How to Set Up a Digital Mailroom

Understand your current mail workflow:

Mail Volume Analysis:

• How many pieces per day/week/month?

• Types of mail (invoices, correspondence, legal)

• Peak periods and seasonal variations

• Number of recipients/departments

Current Pain Points:

• Delayed distribution to recipients

• Lost or misdirected mail

• No tracking or accountability

• Remote workers can't access mail

• Physical storage consuming space

Goals for Digital Mailroom:

• Same-day digital delivery

• Searchable document archive

• Remote access capability

• Reduced physical storage

Options for digitizing incoming mail:

Virtual Mailbox Service:

• Mail sent to service provider's address

• Scanned and uploaded to portal

• Best for small businesses, remote teams

• Lower startup cost

In-House Digital Mailroom:

• Process mail at your location

• Control over security and handling

• Higher equipment investment

• Requires trained staff

Outsourced Mailroom Service:

• Professional mail center processes your mail

• Scalable to volume needs

• No equipment or staffing concerns

• Secure chain of custody

Consider hybrid approaches for different mail types.

Create rules for handling different mail types:

Common Categories:

• Invoices and bills → Accounts Payable

• Checks and payments → Finance/Deposit

• Legal notices → Legal Department

• HR correspondence → Human Resources

• General correspondence → Recipient

• Marketing/junk → Discard or forward

Routing Rules:

• By addressee name

• By department

• By document type (invoices, contracts)

• By sender (known vendors, courts)

Priority Handling:

• Time-sensitive legal notices

• Checks over certain amounts

• Executive correspondence

• Registered/certified mail

Set up efficient document capture:

Scanning Standards:

• 300 DPI for standard documents

• Color scanning for checks and signatures

• OCR for searchable text

• Both sides for multi-page documents

Indexing Fields:

• Date received

• Sender name/organization

• Recipient

• Document type

• Priority level

Quality Control:

• Review scans for clarity

• Verify OCR accuracy

• Confirm routing before delivery

• Flag items needing physical retention

Get documents to recipients quickly:

Delivery Methods:

• Email with PDF attachment

• Document management system upload

• Secure portal notification

• Integration with existing workflows

Notification Options:

• Real-time email alerts

• Daily digest of received mail

• Mobile app notifications

• Dashboard view of pending items

Access Controls:

• Individual or shared mailboxes

• Role-based access permissions

• Audit trail of who viewed what

• Forwarding and delegation rules

Decide what happens to original documents:

Retention Options:

• Immediate shredding (most mail)

• Short-term hold (30-60 days)

• Permanent storage (legal originals)

• Return to recipient on request

Documents Often Requiring Originals:

• Wet signature documents

• Notarized documents

• Negotiable instruments (checks)

• Court-filed documents

• Government certifications

Best Practices:

• Clear retention policy by document type

• Secure destruction for discarded mail

• Tracking for stored originals

• Periodic purge of held items