As South African organisations hit the mid-year mark and take stock of how their records are stored, retrieved and protected, Paper Trail is highlighting the part that structured Document Management Software plays in keeping information organised across a business. The Johannesburg-based provider, part of Egis Software, builds tools that help companies shift away from scattered paper files and disconnected folders toward a single, searchable record of the documents they depend on each day.
Paper Trail runs from Highlands North in Johannesburg and works with organisations across property management, fleet services, retail, travel, banking and manufacturing. Its platform rests on the idea that a document only earns its keep when the right person can find it quickly, act on it, and trust that it has been handled correctly. That principle underpins the company’s approach to Document Management, which brings together scanning, indexing and workflow so that information does not sit idle in a drawer or an inbox.
Why records management matters now
Plenty of businesses spend the middle of the financial year gauging how well their internal processes are holding up. Remote and hybrid working has made plain that teams cannot lean on physical filing rooms or a single office to reach what they need. A well-run document management system gives staff a way to access approved records from wherever they work, while keeping a clear trail of who viewed or altered a file. For sectors carrying regulatory obligations, that visibility is not a nicety but a requirement.
Paper Trail meets this by converting printed and digital material into content that can be searched in full. The platform draws on optical character recognition and barcode recognition to read incoming documents, together with image enhancement and page separation so that scanned material is clean and correctly ordered. Once captured, files become part of a repository where they can be located by their content rather than by recalling where someone happened to save them.
A platform built from practical modules
The company organises its capabilities into focused modules that map onto the real tasks businesses face. Electronic Content Management handles the organisation of digital assets, while dedicated hubs cover specific work. LeaseHub manages lease documentation and tenant screening for property teams. PeopleHub supports the employee lifecycle for human resources functions. CreditorsHub automates accounts payable, and TravelHub gathers supplier invoices using OCR and robotic process automation. PaperTrail Sign adds an electronic signature option so that approvals can be finished without printing a page.
This modular design means an organisation can begin with the area causing it the most trouble and expand from there. A property manager might start with lease records, while a finance team might prioritise supplier invoices. In each case the underlying document management approach stays the same, which keeps the experience consistent as more of the business comes on board.
Automation that saves working hours
Paper Trail states that its automation is built to save hundreds of working hours by taking repetitive handling out of everyday processes. Instead of routing paperwork by hand, staff define a workflow once and let the system carry documents through approval, storage and retrieval. This cuts the small delays that pile up when a file has to be found, copied or forwarded, and it lowers the risk of a record being lost or duplicated along the way.
The company backs its clients with 24/7 assistance and customised training, so that teams can use the platform in a way that fits their own structure. Named users of Paper Trail include IHS Property Management, FirstRand, FNB and Standard Bank, reflecting the kind of document-heavy environments the software is built to serve.
Looking ahead through the second half of the year
As businesses plan for the rest of 2026, the pressure to manage information responsibly is unlikely to let up. Compliance expectations, distributed teams and the sheer volume of documents moving through an organisation all point the same way. Paper Trail positions its software as a practical way to bring that material under control, so that records stay accessible, auditable and secure without heaping manual work on the people who rely on them.
Readers can find full details of the platform and its modules on the Paper Trail website at https://www.papertrail.co.za/.
About Paper Trail
Paper Trail is a South African document management software provider based in Johannesburg and operating as part of Egis Software. It offers electronic content management, document automation, workflow and records solutions through a set of focused modules, helping organisations in property, finance, travel, retail and other sectors capture, store and retrieve their documents in one searchable system.
Media Contact
Paper Trail
Email: support@egis-software.com
Phone: +27 11 880 4411
Website: https://www.papertrail.co.za
