# QCards: tell CapturePoint where documents start and end

QCards are barcode separator sheets that mark where each document begins — and a start card with no end signal makes capture wait about five minutes per batch. One checkbox removes the wait.

Product: capturepoint · Audience: system-administrator · Time: 15 minutes · Last verified: 2026-08-30

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/capturepoint/templates/qcards-where-documents-start-and-end

**By the end of this guide your scanned batches will split into documents the moment the last page arrives — no more mysterious multi-minute wait — because every document will have a clear start *and* a clear end.**

## What a QCard is

A QCard is a printed separator sheet with a barcode. You place one on top of each paper document before scanning a stack; during processing, each QCard says "a new document starts here," and the pages behind it are grouped into that document.

> **IMPORTANT:** Every QCard batch must **begin** with a QCard. If the first page of a scanned file isn't one, the whole file is set aside as unprocessable instead of being filed.

> **NOTE:** Detection is forgiving — photocopied, faxed, skewed, or faded QCards get a second, heavier recognition pass. If a sheet has visibly degraded, print a fresh one.

## Starts, ends, and page counts

A start QCard only marks where a document *begins*. Something still has to mark where it *ends*:

| End signal | How the document is closed |
| --- | --- |
| **End-of-Document QCard** | A sheet titled `End-of-Document` scanned after the last page closes the document immediately |
| **The next document's start QCard** | Starting the next document automatically closes the one before it |
| **Fixed page count** | Every document is exactly N pages, so it closes as soon as N pages arrive |
| **Nothing** | The trap — see below |

## The trap: the five-minute wait

If nothing marks the end — no End-of-Document sheet, no next start card behind it, no fixed page count — capture cannot know whether more pages are still coming. It waits until roughly **five minutes** have passed with no new pages, then builds the document anyway. That wait is built in; it is not a setting you can shorten.

What this looks like in practice:

- In a **stack of several documents** separated only by start cards, every document except the last is closed by the next start card and processes right away — but the **last document always waits the five minutes**.
- A **single document** scanned with only a start card waits the full five minutes, every time.

Nothing is broken. The batch simply never says "that's all" — this is the classic "capture is mysteriously slow" complaint, and the fix below removes the wait entirely.

## Fix 1: add an End-of-Document QCard

1. Open the Capture area where you create QCards, and set the capture type to **QCard** (the same applies to **QCard Packet** and **Document-Type QCard**).

2. Fill in your usual coding choices, then check **Include EOD QCard** — "Also create an End-of-Document QCard."

3. Generate and print. Alongside your start sheet you get a sheet titled **End-of-Document**.

*[Screenshot: The QCard creation form with the "Include EOD QCard" checkbox checked and the "Fixed Page Count" option visible below it.]*

4. Assemble the batch: start QCard on top, the document's pages, then the **End-of-Document** sheet last.
   
   > note: In a stack of several documents, only the final document needs the End-of-Document sheet — each earlier document is closed by the next document's start card.

## Fix 2: use a fixed page count

If every document in a batch is exactly the same length, you can skip the end sheet:

1. When creating the QCard, check **Fixed Page Count** and enter the pages per document in **pgs per document** (minimum `1`).

2. Each document closes the instant that many pages arrive — no End-of-Document sheet needed.

> **IMPORTANT:** Use a fixed page count only when the length truly never varies. If the batch ends with fewer pages than the count, that short document sits through the five-minute wait before being built from the pages it has.

## Verify it worked

1. Scan a small test: start QCard, one or two pages, End-of-Document sheet.

2. Watch for the document to appear wherever the coding choices on the QCard route it — a queue for review, or filed directly.
   
   **What you should see:** the document appears within moments of the batch arriving. If it still takes about five minutes, the End-of-Document sheet wasn't detected — confirm it was scanned as the last page and the barcode is clean and legible, then reprint it if needed.

## Still stuck?

If batches still stall after adding the end signal, contact support with this compact evidence:

- [ ] The capture type used (**QCard**, **QCard Packet**, or **Document-Type QCard**)
- [ ] Whether **Include EOD QCard** was checked, or the **Fixed Page Count** value if you used one
- [ ] Page count of the test batch, and the time between scanning the last page and the document appearing
- [ ] Whether the delay hits every document or only the last one in a stack

## What's next

- [Train CapturePoint templates](https://help.ademero.com/capturepoint/templates/train-capturepoint-templates)