Electronic Archiving System or Just Scanned Files? Why Digitized Records Still Can't Be Found

Here is a scenario most records managers will recognize.

The digitization project finished on schedule. Two years of paper files were scanned and stored on a shared drive, and the storage room was finally empty. Everyone was pleased.

Then the auditors asked for a supplier contract from four years ago.

Someone opened the shared drive and found folders named by month, filled with files named scan_0457.pdf, scan_0458.pdf and so on into the thousands. The contract was in there somewhere. Finding it took two people most of an afternoon, opening files one by one.

The institution had digitized its records. It had not archived them.

Why aren't scanned documents searchable?

A scanner produces a picture of a page. That picture is useful only if someone can locate it later, knows it's the right version, and is allowed to see it. None of that comes from the scanner.

Most digitization projects that disappoint fail in the same place. The budget went to scanning hardware and labor, and describing each document was treated as an afterthought. The result is a digital storage room: smaller and tidier than the paper one, and almost as hard to search.

What does an electronic archive need beyond the scan?

Four layers, each one doing a job the scanner can't.

1. A structure that describes every document

Before the first page is scanned, someone has to decide what the archive needs to know about each document type. A contract needs a supplier name, a value and an end date. A personnel file needs an employee number and a department. An invoice needs a number and a date.

In ELArchive, administrators define document types and folder types, then set the index fields each one requires. Validation rules control what goes into each field: whether it's an email, a number, a date or a required entry, and the character limits. A data entry clerk can't save a contract without a supplier name, and can't type letters into a date field.

That's the difference between a file named scan_0457.pdf and a contract that turns up when someone searches for the supplier.

2. Quality control before errors become permanent

Indexing errors are cheap to fix on the day they happen and expensive to fix three years later, when nobody remembers what the document was. A mistyped employee number can hide a file for good.

ELArchive builds quality control into the workflow. A dedicated reviewer checks scanned documents and their index data, then approves or rejects them. A rejection carries a reason, such as poor scan quality or a wrong index value, and the document goes back to the right person for correction. Data entry staff see the scanned image right next to the entry screen, so they type from what they see rather than switching between windows.

The archive only holds what has passed review.

If your team has already scanned thousands of files that nobody can search, the problem is fixable. IT-Blocks' Backlog Scanning service captures and indexes legacy records into ELArchive properly. Talk to a specialist about your backlog →

3. Access rules that match how the institution works

A shared drive gives everyone with access to a folder the same rights to everything in it. That works until a salary file, a legal dispute or a board paper ends up in the wrong folder.

ELArchive sets permissions by user and group. Administrators decide who can view, who can download and who can print specific files, and can limit sensitive storage locations to particular departments. A finance clerk can search invoices without seeing HR files that sit in the same archive.

4. A trail of where every file has been

Paper archives have a lending book. Digital archives need the same thing, and most don't have it.

ELArchive tracks the live status of every document: pending, accepted, rejected or ready for review. When a physical file is borrowed, the system records where it is and who has it. When documents move between departments, the share feature transfers them without losing the audit history. Months later, anyone with the right access can see what happened to a file and who handled it.

Scanned files vs an electronic archiving system

How fast can you find a document in an electronic archive?

With structure, quality control, access and history in place, search becomes simple. ELArchive offers four search methods: by document type, by folder type, by barcode, or by a folder's storage location. The auditor's request for a four-year-old contract becomes a search for the supplier name.

Managers also get reports on the archive itself: daily data entry, folder status, user performance and folders still incomplete. A digitization project stops being a black box and becomes something you can manage week by week.

Eighteen years in production

ELArchive has been in production since its first release in 2008. That matters more in archiving than in most software. An archive has to stay readable and searchable for decades, through staff changes, hardware upgrades and reorganizations. A platform with eighteen years in production has already lived through all of that.

Start with the five documents you search for most

If your institution scanned its records but still struggles to find them, or is about to start a digitization project and wants to avoid that outcome, begin with a short exercise. List the five document types your teams search for most often and the details they search by. That list is the beginning of your index structure.

Bring it to an ELArchive demonstration. We'll show you those exact documents set up as document types, with their index fields, quality checks and access rules, so you can see how your archive would work before you commit to anything. Book an ELArchive demo →

Frequently asked questions

What is an electronic archiving system?

An electronic archiving system is software that indexes, quality-checks, controls access to and tracks digitized records, so they can be found and trusted over time. ELArchive is IT-Blocks' electronic archiving platform, in production since its first release in 2008.

What is the difference between scanning and electronic archiving?

Scanning creates an image of a page. Electronic archiving adds the structure that makes the image useful: index fields that describe each document, quality control on that data, access permissions, and a history of every action taken on the file. Without those layers, scanned files are stored but not findable.

How do you make scanned documents searchable?

Define document types and the index fields each one needs, such as supplier name, date or employee number, then enforce them with validation rules during data entry. In ELArchive, documents can then be found by document type, folder type, barcode or storage location.

How do you prevent indexing errors in a digital archive?

Build quality control into the workflow. In ELArchive, a reviewer approves or rejects each scanned document and its index data, rejections carry a reason, and documents go back for correction before they enter the archive.

Can access to archived documents be restricted by department?

Yes. ELArchive sets permissions by user and group, controlling who can view, download or print specific files, and can limit sensitive storage locations to particular departments.

How do you track progress on a digitization project?

Use reports on the archive itself. ELArchive reports on daily data entry, folder status, user performance and folders still incomplete, so managers can follow the project week by week.

What should we do with files we already scanned without indexing?

They can be captured and indexed properly. IT-Blocks' Backlog Scanning service handles legacy document capture and indexing into ELArchive.

Related reading

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• How to Digitize Paper Forms Into E-Services Without a Development Project
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