How to Scan Your Documents Properly (and Save Yourself Months of Stress Later)

If you’re dealing with financial exploitation, your paperwork can feel overwhelming.

Stacks of letters. Bank statements. Loan agreements.Court papers.

This guide will help you scan your documents once, properly, so you don’t have to keep going back again and again.

It may feel slow now. But done right, this will save you days, weeks, even months later.

And it puts you back in control.

First: why scanning matters so much

When you scan documents properly:

• You can find things instantly

• You can upload them into your Get SAFE Notion template

• You can let AI help you analyse patterns and timelines

• You reduce reliance on expensive professionals just to organise papers

Put simply:

You’re doing the information-gathering part that solicitors do — but for yourself.

That alone can save thousands of pounds.

Step 1: Aim to scan everything (yes, really)

If you can, scan all documents, not just the ones that “look important”.

Why?

Because the important page is often hidden:

• on the back of a letter

• in the middle of a bundle

• inside a bank pack that looks routine

Bank and loan documents are especially critical. Small details there can change everything.

If you absolutely can’t scan everything yet:

• Start with what you believe is important

• Upload it to your personal Notion file

• Come back later to complete the rest

Progress is better than perfection.

Step 2: Use the best scanner you can access

Best option (if you can afford or borrow one)

A high-speed document scanner (such as a ScanSnap-style device).

• Typical cost: £170–£500

• Handles large volumes quickly

• Scans both sides automatically

One Get SAFE member scanned 9,000 pages in a few days using this method.

If funds are tight

• Ask to borrow a better scanner

• Use a printer-scanner if that’s all you have

• Scan in smaller batches

Even slower scanning is still worth doing.

Step 3: Prepare the documents (this part matters)

Before scanning:

• Remove staples

• Remove paper clips and rubber bands

• Straighten folded or crumpled pages

It’s boring. It’s frustrating.

But it prevents:

• missing pages

• jammed scanners

• unreadable scans

Think of this as laying foundations.

Step 4: Decide how detailed you want to be (you have options)

You can scan in two main ways:

Option A: Detailed (best long-term)

• Scan documents individually or in small logical groups

• Name files clearly (date + sender + topic)

• Ideal if you have time

Option B: Fast batching (acceptable short-term)

• Scan 30–50 pages at once

• Upload as one PDF

• Come back later to split and label if needed

If you’re under time pressure, Option B is fine. You can refine later.

Step 5: Keep a simple date list (even rough is fine)

As you scan, keep a basic list or spreadsheet:

• Date

• Who it’s from

• What it relates to

This helps enormously when:

• building timelines

• answering court questions

• using AI to spot inconsistencies

Don’t overthink it. Rough notes are enough to start.

Step 6: Upload into your Get SAFE Notion template

Once scanned:

• Upload documents into the correct Notion sections

• Follow the Goliathon guidance

• If something doesn’t make sense — that’s feedback, not failure

Get SAFE is designed to:

help you help yourself

If you get stuck, let us know.Your questions help improve the system for others too.

Step 7: Let AI do the heavy lifting

Once your documents are scanned and organised:

• AI can help you:

  • find dates

  • compare versions

  • spot contradictions

  • build clear summaries

Many people find this part surprisingly empowering.

What felt impossible starts to feel… manageable.

A gentle but honest reminder

This process is:

• daunting at first

• time-consuming

• emotionally tiring

But the payoff is real.

A pain for you now…but potentially a much bigger pain for them later.

And when you’re done, you’ll know where you stand — without paying thousands just for someone else to organise your own story.

You are not alone

Many Get SAFE members have restarted this process multiple times before it finally clicked.

That’s normal. It’s not failure. It’s persistence.

With the Get SAFE tools, community, and AI support, you’re building something powerful:clarity, structure, and agency.

One document at a time is enough.

Important disclaimer

This guidance is not legal advice. Its purpose is to help you organise your documents clearly, logically, and transparently so that anyone reading them can understand your position.

That alone can change everything.