CNG-SAFE is a complete Document Management and Workflow software product. Most businesses find a way to operate with their documents scattered across filing cabinets, shared drives and personal hard drives. At some point this inefficient approach becomes too costly – due to compliance, physical space, labor or some combination of the three.

Input
We make it easy to file all documents whether they are scanned images, Word, Excel, PDF, CAD, email, photos, faxes, etc. Users can scan, import, drag- and-drop, print-to, or save-as to input documents. CNG-SAFE also allows you to create new documents within the filing structure. All documents are stored in their native format in centralized repositories.

Structure
CNG-SAFE provides a very structured filing environment. In the paper world, file rooms contain file cabinets. For example, you may have 5 four-drawer file cabinets for your clients, a cabinet for your vendors, a personnel cabinet, etc. Within those cabinets are folders and within those folders, documents.

With CNG-SAFE it’s exactly the same. The concept of CNG-SAFE is a Repository containing Cabinets, within Cabinets there are Folders. Those Folders contain Tabs where all Documents reside regardless of their format or function. This structure eliminates the inefficiency of multiple clicks to drill into a folder-sub-folder structure to get to a document.

Scheduling
Cabinets, Folders, or Documents can be scheduled for action on a specified date. A user can assign a scheduled item to other users, and items can be routed on a scheduled date, any scheduled item can be scheduled multiple times. A user may also add a scheduled item to an Outlook calendar or send an appointment request.

Search
Because documents are filed into CNG-SAFE using standard naming conventions (templates) that you create, searching for them later is simplified. Users have three ways to search for a document. Quick navigation of the folder/tab/document structure is most efficient. Users can search for a document based on keywords or metadata – such as creation date, created by, etc. Thirdly, users can search for documents which contain text based on strings of text within the documents.

Interface
Users access the system via a client interface or through a browser. CNG-SAFE is available in both “installed” – installed on your computers, accessed locally or over the internet; or “hosted” – where the software resides on our servers and you access your documents via the internet. The hosted version is perfect for clients with limited IT resources. Regardless of the delivery method, the product is the same – CNG-SAFE.

Security / Audit / Reporting
Users are only able to access and work with Cabinets, Folders and Documents they have rights to. User rights are controlled by the System Administrator. From the time a user logs in until they log out, their actions are tracked in a log file, which can be queried in the event of an audit to determine who did what, when, and from where. From a rights management perspective, the system can interact with the Windows Active Directory and pull user data in and grant rights to certain areas of the system. From the Repository and Cabinet level, access is either “on” or “off.” If you don’t have access to a particular cabinet, you won’t see it and won’t know it exists. At the folder and document level you can specify user access rights in even greater granularity.

Workflow
All businesses operate by document workflow processes. These processes are the lifeblood of a company. Examples are processing invoices for payment, reviewing contracts, entering billing information, order entry, etc. CNG-SAFE includes powerful workflow capabilities. Not as an optional add-on, but part of the core product. Workflow can be performed manually or based on business rules defined in SAFE and provides alert and escalation automation as well as reporting and management to monitor and control processes.

Integration
Document Management is one important tool, but not the only software used by most companies. CNG-SAFE provides an API and out-of-the-box integration utilities to help integrate to other software systems in use. Out-of-the-box, CNG-SAFE integrates with all of the Microsoft Office applications. We store documents in their native format, so if you want to edit these types of documents from within CNG-SAFE, and you have access rights, you simply use an application like Word or Excel to do the edits – no need to learn a proprietary system. CNG integration tools allow you to leverage data already housed in within other applications like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Accounting systems. This data can be used to populate index fields in CNG-SAFE when creating a new folder – eliminating the possibility of errors from having to re-key data.

A Controlled Environment

Cabinet NG can help you create a controlled, secure environment. With Cabinet NG security capabilities, you can protect sensitive information; ensure privacy, security and efficiency.

Many businesses are required by regulations (HIPAA, SEC, SOX, ISO, etc.) to ensure the privacy of customers’ and employees’ personal information. With a paper-based filing system, there is no efficient way of securing files, beyond locking the cabinet. With CNG-SAFE you not only to specify who has access, but also to control access to individual folders and documents.

Access Rights / Classes

Security is a key concern to any business, but especially so for larger organizations. Some document management systems take an all or nothing approach. Still others burden you in lengthy administrative processes to address even simple security needs. With CNG-SAFE, you get both the flexibility and the security you need.

Administrators can establish access rights at levels equivalent to filing cabinets, file folders, or documents. Administrators can set define access as, none (no access), preview, view only, edit, create, delete, and locked. Access classes allow documents to be associated with groups enabling privileges to be set for departments, management levels, or individual users. Rights to documents and folders can be granular - a user may have create rights to a document and no other rights, allowing a person to add a document to the system but not access from that point forward.

Document Retention Policies

Part of CNG-SAFE’s security is retention classes. Retention classes enable you to define by document type how long a document is maintained. Setting document retention ensures that even when users have access, important files are kept for designated periods.

Audit Trails

Auditing and tracking file access is a necessity for businesses today, and a key component of your Cabinet NG Shared Access Filing Environment. Track where your files have been, always know where files are, limit file access, and protect your customers’ privacy with Cabinet NG. Administrators are able to generate reports to view who viewed or accessed files at a filing cabinet, file folder, or document level or to view all files accessed by user.

Check Out / Locking
In a paper filing system, sometimes there is a need to pull a file and isolate it from other processes. CNG-SAFE also enables a file to be designated as checked out. This check-out feature ensures that entries aren’t accidentally made to file during an audit or review. However, unlike a paper system, you always know who has the file in use and the file never physically leaves the system.

Designed for Network Access

Cabinet NG Shared File Access System (CNG-SAFE) is designed to support multi-user network environments.

• Distributed Processing
  Cabinet NG is a distributed processing system. We have installations with more than 200 users accessing hundreds of gigabytes of data.
• Remote Access
  CNG Supports wide-area network (WAN) access through web-based clients for viewing and data-entry through web-based forms. Full access can also be granted through Windows Terminal Services.

 

These features enhance functionality of CNG-SAFE and are included in the base product.

Scheduling - provides tight integration across the entire system. The scheduling functionality incorporates several individual features, making it a perfect fit for all organizations needing to complete tasks more successfully and on time.

• Scheduling items at the individual document, folder or cabinet level within CNG-SAFE
• Scheduled items can be assigned to the current user, multiple users, or a defined user group
• Customized category titles allow easy tailoring by using familiar terms to the user
• Customized priorities give visibility to critical items
• Notes – schedule and user notes provide instructions and a convenient way to add other comments about the item
• Integration with CNG-SAFE workflow automatically sends the item into workflow for review/approval and processing
• Integration with Microsoft Outlook allows users to add appointments to their Outlook Calendar and/or send Outlook Calendar invitations to other users assigned to the item

Input - We make it easy to get documents into the CNG-SAFE system.

• Scanning - the process of turning paper into digital documents, one of the basic methods of getting documents into CNG-SAFE
• Batch Scanning - increases productivity of the scanning processes, can be either manual or automatic
• Import utility allows the mass import of existing documents from another filing system
• Drag & Drop files from the desktop or file structure to CNG-SAFE
• "Create New" - permits the creation of new documents from within CNG-SAFE via pre-defined templates
• Advanced Capture - an optional module, allowing high volume, high-speed, batch scanning to easily get documents into the document repository. Users have the ability to index, identify, and classify document images by barcodes or zonal OCR. OCR also allows you to convert document images to searchable PDFs.

Search - One of the most critical elements of a Document Management System is Search. Searching for your documents must be simple and fast. CNG-SAFE has multiple methods to locate your documents:

• Structural Search - used to find documents in a very structured environment. If you think of a doctor’s office or a financial advisor, they have a folder for each patient/client and all the documents for that patient/client are in the folder. To find a particular document, open the folder and scan the list of documents and find the one you need.
• Keyword / Metadata - CNG-SAFE indexes documents with keywords. Those keywords can be entered in a search field and a list of documents associated with a keyword or set of keywords will be presented.
• Full Text Search - involves looking for a document based on a word or phrase that may be contained within the document. For example, if a clerk wants to find all prescriptions for “XYZ Drug”, they could type that into the search and get a list of all documents that contain “XYZ Drug”.
• SuperSearch - can be either a gadget (Windows 7 or Vista) or it can be a small desktop application (Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7). The goal of this component is to allow users of CNG-SAFE the ability to find documents quickly and efficiently without having to fire up the CNG-SAFE client. From one small screen it gives you the ability to do full text, keyword, and metadata searching across all of the repositories and cabinets available to you.

Security - Many businesses are required by law to protect the privacy of employee and customer personal information, not to mention the fact that your critical business information needs to remain secure. CNG-SAFE protects your virtual filing cabinets using a "rights management" approach.

Your information is stored in a Cabinet - Folder - Document hierarchy with different levels of access at each level.

• Cabinet - rights are either "on or off." If a user doesn't have rights to the Cabinet, they won't know that Cabinet exists.
• Folder - there are different levels of granularity in folder security. Users may have access from "view only" all the way through the ability to edit and delete folder information and contents.
• Document - like the security for Folders, Document-level security may be just as granular. Sensitivity levels may be set for individual documents.

Audit Reports may be generated to track users and their actions while logged into CNG-SAFE.

Workflow - All businesses operate by document workflow processes. These processes are the lifeblood of a company. CNG-SAFE mimics your existing paper processes, turning them into efficient electronic workflow processes.

• Rules-based - routing is defined by a pre-determined set of rules (see diagram)

• Manual - manually route documents for approval.
• Alerts & Escalation - ability to set up alerts and escalation processes for documents in workflow when certain trigger criteria are met.
• Track & Report - allows management control of all documents in the workflow process.
• Automation - Documents may we automatically entered into workflow when they are created (based on a template).

Integration

Small and mid-sized companies need better integration between the applications they use to run their businesses. Some of the problems encountered are: 1)Double data entry - with each software package requiring it's own data entry instead of sharing data. 2)Sparing employee time to learn multiple software packages. 3)Integrating applications so they work together.

CNG-SAFE integrates with with most applications directly out of the box. For instance Microsoft Office applications.

For applications requiring a bit more integration to share data, we have Synchronizer and Retriever. These are optional modules that enable data to be shared between CNG-SAFE and popular business applications.

• Synchronizer connects to any compliant database and synchronizes the data from the database to CNG-SAFE. This means that as soon as data is entered in the other software product, it syncs with CNG-SAFE, greatly reducing effort and errors on the part of your employees.
• Retriever can be connected to another application and "read" data from the connected application's screen and find the documents associated with that data in CNG-SAFE.

An optional API (Applications Programming Interface) that provides a Windows-based development framework for integrating third-party applications is available for instances where a higher level of integration is required.

Client Systems

 

Server

 

Updated 04/12/2011

Awards

CNG-SAFE Named 2010 Best Channel Product by Business Solutions Magazine
Cabinet NG’s Peers Validate CNG-SAFE as a Best Selling Document Management Product

2010 ACE Award Finalists Revealed  
Nominations continue to roll in for ECM Connection's annual ACE Awards. After reading — and often rereading — the mountain of entries, the playing field has been narrowed and we are pleased to announce the vendors who have been names as finalists in each award category.
ECM Connection by Vickie Amendola

Cabinet NG Selected as a Finalist for 2010 CODiE Awards
The Software & Information Industry Association announced CNG-SAFE's selection as a finalist for the CODiE Awards in the document management category.

Cabinet NG Named 2009 KMWorld Promise Award Finalist
The award is given to the organization that is delivering “the promise” to its customers by providing innovative technology solutions for implementing and integrating knowledge management practices into their business processes.

CNG-SAFE Recognized As a Top 20 Product for Today's Small Business Market
CRN Tech Center showcases products and technologies that deliver value and drive new business.

CNG-SAFE Named 2009 Best Channel Product by Business Solutions Magazine
Best Channel Product winners chosen by BSM’s Value Added Reseller (VAR) subscribers

Accounting Today Names Cabinet NG to its "Top 100 Products" List
CNG ends 2008 by winning three high profile awards recognizing the company's leading document management solutions for the SMB market

Innovation Awards Presented in L.A. 
Companies Honored for Technologies that Advance and Enhance Productivity for Tax and Accounting Professionals.
CPA Technology Magazine, Isaac M. O'Bannon

 

Reviews

Document Management Systems Review 
CNG-SAFE is a document management system positioned for the small enterprise and is designed to work in many different industries. The level of enterprise functionality included in the CNG product line at essentially entry-level pricing makes for an attractive value proposition. Overall Rating: 4.75 Stars.
The CPA Technology Advisor, By John Higgins, CPA.CITP

Document Management Recommendations 
Backup/Storage > Records Management Category
Digital Publishing Solutions - Buyers Guide

Document Management Systems  
Cabinet NG's Document Management products transform the way documents are filed, stored and retrieved.
WebBuyersGuide

 

ChoiceCare Physicians 
ChoiceCare Physicians, a busy eight doctor private physicians group in Pittsburgh, had work-flow problems that were getting worse every week.

Hoffman Car Wash
Hoffman furthers green initiatives with document management

Anidjar & Levine P.C.
Takes on the paper-intensive justice system with affordable document management

Limestone County
Limestone County First to Make Video Hearings Come to Life – With the CNG-SAFE Integrated Document Management Platform

Kirshon & Company
With the upcoming tax season looming, Kirshon needed a robust, full featured and easy-to-use electronic document management solution in place, pronto.

The Bookkeeping Department
Outsourced SMB accounting services firm differentiates itself using QuickBooks with CNG-Books.

Zangmeister Center
A leading cancer care treatment center consolidates its offices and uses the move as an opportunity to move directly into the paperless world.

Rick Nay Insurance Services
Affordable, flexible and secure electronic document management enables specialty insurer to improve underwriting process.

Benedettini Cabinetry 
CNG-SAFE Automated workflows and a secure, information repository facilitate Benedettini’s need to share information across the entire company regardless of location.

Bone and Joint Clinic 
The Bone and Joint Clinic, P.C., a nine-physician Orthopaedic practice in Franklin, Tennessee, was searching for a better solution to store and access patient information.