What is Document Indexing Software?

Document indexing software is a computer program or application that assists with storing, organizing, and recalling documents. Utilization of this type of software in the banking industry can save on data entry time while also enhancing customer service.

Early Electronic Document Indexing Methods

When financial institutions first began electronic document indexing technology, a large batch of items would be scanned using a desktop scanner. Then, it was necessary for staff to manually view each individual document to index it. For example, the batch would be indexed by page number(s), listing the type of document and the account to which it belonged. Some banks may still be employing this approach today.

Modern Document Indexing Options

As technology has advanced, systems such as AccuAccount incorporate time-saving features that allow financial institutions to automatically index documents as they are scanned in. Modern banks use a variety of indexing strategies to expedite the indexing process, such as:

• Barcoded cover sheets: A barcoded sheet is placed before documents, indicating the customer, account number, etc., to which it is associated.
• Barcoded document: A barcode is printed directly onto a multi-page document, which can be linked to a customer or account and can also indicate document type. This information then appears automatically in the indexing system, eliminating time spent on manual entry.
• Drag and drop: This involves the use of a mouse to visually place a document in its appropriate location in the customer or loan file.
• Interface to the Core (or Other Banking System): Predefined field mapping automatically populates the appropriate records (customer, account number, document type, etc.) with data from the originating system.
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR): This software feature allows information such as customer name, account number, and document type to be read directly from the scanned document and used for automatic indexing.

Document Indexing Software Resources

For more information about document indexing and related topics, be sure to check out our extensive resource library with free spreadsheets, whitepapers, and ebooks.

Also, be sure to check out our banking definitions page.