Soonr is a great tool that allows you to synchronize folders which you choose on your computer with their online servers, allowing for backup, redundancy and document sharing. It’s not perfect, but it’s absolutely saving me hours of paper shuffling.
I have already gone paperless. It’s very rare that I handle paper at all. Everything I do is originated on my computer, and anything that would normally be sent to me as a paper copy is sent through fax, directly to e-mail. I use ZipForms to create contracts, Docusign to fill them out and sign them, and Soonr.com to make them available anywhere in the world.
The only time I deal with paper is if someone hands it to me. Then it ends up in the office scanner and is immediately turned into a PDF file and saved directly through the network into a folder on my server.
Bulky Attachments
One inherent problem we have in the digital world are e-mail attachments. Attaching a document to an e-mail is like attaching a flat bed trailer to a Prius. The car wasn’t designed to carry all that bulky data. The solution is to post the document online in one location and then give others the ability to access the information. Attachments sent through e-mail are copies of originals. Why not just make the original available rather than risking duplicates that no longer match.
Synchronizing Online
Soonr.com is one of many services that allows this. When I generate, or receive a PDF file (every document that I transmit digitally, if not already in PDF format, will be converted to PDF format) I simply save it to a folder based on my method of organization. Soonr runs on my computer and monitors folders that I choose. Any time there is a file or folder added to the folder that is being synchronized, it is uploaded securely to Soonr.com and made accessible to me anywhere in the world, from either a computer, or through their iPhone application.
Sharing Files
The true brilliance lies in the ability to share the files. Now, I can give access to important contract information to the people who need to see it. By sharing a password protected folder online, I can simply direct my title company, inspection company, attorney, buyer’s agent, etc., to the shared folder and give them access to specific documents, or folders.
Soonr.com is just one of many different services that help you with this type of backup and online collaboration or “cloud computing.”
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Brilliant Jon! Thanks for detailing how Soonr has helped with your daily workflow. We’d love to try and make Soonr perfect for users like you so please do provide us feedback on what we could improve upon. We use Soonr internally in mcuh the same way you describe when we are handling projects, but I bet your real estate paperwork outweighs our deal paperwork. We normally don’t have to manually scan papers as they arrive to us as DOC files and the like.
Did you know that you can email attatchments into a Project folder now? So if someone gives you an email with a huge attachment, just “cc:” the appropriate Project. The email address for each Project folder is at the bottom of the webpage. It’s automatically generated as you create the project. I love this feature.
Song w/ Soonr
You may also want to look at HyperOffice for file syncing. A small plugin in the product (called HyperShare) can be downloaded on the desktop, and looks just like any normal folder and lets your manage your online files just like you would manage any local folder. Also you can access, share and collaborate on these files from any web enabled Mac and PC.