Scan Docs Into Pipeline Like a Pro

As a paperless office, we know scanning documents is a frequent part of your team’s life. And there are many different scanners and models to choose from.

This article lists some of our favorite hardware and software that will help make scanning and managing your real estate documents easier.

Best Document Scanner for Real Estate

First and most importantly, you’ll need a great office scanner. Our favorite is the Fujitsu Scansnap. We use it for all our documents (we’re totally paperless of course!) and we’ve been really impressed with it. It lets you easily scan anything—receipts, business cards, letter-sized sheets, and more – and it does it FAST.

It works on a PC or Mac and also scans plastic cards (like credit cards). After you scan, you can choose to send the info to a folder on your computer, save it as a PDF, send it to an email address, and more. It makes getting paperwork into Paperless Pipeline simple.

Best Document Scanning App

Another question we get a lot is, “What if I want to fax my documents into Pipeline?”

Enter HelloFax.com.

With HelloFax, you can send and receive faxes, request signatures, and fill out forms. Let’s say you need a signature on a document, then want to forward it into Paperless Pipeline. First, log in to HelloFax and click on “Request Signature.” Drag and drop your doc, enter the signer’s email address and a short message, show them where they need to sign, and send.

After it comes back to you, you can send it directly to your Paperless Pipeline Working Docs. Click on “Send a Fax,” drag and drop your document, enter your Working Docs email address, and click “Send it Now.” You’re good to go!

HelloFax has a free account that lets you fax five pages and request five document signatures. If you like it, you can upgrade to one of their paid plans which start at $4.99 / month. The most basic plan gives you a local fax number and lets you fax 50 pages and request 10 signatures monthly.

We like HelloFax because it’s an extremely useful app that manages to keep things simple.

Three Tools to Help You Manage Real Estate Documents

Scanning isn’t the only part of document management. There are several other factors to consider if you want your transaction management process to run smoothly. The following tools will help achieve this.

E-sign

E-sign technology allows agents and customers to sign virtual documents remotely. This can speed up the sales process as people don’t have to meet in person to sign documents. E-signatures are as legally binding as regular ones.

DocuSign and HelloSign are both good e-sign platforms. Use them alongside transaction management software to manage the sales process remotely. 

Forms 

Forms are state-specific, so they are typically handled by a system managed by the MLS or the state. Once you know your requirements you can use form generator software to set up form templates.

This makes all of your paperwork more efficient by allowing you to set up templates and auto-populate information between forms for the same transaction. A good example of this is zipLogix by LoneWolf.

Transaction Management

Real estate transaction management software helps your deals progress smoothly. 

Use it to create checklists that detail every step you and your agents take to get deals over the line. You can also generate deadlines so that all the work gets done on time. 

Real estate management tools are seriously helpful for growing brokerages. If you have to manage multiple deals at once, these tools are a simple way to keep everything on track. Larger businesses can even create separate spaces for teams and offices.

They are also essential if you want to run a virtual brokerage. All documents are stored in the cloud rather than in physical folders.

Paperless Pipeline is powerful real estate transaction management software. It combines the features mentioned above with the ability to create custom reports, build separate spaces for different teams, and much more. 

Read more about the benefits of this type of software here.