded document pages in addition to customer, loan, and collateral cover sheets.
Why Cover Sheets are Useful for Document Management
Not every document imaging use case necessitates barcoded cover sheets. However, cover sheets can be incredibly useful when working through a large paper backlog and other scanning-intensive activities. When used properly, cover sheets can unlock multiple efficiencies for financial institutions:
Scan and index documents in less time, especially when compared to directly scanning each document into the appropriate customer, collateral, or loan file.
Avoid unnecessary licensing costs by empowering more users to scan without installing desktop scanning software on each user’s machine.
Reduce risk by enabling intelligent scanning from network-connected multifunction devices without giving everyone in-system editing rights.
Access Alogent’s Backlog Scanning Playbook
Our backlog scanning playbook article takes a deeper look at how cover sheets can benefit financial institutions. You can also browse more banking definitions by visiting Alogent’s Innovation Hub.
