Collection Agency Gets More Green By Going Paperless With A Document Management System

Portland, OR — Pacific Northwest Collections has improved the efficiency of its debt recovery efforts by using the Document Locator document management system (http://www.documentlocator.com/Solutions/Document-Management-System/) to help agents retrieve files and answer debtor questions in a manner of seconds. The system, developed by document management software company ColumbiaSoft, allows collection agents to search the content of debtor files and retrieve documents electronically while payers are on the phone.

"Before using Document Locator, each person in the department spent approximately two hours a day dealing with issues related to paper files – pulling paperwork, typing, copying, re-filing," said Shannon Puaokalani, manager at Pacific Northwest Collections. "That works out to about $2,000 a month in associated costs to the company and its employees that we can now save."

The collection agency uses Document Locator to scan all of its clients’ debtor documents into text-searchable digital files that can be quickly searched and retrieved later by collection agents while actively engaged in the recovery process. Payers can now get answers to questions from agents in real-time while on the phone, without having to wait and hear back from customer service agents later after documents are manually researched and pulled from filing cabinets. The entire process streamlines business, eliminates time wasted on document filing, and improves customer service.

"Filing and retrieval of paperwork is sometimes overlooked as a significant cost factor for business," said ColumbiaSoft executive vice president, David Pogue. "In the case of Pacific Northwest Collections, they not only realized the value of making a key business process more efficient, but now they’re really seeing the reward with about a six-month ROI on their collections document management program."

Case study details end to paper-chase

A recent case study highlights the success Pacific Northwest Collections has had with its document management program in its collection department, and company-wide. After the initial success in the collection department, the company extended document management further to other areas of the business, including legal, sales, and bookkeeping. The complete story can be found online in a document management case study (http://www.documentlocator.com/Products/Case_Studies/) library at: http://www.documentlocator.com/Products/Case_Studies/

Pacific Northwest Collections has been helping healthcare offices, banks and financial institutions, property landlords, and other businesses recover delinquent debt since it was first opened in 1934. The agency is located in Tacoma, Washington, and serves customers throughout the Pacific Northwest.

About ColumbiaSoft Corporation:
ColumbiaSoft is a leader in document management software (http://www.documentlocator.com/) and services designed to enhance efficiency, reduce risk, and improve collaboration. Information workers use ColumbiaSoft software to manage and share paper and electronic documents, e-mail, faxes, and other electronic files to reduce costs, increase productivity, automate business processes, and meet compliance requirements. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, an Autodesk Authorized Developer, and an Adobe Solutions Network partner, the company’s products fully integrate with popular applications such as Microsoft Windows, Office, Outlook, SharePoint, Adobe Acrobat, AutoCAD, and more. ColumbiaSoft is a privately held company based in Portland, Oregon and was founded in 1998. For more information, visit http://www.documentlocator.com.