Author: Crown Information Managment

Transitioning to a Paperless Office Made Easy

Has your organization gone paperless yet? Some companies haven’t taken the plunge for various reasons. They may not see the benefits of transitioning to digital records. Some may fear losing control because they don’t have a hard copy of a document, but there are many benefits to moving hard-copy files into a digital format. For starters, your team will love the extra space they have in the office. Making the switch is a process that is best done with the assistance of a professional information management company that understands what it takes to transition. It will save you time and energy when you enlist their services.

How Digitizing Your Records Benefits Your Company

You will open a whole new world to you and your staff when you consider these benefits of going digital:

1. Streamline workflow: Scanned and indexed documents are much easier to find than those in overflowing file cabinets. Manila folders get misfiled, leading to lost productivity and frustration for team members.
2. Keep prying eyes away: Digital documents are encrypted, making them harder to steal. Additionally, you can determine who needs access to specific files, eliminating the need for locked doors and filing cabinets.
3. Maintain compliance requirements easier: The healthcare field must follow strict regulations like HIPAA. Keeping up with the different rules when using paper can be challenging. Digital record-keeping makes it easier with automated systems ensuring all documents meet regulatory requirements. 
4. Reduce auditing frustrations: Nothing is more embarrassing than having an auditor request a file you cannot find. Digital records make it easier to locate precisely what the auditor requests and help keep your nerves under control.
5. Consolidate information across locations and offices: Accessing paper files may be tricky if you have different offices across the city or state. When you digitize records, they can be accessed from any of your company’s locations. It also makes it easier to share information between departments, making teamwork easier.
6. Secure digital records preservation: Technology like AI addresses the concern of preserving data integrity by ensuring the accurate transfer of information from paper to digital form. Even handwritten notes can be saved securely in an electronic format.

Going Paperless Is a Breeze with an Expert Information Management Team 

Choose to transition from paper to digital with help from the team at Crown Information Management. We have expertly trained and HIPAA-compliant document scanning teams ready to ensure your documents are picked up, secured, prepped, scanned, and converted into the digital format you need. We can even help with indexing and tagging your records for easier access. When everything is complete, we can store your archived paper records in our secure facility. If you need other document services, we can help with shredding, media, and production destruction. That’s one-stop-shopping like no other. Call us today!

For experienced help with scanning, indexing, shredding, media destruction, records management, and document storage, call Crown Information Management. You can reach us at 800-979-9545 or contact us online to learn more about our services. Let our team work for you. We are a SOC1, NAID AAA, and PCI-certified company.  

Protecting sensitive information is essential for both individuals and businesses in Fort Myers. Whether you’re managing personal records or handling confidential business documents, securely disposing of outdated records is crucial to prevent identity theft, data breaches, and compliance violations. While some documents need to be retained for legal or financial reasons, others should be properly shredded once they are no longer needed.

At Crown Information Management, we help Fort Myers residents and businesses securely dispose of vital records through our professional shredding services. Here’s a look at the key types of vital records you should be shredding.

Personal Vital Records to Shred

Many personal documents contain sensitive information that could be exploited if they fall into the wrong hands. When no longer needed, securely shredding these records helps protect your identity and personal security.

• Bank Statements & Financial Records – Once past their retention period, old bank statements, canceled checks, and loan documents should be shredded to prevent fraud.
• Tax Documents – The IRS recommends keeping tax records for at least seven years. After this period, securely shred outdated tax returns and supporting documents.
• Medical Records – Health insurance statements, medical bills, and prescription records contain personal data that should be shredded once they are no longer needed.
• Utility Bills & Credit Card Statements – Outdated bills and statements with account details can be used for identity theft if not properly destroyed.
• Legal Documents – Old wills, contracts, or property records that have been updated or replaced should be shredded to ensure confidentiality.

Business Vital Records to Shred

Businesses in Fort Myers must comply with privacy laws like HIPAA, FACTA, and GLBA, making proper document disposal essential. Failing to securely shred confidential records can result in legal consequences and reputational damage.

• Employee & Payroll Records – Once past their required retention period, old employee records, pay stubs, and benefits information should be securely destroyed.
• Client & Customer Information – Businesses handling customer data, including invoices, contracts, and applications, must shred outdated documents to protect privacy.
• Financial & Accounting Records – Expired financial statements, receipts, and reports should be properly disposed of to prevent fraud or compliance issues.
• Confidential Business Documents – Internal memos, strategic plans, and proprietary information should be shredded when no longer in use to protect business operations.
• Medical & Patient Records – Healthcare providers in Fort Myers must comply with HIPAA regulations by securely shredding old patient records after the required retention period.

Why Shredding Vital Records is Important

Properly shredding vital records ensures:

• Compliance with Regulations – Avoid penalties and maintain compliance with state and federal privacy laws.
• Protection Against Identity Theft – Destroying personal and business records prevents unauthorized access to sensitive information.
• Environmental Responsibility – Secure shredding services recycle paper waste, reducing environmental impact.

At Crown Information Management, we offer on-site and off-site shredding services in Fort Myers to help businesses and individuals securely dispose of vital records.

Schedule Your Secure Shredding Service in Fort Myers

Don’t let outdated documents put you at risk! Crown Information Management provides secure, NAID AAA-certified shredding services in Fort Myers, FL, to help you dispose of sensitive records safely and responsibly. Contact us today to schedule your shredding service and protect your confidential information.

Making Document Cleanup Easy

Winter is an excellent time to tidy up your office. When it comes to paper documents, you may want to conduct a major purge more than once a year rather than wait for spring to arrive. Hard copy files take up a lot of room and can cause your team to lose time that could be better spent doing their jobs. As you plan your paper purge, remember to enlist the services of a professional shredding and records management company. They can assist you with proper destruction and storage services. With their help, you won’t have to worry about losing vital files or struggling to maintain your records.

How to Know It’s Time to Schedule a Major Paper Purge

Are you struggling to decide when to start purging the paper in your office? Here are seven signs that now is the time for a significant purge:

1. Your filing system and cabinets are overflowing. Most offices have several filing cabinets teeming with manila folders and paperwork. The drawers don’t shut properly, and what doesn’t fit winds up on your team’s desks, making it challenging to stay organized. When the drawers and desktops overflow, it’s time to call reinforcements with a professional shredding company.
2. Your archiving system is a mess.  If you don’t have a good handle on your archiving system, you and your team will spend too much time combing through drawers looking for documents. The lost productivity can be frustrating. However, by purging your archives, including using cloud-based storage, your team will spend less time tracking what they need.
3. You are worried that your documents are not properly secured. When your file cabinet drawers are overfull, they may not close and lock properly. Additionally, if they are not in a secure area, anyone can access records they are not authorized to. Conducting a purge will help bring things back under control and allow you to secure records.
4. You are stuck at your desk. Working from home is an option today, but it isn’t when you are stuck at the office because all the paperwork is in hard copies. Choosing a professional company that can scan and index your records helps make working from home possible.
5. The expenses to keep things stored in-house keep going up. Everything costs money, and some items cost more than they used to. Buying more file cabinets takes up money and space. You can save both by scheduling a significant purge of your documents. It can also be cost-effective to store your documents off-site.
6. Some documents have passed their retention dates. The best part of retention dates is that when you reach them, you can take action. Failing to take action can lead to too many files remaining on your premises. It makes sense to purge as soon as retention dates come up.
7. You need more office space. Office space is at a premium and can be expensive. Before your company decides to move to a new location, consider how much space you can have by conducting a major purge of all files.

Plan a Paper Purge with the Professionals 

Conducting a whole office paper purge is not for the faint of heart. Crown Information Management can help your team by providing shredding and storage services. Additionally, we can help with media and product destruction and document scanning. We understand the need to destroy and store documents securely. Call us today, and let’s get to work!

For experienced help with shredding, media destruction, records management, and document storage, call Crown Information Management. You can reach us at 800-979-9545 or contact us online to learn more about our services. Let our team work for you. We are a SOC1, NAID AAA, and PCI-certified company.  

Data protection is a huge business priority in today’s world. Since the first report of a data breach more than two decades ago, businesses have had to work diligently to protect their customer’s personal information from getting into the wrong hands. There are companies dedicated to providing software to help people and companies keep data safer. There are more laws and regulations in place to ensure that organizations handle paper documents properly, including how long to keep records and how to dispose of them. Professional paper shredding services are a simple yet vital step for safeguarding sensitive information in your organization. If your Orlando company needs help handling the mountains of paper in your office, it’s time to hire professionals.

Why Your Orlando Business Needs Trusted Paper Shredding Services

Hiring a professional document destruction company is simple, but what they provide is invaluable, including:

1. Helping you with regulatory compliance requirements: Some industries have regulatory requirements for protecting sensitive information, including the legal and medical arena. For example, doctor’s offices must follow HIPAA laws to protect patients’ personal information. If they fail to dispose of these documents properly, potential fines and legal consequences threaten their reputation, operational flow, and profitability. Professional shredding companies understand what is required and can help you meet compliance standards.  
2. Aiding you in protecting against data breaches: Discarded documents are a target for identity thieves. They are not shy about dumpster diving because what they find can be very lucrative. Even paper shredded in small office shredders can be put back together like a puzzle and give away precious secrets. A qualified shredding company has commercial shredders that will obliterate and recycle your documents, leaving nothing for thieves to steal.
3. Boosting your team’s productivity: In-house shredding takes up a team member’s valuable time. Instead of assisting customers or handling their other tasks, they are stuck at a desk, slowly feeding small bunches of paper at a time into a tiny shredder. If you want to free up your team’s time, outsource the shredding to a team that is experienced, equipped with the right tools and training, and therefore, faster and more efficient at this job.
4. Helping your company remain environmentally responsible: Many companies don’t think about where their outdated documents go. They may throw all their paper records away instead of recycling them. Even if they put the documents in a recycle bin, there is no guarantee that identity thieves won’t dive in and steal these records. Professional shredders not only destroy your paper documents, but they also recycle them, helping your company to remain environmentally responsible.
5. Saving your company money: Purchasing and maintaining shredding equipment can eat into valuable monetary resources. More importantly, if you fail to shred documents properly, you may feel the pain of the legal issues from a data breach. Utilizing a commercial shredding company eliminates costly mistakes from incomplete shredding and saves you money on equipment purchase and maintenance.

Outsource Your Shredding Responsibilities to the Pros

Don’t let mounds of office records overwhelm you and your team. Prevent the risk of faulty destruction and theft from criminals. The team at Crown Information Management will come to your facility, shred your documents on-site, and give you a Certificate of Destruction. We can do all of this with little disruption to your day. We also provide safe, dry storage options for the records you must keep. Are you ready to ramp up your compliance game? Contact us today to see how we can work together! 

For experienced help with document storage, shredding, media destruction, and records management, call Crown Information Management. You can reach us at 800-979-9545 or contact us online to learn more about our services. Put our team to work for you. We are a SOC1 Level 2 Report,NAID AAA, and PCI Certified company.  

Today’s fast-paced business world demands a high protection standard now more than at any other time in history.  Thieves are ready to take full advantage of dumpsters with poorly shredded or negligently discarded documents holding financial and private information. Mishandling data such as financial statements, legal forms, and other records could lead to a serious breach of trust and compliance issues. It’s vital for companies across various industries in Tampa to do all they can to safeguard the information they are entrusted with. Doctors, lawyers, and financial institutions benefit from using professional shredding companies to maintain confidentiality and meet regulatory requirements. If you are in one of these industries, remember to enlist the services of an information management company for all your document destruction and storage needs.

Secure Document Destruction Services Serve these Top 5 Industries 

Can your company benefit from a professional shredding company? If you are in one of these five industries, the answer is yes:

1. Healthcare: Hospitals, clinics, and private practices handle large volumes of patient records daily. All the information is sensitive personal information, and their patients trust them to protect their data. Maintaining this trust is a must for all parties involved. Properly disposing of medical records is paramount to keeping this trust and remaining compliant with data protection regulations.
2. Legal services: Law firms also work with clients’ private information, including details for their lawsuits and claims. Protecting their confidentiality is key to maintaining clients’ trust. When you need to dispose of legal records, using a professional shredding company is a no-brainer.
3. Financial institutions: Even if you handle the majority of your banking online, financial institutions still handle and maintain a lot of information. Banks, credit unions, and accounting firms are responsible for safeguarding highly valuable information for their individual and business customers. Having all financial records securely shredded by a trusted and certified professional company is vital.
4. Education: Schools and universities house and manage student records and staff information. They need to keep these records safe and follow FERPA requirements. Shredding documents properly protects student/staff privacy and reduces the school’s liability.
5. Real estate and property management: The world of real estate is full of contracts, deeds, and financial information. Realtors, mortgage brokers, and property management companies house information that should never fall into the wrong hands. The best way to handle these documents is to have them professionally shredded.

Take Your Document Destruction and Storage to a New Level with Help from Professionals 

Reduce your risk and vulnerability to the devious methods employed by increasingly savvy criminals. Don’t rely on small office shredders for document destruction and storage. Crown Information Management can help you take things to a new level with our additional services, including shredding, storage, media and product destruction, and document scanning. We understand the need to destroy and store documents securely and work with various industries.  Call us today, and let’s get to work!

For experienced help with shredding, media destruction, records management, and document storage, call Crown Information Management. You can reach us at 800-979-9545 or contact us online to learn more about our services. Put our team to work for you. We are a SOC1,NAID AAA, and PCI Certified company.  

Hire Professionals to Shred Old Digital Assets

We have embraced technology for years, adding new computers regularly that keep tons of information at our fingertips. If you are keeping up with technology, you know purchasing new computers for your home or business is necessary. The question then is, “What should you do with the old computer(s)?” Just like paper documents, getting rid of PCs and laptops should not be taken lightly. Cyber thieves are ready to take any information they can and use it to steal from you. Cleaning out a hard drive takes more than you might think. Even taking a hammer to one and throwing it in the trash doesn’t ensure that a hacker cannot retrieve information from it. Instead of taking chances, it pays to use a professional shredding company’s hard drive destruction services.

5 Tips for Using a Professional Shredding Company

A professional shredding company is an excellent choice for properly destroying your old hard drives. You can rest easier knowing they handle everything, so your hard drives are obliterated. Here are some tips that will make the process simple and straightforward:

1. Have all your files backed up. Get help from staff in your IT department. Ask them to fully back up all files from the hard drive you plan to have shredded. They will want to capture all documents, photos, videos, and other files.
2. Transfer any licensed software. If you have licensed software on the old machine, take time to transfer to your new PC. It may require deactivating it on the old machine and activating it on the new machine.
3. Ask for secure storage containers. Contact the professional shredding company you are working with and ask for some locked storage containers. These are the best ways to keep things safe and prevent unauthorized access.
4. Keep an inventory list of the media. A detailed list of the computers to be destroyed will make things easier to retrieve on destruction day. This list can include the media type with its make, model, serial number, and destruction schedule.
5. Schedule your destruction date. Once you have your equipment ready, it’s time to schedule your appointment to have the hard drives destroyed. Professionals will come to your location, take your hard drives, shred them onsite, and give you a Certificate of Destruction. This secure chain of command ensures your hard drives are destroyed, and you have regulatory proof for your records.

Get Help with Hard Drive Destruction

Crown Information Management has the right equipment and skills to destroy your hard drives so no one can retrieve any information. We will come to your location with our industrial shredder and properly eradicate your old hard drives. We will also give you a Certificate of Destruction. You can sit back and let us handle this, giving you time back in your day and peace of mind. We have many additional services that can assist you in your business, including shredding, storage, media and product destruction, and document scanning. 

For experienced help with media destruction, records management, and document storage, call Crown Information Management. You can reach us at 800-979-9545 or contact us online to learn more about our services. We are a SOC1,NAID AAA, and PCI Certified company.  

Certified Document Destruction and Records Management Company 

Every industry, from legal and medical to finance, education, and beyond, generates sensitive documents and records that must be properly stored and securely destroyed. Many of these industries are bound by strict regulations governing how confidential information is handled and disposed of, with non-compliance leading to severe penalties and reputational harm.

Partnering with a reliable paper shredding company is a smart solution for businesses across all sectors. These professionals understand the unique needs of your industry and go the extra mile to ensure their services support regulatory compliance. The most reputable shredding companies hold certifications that validate their commitment to secure and ethical practices, giving you confidence that your sensitive information is being managed responsibly.

By choosing a certified and trusted shredding partner, you can focus on your business knowing your records are handled securely and in full compliance with legal requirements.

Identity Theft During the Holidays

After the pumpkin pie is eaten and the Thanksgiving leftovers are put away, it’s time for the peppermint mocha to start flowing and the credit cards to come out. It’s the holiday shopping season with bargains galore just waiting for you to enter your card information. Identity thieves also enjoy this time of year as many people make merry, letting down their guard with their finances. Online shopping spikes during this time and credit cards are being swiped more frequently. Thieves know that now is an opportune time to steal your identity. They bank on you slipping up! Taking consistent steps to protect your information can keep you from becoming a victim this holiday season. 

6 Suggestions to Protect Your Identity and Be a Safe Holiday Shopper

You can find great deals on holiday shopping while preventing your personal information from being compromised. Follow these six suggestions from our online security experts:

1. Make ‘caution’ your word of the season while online shopping. One of the riskiest scams you can fall for is online shopping scams. Practice extra caution if you use marketplace shopping sites such as those on social media platforms or other digital marketplaces. You don’t have the same protections as you will with a reputable retailer. Only use traceable payment methods like peer-to-peer payment apps with purchase protections like you find through PayPal or Venmo. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be aware that scammers will create websites to reel you in with a great bargain, but you never receive the merchandise.
2. Be aware of ‘shoulder’ surfers. These criminals quietly watch you while shopping or using ATMs, computers, and kiosks. They hope you will inadvertently give away personal information, which they will use to steal from you. Protect yourself by being aware of who is around you while using an ATM. Additionally, cover the keypad when you use your PIN at checkout registers.
3. Monitor your accounts closely. It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday shopping excitement and lose track of how much you are spending. It is a good idea to check your accounts daily and compare your receipts with what you see. You can also set up automated notifications for your credit card accounts so you know when a purchase is made.
4. Limit the number of credit cards you use. Juggling multiple credit cards is challenging. Limiting the number of cards you use makes tracking your spending much more manageable. You can also keep a close eye on any ‘strange’ transactions.
5. Avoid shopping on public Wi-Fi. Public networks are typically not secure. Hackers can use unsecured Wi-Fi access and take sensitive information you transmit. It is better to avoid any online shopping or logging into your bank account while using a public Wi-Fi network.

Take Your Identity Theft Protection to a New Level with Help from Professionals 

Enjoy all the holiday baking, shopping, and gathering you want when you take the necessary precautions to protect your identity. Crown Information Management can help you take things to a new level with our additional services, including shredding, storage, media and product destruction, and document scanning. We understand the need to destroy and store documents securely.  Call us today, and let’s get to work!

For experienced help with shredding, media destruction, records management, and document storage, call Crown Information Management. You can reach us at 800-979-9545 or contact us online to learn more about our services. We are a SOC1,NAID AAA, and PCI Certified company.  

Keeping your clients’ and customers’ data secure is paramount in today’s age of cyber thugs. Ransomware and malware attacks are on the rise. There is another area you must keep safeguarded. It includes all the documents you must hold onto for potential audits, employee records, or other sensitive bits of information. You may put many software security systems into place but leave hard copy documents at risk. Criminals are savvier by the day, whether online or on your premises. Timely and professional paper shredding services in Orlando, FL commercial premises can help save the day.