PDF Workflows for Small Offices
1. Scan once, scan right
- Use 300 DPI for documents you may print or submit; 150 DPI is enough for screen-only copies
- Scan text documents in greyscale: smaller files, same readability
- Flatten the page and use good light when scanning with a phone; crop the edges
2. Name files so you can find them
Use one pattern everywhere: YYYY-MM-DD_Party_DocumentType, for example 2026-09-25_SharmaStores_Invoice-0142.pdf. Dates first sort correctly in any folder.
3. Everyday tasks
| Task | Tool |
|---|---|
| Combine invoices or KYC pages into one file | Merge PDF |
| Send only the pages someone needs | Split PDF / Extract Pages |
| Fix sideways scans | Rotate PDF |
| Turn phone photos of receipts into one PDF | JPG to PDF |
| Share a page on WhatsApp as an image | PDF to JPG |
| Get bank statement figures into Excel | PDF to Excel |
| Mark drafts or quotations | Add Watermark |
| Number pages of a tender or report | Add Page Numbers |
All of these run in your browser, so confidential files are never uploaded.
4. Sharing safely
- Check the attachment limit: Gmail allows 25 MB per email; larger files go as a Drive link
- Remove pages that aren’t needed before sending ID or bank documents
- Watermark copies of ID documents with the purpose, for example “For KYC with ABC Ltd only”
- Keep the original scan; send copies