A Big Tip for Restaurants

Restaurant chains and management groups are searching for proven ways to automate the paper-intensive accounts payable management process. They’re looking for greater efficiency, cost reductions and maximum per unit profitability.

There are challenges:
• The restaurant units may be geographically distributed.
• Purchasing is performed by the restaurant manager at the unit level.
• Invoices are delivered to the local restaurant.
• A.P. is centralized at the corporate headquarters.

It’s also important that systems be simple and fast at each restaurant’s location. We know managers have time constraints and, oftentimes, basic computer and scanning equipment.

Get a document management system that automates the constant flow of AP paperwork. One that is flexible enough to handle email attachments, digital fax copies and paper scans. Depending on your corporate IT preferences, it should be able operate on a local server or as a cloud solution.

Here’s your big tip: The Treeno Document Management system is designed for all that and more. We know the challenges restaurant groups face. And there are a lot of them who will confirm how easy we make it.

So, if you are facing piles of invoices and looking to streamline your restaurants’ operations, consider the benefits of AP process automation with Treeno.

Surely, that tip’s worth more than 20%.

Strong Advocates for the Managed Print Services Industry

This week Treeno Software became the newest member of the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA). The MPSA is an independent, not-for-profit organization that serves the emerging MPS industry. We’re happy to participate in this important segment of our industry – to share our expertise and to learn from others.

“We have been involved with MPS since the deployment of the first Treeno Document Management system in 2002,” said Steve Tentindo, president and CEO of Treeno. “Our reseller partners frequently provide MPS to their clients. In fact, one of our partners describes the combination of MPS and document management as a top-down and bottom-up approach to efficiently managing information,” said Tentindo.

At Treeno, we see managed print services as a natural component of document, content and workflow management. As an MPSA member, we expect to benefit from opportunities for education, best practices and understanding the trends in MPS.

“We believe the MPSA is a valuable resource for everyone involved with MPS and document management,” said Tentindo. “We hope to contribute our knowledge of EDM and workflow management as an important component of a comprehensive MPS solution.”

We appreciate the welcome from the P4P Hotel!

If you’re looking for info on MPSA, visit http://yourmpsa.com/, or contact Joe Barganier, President, Managed Print Services Association at buckeyefenn@att.net.

Streamlining Your Business with Rapid Archiving

Your filing cabinets are full and the file room just can’t hold one more cabinet or storage box. The monthly document storage facility fees and retrieval costs are starting to add up. Employees are spending too much time filing paper and searching through filing cabinets. You are concerned about a disaster jeopardizing the safety and security of your important files. Sound familiar?

What if you could quickly and efficiently turn all your paper documents into electronic files that are easily accessed from a single, secure repository? Think of the benefits:

• Faster customer response
• Improved business operations
• Peace of mind
• Better employee morale

It’s remarkably simple to get there. Treeno’s Rapid Document Archive system is designed to get you online quickly. Many of our customers have used it to turn mountains of paperwork into streamlined information.

The Treeno Document Management system prints a barcode that automatically routes a scanned document file to a specific searchable folder. It’s really that easy. As files are scanned the Treeno system recognizes the barcode and stores them exactly where you want them.

If your staff is time challenged, Treeno or our partners can manage the entire process from start to finish. We promise it’s easy. You may even choose to have interns or temporary employees help you to complete your back filing process.

The GUI Evolution

There is a GUI [goo-ee] evolution. The days of the drab, functional user interface are over. Efficiency aand performance are still critical, but the aesthetics and user experience are increasingly important system requirements.

Who says that a business software application needs to have a cold institutional look and feel? Users have experienced the explosion of mobile apps. Now the notion of how a business application should look and feel has changed dramatically. Like other well designed products, form and function yield a better business software application.

Treeno Software was on the leading edge of web browser-based app development in 2002 when Treeno Document Management Server was introduced. The fact that the application could do the things it did using a web browser gained wide support. Everybody loved the Treeno GUI for its functionality and simplicity. But as the web became ubiquitous, and mobile apps proliferated, Treeno continued to raise the bar on performance – and the user experience.

Always listening, Treeno continues to innovate. High-performance document management is not enough. Treeno is extending the simple functionality that our customers have come to enjoy and expect with a fresh new look and feel. Look for Treeno Document Management 4.0 in early 2012 – an evolution in intelligence and beauty.

Document Management Without Integration is Only Half of the Solution

Document management without integration is only half of the solution. What this statement implies is that the need for a document management solution is frequently driven by the volume of documents required for a given business process. The business process usually includes the use of another existing business application such as accounting, ERP, CRM or even a homegrown industry specific app. The goal of the document management system is to better manage all the documents associated with the entire business process.

The integration of the existing business application with a document management system like Treeno Document Management creates one seamless application that makes it easier for the end user to perform their daily tasks. The integration avoids making the end user learn a new application and having to work with both applications independently. The results are rapid adoption by the end user community, increased productivity and a rapid Return-on- Investment (ROI).

An example is an accounting department. An Accounts Payable department employee receives a call from a vendor with a question about an invoice. The AP employee opens the accounting or ERP application to the screen containing the invoice and vendor information. In order to see the invoice in question the accounting employee simply clicks the “Search” button which brings the invoice up on their computer screen. The integrated solution provides one click document or file indexing, storage and retrieval.

So as you plan and execute your document management project consider the benefits of integration because when Treeno end users understand how they will benefit from an integrated document management solution their response is, “That is exactly what we are looking for.”

Clutter Management In Just 15 Minutes!

It’s 9am and you have arrived at your desk only to have trouble finding your desk under all the clutter. So you do like we all do you just move it around so you can work. You think to yourself if only I had some free time. Well maybe you do! Have you ever heard the saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time” The same principle works for clutter management. Here is a list of what you need:

1. 15 Minutes
2. Pigheaded Discipline and Determination
3. Storage

Fifteen minutes is all it takes to de-clutter you life. 15 minutes a day that is. Set aside a 15 minute block. Put it in your calendar. Make it a time when you really will have no interruptions. My favorite time is first thing in the morning. That little bit of time turns into roughly 60 hours a year. You could have a clutter free environment in 60 hours, right. Plus when your clutter is organized you save time by getting to what you need when you need it faster. Less time used more time gained.

“Pigheaded Discipline and Determination” is one of my mantras. I learned this in Chet Homes book “The Ultimate Sales Machine” The premise is to not let anything get in your way and stick to your plan. Make a little note and put it somewhere you will see it every day. Move it around so that it doesn’t become background.

Storage is an essential part of this process. As you organize you need a place to put everything. In old times we filed thing using folders and cabinets. Many an administrative assistant had their own way of filing which sometimes lead to panic when they were out of the office. Storing documents, images, emails on computers has revolutionized business. When stored properly using tags or OCR the documents become easily searchable. Storing them in the cloud (internet) means you don’t need to be in your office to retrieve vital information.

Are you ready to rid yourself of the clutter that has taken over your desk? call us at 1-800-528-5005 (U.S. & Canada), 1-603-570-4317 (outside of U.S. and Canada) or visit us on the Web at www.treenosoftware.com

Happy Independence Day

On July 4, 1776 the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. 234 years later the United States stands as one of the strongest independent nations. Independence or freedom is one thing every American holds dear. I would venture to guess every individual feels the same way. We long to be free from all that bring us down. Imagine if you would, for a moment, being free from the bonds that tie you down. It is a nice feeling isn’t it. What are those things that are preventing you from this freedom? When I was in high school in the 70’s we had to write essays. To get information for the essay I had to spend a lot of time at the library. I felt trapped by the hours, location and availability of the information I could utilize. Today my children can get information at their fingertips anytime and virtually anywhere. The information they get is way beyond what I could find at a library. They have learned to organize their own work and save it digitally so they can access it anywhere they have internet access. This comes in handy when there are group projects. Each individual can pass the project back and forth to get approval and update the projects as is needed. All from the comfort of where ever they are. These technologies are not limited to High School students. Treeno’s ECM Suite allows you to store documents in a secure centralized repository where multiple folders are used for internal and/or external information sharing. An embedded search engine makes documents easily searchable and manageable and there are no complicated new filing systems to learn. Components of the ECM Suite are Email Management, Document Management, Document Imaging and Workflow/Business Process Management.

Treeno's Email Management solution allows users to store email in a centralized location that can be accessed by all authorized users. Email's stored in Treeno can be indexed with a customer's information, financial transaction data, a project, a legal case, etc, depending on your type of business. This powerful indexing capability enables all authorized users to view emails that are related to a specific topic rather than keeping those isolated in individual users' inboxes. Any user working with email stored in Treeno can do so as if it was right in their email client. It can be forwarded or replied to and all of the attachments are there as well. Treeno will automatically index the email using the To, From, Subject and Date of the email, but users can add their own metadata and the emails can be attached to other records in the system.
Treeno's Document Management solution allows your organization to store all of your important documents in one location, while providing access to everyone who needs to see them. Treeno gives you control over all documents and file types including scanned files, Microsoft Office documents, emails, faxes, as well as rich media files such as video and audio files. Treeno's browser-based interface allows users to access information without the need to install anything on their desktop.

Treeno's Document Imaging solution is designed to store large volumes of scanned document eliminating the need for paper filing cabinets. Some of Treeno's clients' store 10's of millions of documents, however we have solutions available to meet the scale of any project. Treeno's Document Imaging solution works with any scanning device from a desktop or high speed scanner to a network copy machine.

Treeno's Business Process Management (BPM) solution gives your organization the ability to interact with documents as they move through a workflow. Automating document flows has greatly improved efficiency and reporting capabilities for such companies as ADP Employees where each day thousands of items enter a workflow from one of many sources including email, fax, or scanned paper. Treeno's BPM solution reduced costs associated with this previously labor intensive process by 50%.

The American revolutionary war proved that no task is insurmountable. It just took the right stuff to get it done. Treeno can help your organization, call us at 1-800-528-5005 (U.S. & Canada), 1-603-570-4317 (outside of U.S. and Canada) or visit us on the Web at
www.treenosoftware.com

Global Content Management Made Easy for Insurance Brokers and Agencies

Insurance brokers and agencies need an easy-to-use yet powerful system that enables them to access, manage, and share critical documents across a broad range of functions, departments and locations. It’s more than a competitive advantage—it’s a mandate for survival.

A typical agency processes over 30,000 physical documents each year including policy applications, coverage confirmation letters, renewal notices, policy terms, dec pages and claims documentation. Plus, virtually every state government mandates that all insurance transaction records be maintained for up to seven years, while archives need to be kept for offers of additional coverage for long periods to guard against E&O liability. The majority of this information is handled and stored through inefficient, manual processes due to the notion that an automated system is costly, disruptive to existing workflow processes, and difficult to use.

Introducing TreenoGCM™

TreenoGCM is an easy-to-use and extremely powerful, integrated document, content and workflow management system that enables insurance brokers and agencies to easily capture, organize, and share any type of digital or paper-based document within a secure, central repository. System deployment is effortless, document retrieval is instant, integration with existing line of business applications is seamless, and the Treeno system can scale to support as few or as many users as your agency requires. Treeno empowers your agency to reduce costs, simplify compliance and enhance overall client satisfaction through streamlined operations and improved efficiency.

Transform your organization without disruption

Deploying and operating a content management system should be as simple and effortless as using familiar applications while existing workflow processes remain intact. TreenoGCM’s powerful and robust feature set, in conjunction with integrated collaboration and process management capabilities will enable your agency to improve operational efficiency and productivity without changing the way your employees do business.

Simplify regulatory compliance

Reduce the audit preparation process from weeks of tedious work down to hours
using Treeno’s powerful system.

Insurance brokers/agencies are constantly under the gun when it comes to staying current with regulatory compliance processes. Though requirements and procedures vary by country and audit type, the first steps towards ensuring compliance with the myriad of regulations governing the insurance industry including HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), are control and visibility. The demand is for a system that will integrate with existing business processes for tracking and managing digital and paper-based content across all enterprise wide systems—in real-time.

TreenoGCM simplifies the regulatory compliance process for Insurance brokers/agencies by capturing, organizing, and sharing necessary and appropriate documents in a centralized, secure repository, while automated business process management capabilities streamline information access and reporting.

Ensure document integrity and security

The ability to track and control customer sensitive information is absolutely paramount for insurance brokers and agencies. TreenoGCM stores all of your information in a highly secure repository and includes comprehensive audit trail capabilities such as task date/time stamp, task originator/description, and related document activities such as who worked on/reviewed the document. Treeno customers can virtually eliminate any possibility that documents stored in their system will be altered without detection, ensuring undisputed authenticity of records. And, integrated notification capabilities inform users when relevant content within the repository is updated. Disaster recovery is also greatly improved, as items previously managed via fax, mail, and other paper means are now stored in the Treeno repository. With TreenoGCM, documents of all types can be backed up in a secure fashion and are protected from theft, accidental loss, or destruction.

Insurance organizations rely on TreenoGCM to:

• Simplify enterprise wide access to critical documents
• Improve operational efficiency with minimal disruption
• Improve information security
• Track document task date/time stamp, task originator/description
• Reduce demand for physical space
• Ease the burden of regulatory compliance
• Increase sales and improve customer service quality
• Insurance brokers and agencies around the world are enhancing customer service quality and improving productivity with TreenoGCM. To learn more about how

Treeno can help your organization, call us at 1-800-528-5005 (U.S. & Canada),
1-603-570-4317 (outside of U.S. and Canada) or visit us on the Web at
www.treenosoftware.com

The Filing Cabinets Were At Maximum Capacity

Law firms of all sizes and practice specialties are all too familiar with the seemingly endless piles of paperwork generated by a single act of litigation or contract generation, and Mesmer and Deleault was no exception. “The filing cabinets were at maximum capacity,” recalls Phil Decker, a partner at Mesmer & Deleault specializing in patent law. “What’s more, we had an outdated method in place that made keeping track of information very slow and tedious. That slowed us down every time a client, attorney or patent agent would call.” Decker says he was faced with two options: find an appropriate document management solution to remediate the space constraints and improve workflow, or invest in renting an off-site storage space. Though he was strongly in favor of a document management solution, Decker says he had difficulty finding a solution that would dovetail with the firm’s existing software and processes. “I talked to all of the major document management companies, “he says. “ Most of the vendor solutions I saw were too labor intensive for what we needed. They also required too much change on our part. And their up-front investment made it a budget issue. We also wanted a solution that would unite multiple offices—even our homes if we wanted—and could address the multiple platform environment we had going with PC’s and Macs.”

Decker chose Treeno Software after viewing a demonstration of the product at an MIT Enterprise Forum. “The TreenoGCM (Global Content Manager) met all of our needs in a document management, content and business process management solution, and we didn’t have to give anything up to deploy it,” he says. The straightforward, user-friendly interface of TreenoGCM made it easy for Decker to convince his fellow partners to adopt it as their practice-wide system of choice. “It required minimal training and the benefits were immediately apparent, from the elimination of lost documents to a highly secure, searchable repository of organized files that we could share seamlessly across multiple offices and with multiple partners.” Decker says that the most time consuming part of the deployment process was entering the existing, paper-based data into the TreenoGCM repository. “The actual installation of the software and system was almost instantaneous,” he says. “scanning historical documents into the system once it was installed was less labor intensive than moving file cabinets to a storage facility.” He added that new clients to the firm are instantly entered into the TreenoGCM system, making them traceable within minutes. Decker says he is most pleased about TreenoGCM’s ease of use and interoperability with virtually any line-of-business application, including programs his firm relies on to generate and track court docket numbers, findings and pleas. “The legal field is so focused on tracking, monitoring and accountability, especially when it comes to filing documents on behalf of our clients,” he says. “With Treeno, we could still use our existing applications without delay.”

Since instituting TreenoGCM as its document management solution, Mesmer & Deleault has saved countless person-hours that were once devoted to filing, copying, faxing and scanning paper documents. The firm also has noted a marked increase in customer satisfaction. “Complete client files are always at our fingertips,” he says. “And we don’t waste our clients’ time by putting them on hold to find a file, or taking down information and calling them back with it later. We’ve become a much more responsive, service oriented firm.”

The firm has also streamlined its relationships with international partners. Because they file patent applications frequently—often with companies located in countries where the postal service is less than reliable—Decker says that the remote access offered by TreenoGCM has been an essential tool. “I rely on Treeno to help me better serve my international clients,” he says. “One patent attorney we deal with on a regular basis is located in Lebanon. I can literally pull up a file while talking to him on the phone and deliver it electronically. Prior to Treeno I would have to fax it, which was not as reliable, or send it via courier and hope for the best.”

The Legal Community relies on TreenoGCM to:

• Increase billable hours and improve client service quality


• Streamline the process of retrieving and distributing essential information


• Provide simultaneous access to client information


• Improve operational efficiency with minimal disruption


• Improve information security and document integrity


• Enable productivity tracking and accountability, ensuring turnaround requirements are always met


• Streamline compliance driven documentation requirements


• Simplify enterprise wide access to critical documents


• Reduce paper, paper storage, photocopying, and faxing costs

Law firms around the world are improving client service quality and increasing billable hours with TreenoGCM. To learn more about how Treeno can help your firm, call us at 1-800-528-5005 or visit us on the Web at www.treenosoftware.com

Workflow Reports in Treeno

Now that you have created and are using Treeno Workflow let us show you how easy it is to generate reports. Treeno provides you with four standard reports found in Settings under Reports:
• Average Time To Process
• Total # of Workflows
• Individual Workflows
• Work in Progress

Average Time To Process
The average time to process report allows the administrator to report on specific completed workflows. This report will report on the total time to process each workflow of a particular type for a specific start date and can be sorted by Total Time or Start Date. The result will show total process time for each item, the start time, end time, status, username, node name, cabinet, and folder information. Just enter a date, choose the workflow and click on Generate Report.

The results are output into a format that can be opened by Microsoft Excel to be used to create charts and graphs as well and calculating averages, standard deviations and other analysis to enhance the productivity of your team.

Total Number Of Workflows
The total number of workflows will give the administrator a holistic view of all the documents that were initiated for the defined period of time. This is broken out by workflows on the system. Just enter the desire rage of dates and click on Generate Report.

Workflows started from March 1, 2006 to March 8, 2010
Workflow: Purchase Requisition
Total: 47
Workflow: Applicant review
Total: 43
Workflow: Title Process
Total: 2
Workflow: Ticket
Total: 0
Workflow: Cooley
Total: 5812
Workflow: Audit Approval
Total: 12

Individual Workflow Report
The administrator has the ability to report on an individual for the defined period of time. This tool will provide the administrator a view into how many documents the user has processed. This reports on the action performed, the date and time of the action, the node name, any notes added, and the specific cabinet and folder the workflow was assigned for the user for the specified period. Just choose the user and select the date range.

Work In Progress
This report defines work that is in progress per named workflow. It will name the total time documents have resided in queue and amount of time that has elapsed since the node has been notified. It will define the status of the workflow and which nodes currently possess the action. This report will identify the following: total time, start time, current time, total time since last notification, last notification, status, user name, node name, cabinet and folder information. Enter the date, desired sort and Workflow.

Additional Features

One additional reporting feature is found in Settings under Workflow. This is View Workflow History. Every item in the workflow is audited and recorded. The history of a document is also maintained at the folder view while the workflow is in process or completed. Treeno audits on the following workflow criteria. This workflow history search tool allows the organization to create their custom reports. Enter as little or as much information as you desire to narrow or broaden your report.

30 Years of Wishing fo the Paperless Office

It had been several hours since I had seen the light of day. My final computer science project was now complete on a stack of nearly 1000 cards. I just needed to keep them safe and orderly until I could reach the system administrator and turn it in. Not fifty feet from the door I was bump, the stack went to the floor, the precious rubber band broke and cards went flying down the hall. It would take hours to gather and put the cards back in order. When will we live in a paperless world?

30+ years later, welcome to my paperless office. Gone is that stack of cards, now I can type directly into my computer. I can drag and drop my content directly into my content management system. I’ve cleared a whole office of file cabinets. I now have control over all my documents and file types including scanned files, Microsoft Office documents, emails, faxes, as well as rich media files such as video and audio files. I can retrieve or view them from any internet device. I can easily create workflows, increasing efficiency and reporting capabilities.

2010 is a great year for content management and this blog will give you case studies, tips & tricks, advice and will take you into the secret life of Treeno Software, a proven leader in enterprise content management (ECM).

Need a solution? These industries are already in love with Treeno:
• Energy
• Financial Services
• Healthcare
• Higher Education
• Insurance
• Legal
• Government
• K-12 School Districts
• Manufacturing
• Real Estate

Contact us today!

Fred Abaroa