Without Being Overwhelmed?
Not long ago, I got a call from a gas and electric company with a problem a lot of organizations can relate to — they had rooms full of paper. Engineering prints. Service orders. Customer records. Compliance documents. You name it, they had it — stacked, filed, and buried across multiple rooms in their facility.
Their question was simple: “Where do we even start?”
It’s one of the most common questions I get, and honestly, it’s the right question to ask. Because jumping into a paperless initiative without a clear starting point is how organizations end up spending a lot of money, disrupting their operations, and still not getting the results they were hoping for.
So here’s exactly what I recommended — and why it works.
Step 1: Count Your Documents Before You Do Anything Else
I know this sounds almost too basic, but hear me out — this step is everything.
Before you talk to vendors, before you look at software, before you spend a single dollar, you need to know what you’re actually working with. That means doing a document inventory. Walk the rooms. Measure the filing cabinets. Identify your document types — engineering prints are a completely different animal than a service order or a customer file.
The reason this matters so much is accuracy. Scanning vendors’ quotes based on volume and document type. If you give them a vague estimate, you’ll get a vague quote — and vague quotes turn into budget surprises down the road. A solid document count gives you the foundation for everything else.
You don’t need to count every single page to the last sheet. A reasonable estimate by category and location is enough to get the process moving in the right direction.
Step 2: Get Three Vendor Quotes — Not One, Not Two
Once you know what you’re working with, it’s time to bring in a scanning vendor. And this is where many organizations make a mistake — they talk to one vendor, take what they hear, and move forward.
Always get at least three quotes.
Pricing in the document scanning world can vary significantly depending on the vendor’s equipment, process, turnaround time, and handling of specialty documents like large-format engineering prints. Getting three quotes gives you real comparison points and puts you in a much stronger negotiating position.
When you’re evaluating vendors, don’t just look at price. Ask how they handle fragile or oversized documents. Ask about their quality control process. Ask how they deliver the finished digital files — because that answer leads directly into the next step.
Step 3: Have the Vendor Upload to Laserfiche Cloud as They Scan
Here’s where the strategy really comes together.
Rather than having your vendor dump a hard drive full of files on you at the end of the project, set it up so they’re uploading documents directly to Laserfiche Cloud as they scan them.
Laserfiche is an enterprise content management (ECM) platform — think of it as a smart, secure, searchable home for all of your organization’s documents. The cloud version is especially powerful for utility companies because there’s no server infrastructure to manage, no heavy IT lift to get started, and your team can access documents from anywhere — the office, a field location, or working remotely.
As documents get scanned and uploaded in real time, your team starts benefiting immediately. You’re not waiting months until the entire project wraps up. Documents start becoming searchable and accessible as they come in — and that early win builds momentum and confidence across the organization.
Why This Approach Works for Utility Companies
Utility companies deal with a unique mix of document types — technical engineering drawings, regulatory compliance records, field service orders, customer account files — and they often have decades worth of paper history to contend with. The scale can feel paralyzing.
That’s why I’m a believer in starting focused rather than trying to boil the ocean.
This three-step approach — inventory, vendor quotes, cloud upload — is what I call wetting your feet in the ECM water. It’s a manageable, lower-risk way to get real results without committing to a massive, organization-wide transformation right out of the gate.
And here’s what typically happens once organizations take this first step: they see how much easier it is to find documents, share them across teams, and eliminate the time wasted digging through filing cabinets — and they want to keep going. The first project becomes the proof of concept that gets everyone on board for what comes next.
That’s how lasting change happens. Not all at once. One smart, well-executed step at a time.
The Simple Roadmap
If you’re a utility company — or any organization — staring at a room full of paper and wondering where to start, here’s your plan:
1. Count your documents. Get an accurate inventory by document type and location before anything else.
2. Get three vendor quotes. Compare pricing, process, and how vendors handle your specific document types.
3. Upload to Laserfiche Cloud as scanning happens. Start getting access to your documents immediately and build from there.
That’s it. It’s not complicated. It’s not expensive to get started. And it works.
Thinking about going paperless and not sure where to begin? Feel free to reach out — I’m happy to help you map out your first steps.
It really depends on your volume. A smaller project with a few thousand documents might wrap up in a few weeks. A larger initiative with rooms full of engineering prints and service records could take several months. That’s actually one of the reasons getting an accurate document count upfront matters so much — it gives you and your vendor a realistic timeline to plan around, so there are no surprises.
Pricing varies based on document volume, document type, and the vendor you choose. Large-format documents like engineering prints typically cost more to scan than standard letter-size records. That said, most organizations are surprised by how affordable a focused first project can be — especially when you’re starting with a defined scope rather than trying to digitize everything at once. Getting three quotes will give you a realistic range for your specific situation.
Laserfiche is one of the leading enterprise content management (ECM) platforms, and the cloud version is a great fit for utility companies getting started with paperless systems. There’s no server hardware to purchase or maintain, it’s accessible from anywhere, and it’s scalable — meaning you can start small and grow into it as your needs evolve. It’s a practical entry point into ECM without a heavy upfront investment in infrastructure.
Not at all — and that’s one of the biggest advantages of going with a cloud-based solution. Since everything is hosted and managed in the cloud, you don’t need an internal IT team to set up or maintain servers. Your focus stays on getting documents scanned, uploaded, and organized, rather than managing technology infrastructure
A good rule of thumb is to start with the documents your team reaches for most often. For most utility companies, that tends to be engineering prints, active service orders, and compliance records. Starting with high-traffic documents means your team feels the benefit right away — and that early win makes it easier to build momentum for the rest of the project.
This is really where things get exciting. Once your team is comfortable accessing documents in Laserfiche Cloud, you can start building on that foundation — setting up automated workflows, integrating with other systems you already use, and establishing processes so new documents are captured digitally from the start. The first project is really just the beginning. It gives your organization a taste of what’s possible and a platform to grow from.
Absolutely — but the key word is realistic. You don’t have to digitize 40 years of records overnight. Most successful paperless initiatives start with a focused scope, prove out the process, and expand from there. The approach I recommend is designed specifically to help organizations make meaningful progress without getting overwhelmed. Small, smart steps lead to big results over time.
This is a conversation worth having with your scanning vendor before the project starts. A good vendor will work with you to establish a folder structure and naming convention that makes sense for your organization. Laserfiche also offers powerful search capabilities, so even if a document isn’t in the exact folder you expect, you can still find it quickly. Getting the organizational structure right at the start saves a lot of headaches later.
Metadata is essentially information about your documents. Think of it as a set of labels or tags attached to a file that describe what it is, where it came from, and what it relates to — without you having to open the document itself. For example, a scanned engineering print might have metadata that includes the asset ID, location, document type, revision date, and the engineer who approved it.
For gas and electric utilities, metadata is a game-changer. Your team isn’t just managing generic business files — you’re managing documents tied to specific infrastructure assets, service territories, regulatory requirements, and safety records. When a field technician needs to pull up the specs for a specific piece of equipment, or a compliance officer needs to locate inspection records for a particular region, metadata is what makes that search fast and accurate.
Without metadata, going paperless just means your paper problem becomes a digital paper problem. You’ve got thousands of files sitting in folders with no easy way to find what you need. With good metadata, your documents become truly searchable and useful — you can filter by asset type, location, date range, document category, or whatever criteria matter most to your operation.
Setting up a solid metadata structure before your scanning project begins is one of the best investments you can make. It takes a little planning upfront, but it’s what transforms a simple document archive into a powerful, searchable system that actually serves your team in the field and in the office.
