How your business can go paperless

Published by Michael McCook of AccountabilityNet

Less paper means more efficiency

It's unrealistic to try to eliminate every sheet of paper from your office. There will always be some paperwork – to and from clients, suppliers and partners.

But by reducing the amount of paper you use, you can improve the efficiency of your firm. Digital documents are easier to store, manage, search, and process. That lets your staff spend more time working, and less time shuffling paper.

You can go paperless by scanning your existing paperwork. Then you can convert it to digital documents and file it for future use. That's not something you can do in a day though. Making your internal systems paperless requires careful planning, dedication and staff buy-in. 

Six compelling reasons to go paperless

Most businesses generate a lot of paper. Unfortunately that can make space an issue and daily business operations difficult. Some of the problems include:

1. Storage
   Up to 25 percent of your office space could be used for storage of paper documents. That's a big overhead and it may prevent you taking on more staff.
2. Productivity 
   It’s hard to find the right piece of paper in a pile containing thousands of others. Locating the right document can take a lot of time. A digital document archive with a powerful search function will greatly improve staff productivity.
3. Waste
   You may be keeping two or three copies of some documents. They may all be filed in different places for different reasons. Going paperless reduces this duplication and waste and is environmentally friendly.
4. Appearance
   An office cluttered with papers and stacks of files doesn't look like a professional working environment. Visitors – including clients – won’t be impressed.
5. Focus
   A disorganized desk covered in paper can prevent staff from thinking in a clear, logical and focused way.
6. Printing expenses
   Last, and by no means least, is the cost of paper, ink, printers and other associated expenses. These can be significant, even for a small businesses.