Take Your Office to The Next Level and Go Paperless

Tips and Services to Help Your Office Go Paperless

Going paperless is an excellent way to make access to documents quicker, increase organization, make documents secure with the ability to encrypt, save space, save time, save money, [and] enable sharing of documents companywide and globally. Also allowing you to incorporate virtual assisting

Although you may need to keep some materials for legal or historical reasons, you can greatly lessen your environmental footprint thanks to the abundance of mobile applications, online software and digital storage platforms.

Reducing the amount of paper documents requires planning. Start by defining what "paperless" means to your business and create realistic, achievable goals. Setting smart goals increases your chances of a successful transition. You can set these goals by identifying which paper processes still exist and who the heavy paper users are. VBA can help with organizing your online needs.

Make the transition gradual.

Transitioning to a paperless office will take time. It should be a slow, gradual process. The slow merger will allow you to properly implement new procedures and give your employees time to adjust. You may need to have some paperless systems work in tandem with your old systems during the adjustment period.

Although the transition will take time, and you may not entirely meet your goal, make continual efforts to introduce employees to digital alternatives, weaning them off paper as much as possible.

Get your employees involved.

Creating a paperless office is not a one-person job. Since it requires the efforts of your whole team to create a successful transition, your employees should be involved in the decision-making process. Ask for digital platform suggestions and encourage feedback throughout the transition. At the end of the day, your employees are the ones who must live with, and adapt to, the new system.

Create an office environment that embraces the change. Recycle and limit paper usage by reprinting on non-confidential documents or requiring double-sided printing. Think of ways to make the transition a relaxed and productive process.

Review and digitize your business processes.

There are many parts of your business model that can be digitized. There are usually a few processes within each organization that account for the majority of wasteful printing. Find out what the major culprits are and focus on them first.

Accounting, document signatures, expense tracking and time and attendance tracking are among the major business functions that can be digitized. Here are some software and services for each category that can help with your efforts to go paperless.

Accounting software: This software allows you to securely track and monitor your business finances.

• FreshBooks

• QuickBooks

• Wave Bookkeeping

Instead of requiring a written signature on paper, e-signature services allow your employees and customers to sign documents digitally.

• AdobeReader

• Hightail

• SignRequest

Expense-tracking apps: You can digitally organize and monitor your small business expenses by using an expense-tracking app.

• Concur

• Expensify

• Wally

For more information, check out these five expense-tracking apps.

Digital time and attendance systems: You can digitally track employee hours using time and attendance systems.

• Stratustime

• TSheets

• uAttend

Change your document management habits.

Changing how you create and manage your documents can reduce your environmental footprint. Go paperless by using digital alternatives.

Some major business functions that can be modified are scanning, faxing and documentation management. Scanning and faxing documents can be a great way to get a digital copy of your information. From there, you can utilize paperless documentation management services to perpetuate your digital presence.

Scanning apps: With scanning apps, you can scan notes, documents, images and more so they're all in one digital location.

• CamScanner

• Evernote Scannable

• FineScanner

Faxing services: With faxing services, you can send and receive faxes through email and store them digitally.

• GotFreeFax

• Nextiva

• RingCentral

Here are some online fax services.

Document management software and services: Whether you choose self-hosted or cloud-hosted, a document management system can act as a digital filing cabinet.

• eFileCabinet

• FileHold Express

• M-Files

Take advantage of the cloud.

A convenient option when going paperless is using cloud-based applications. These platforms allow you to create, save and access information via the cloud, as opposed to physical documents or an internal server.

Backing up your documents with reputable cloud-based applications can minimize your potential for data loss. The cloud also allows you to create shared files where multiple employees can work on the same project at once.

While some platforms are free, like Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, there are others that come at a cost. Research your options before choosing a platform to store and back up your data. After you transition to a cloud-based application, all corresponding physical files and papers can be recycled.

Cloud-based platforms for paperless storage options include:

• Dropbox

• Carbonite

• IDrive

Switch to paperless billing.

Receiving assistance from outside institutions, vendors, etc., can be essential to creating a paperless office. Request paperless bank statements, speak to vendors about digital invoice options and inform customers about purchase order emails.

These paperless options can help you organize and track your bookkeeping. Additionally, you can scan receipts into your smartphone and import them into your bookkeeping software application for expense reports or filing taxes.

Making the effort to contact your providers about these changes can improve the way you do business.

Form new habits and track your changes.

While your natural instinct might be to grab a pen and piece of paper, with a little work, turning to paperless options can quickly become common practice. Don't be afraid to embrace tech advancements.

As your company transitions to a paperless office, track your changes. Basher suggested using printers with codes to track usage, and creating a chart that notes your best savers and worst offenders. When you see new habits starting to form, reward good behavior.

Remember to modify your advancements along the way to fit your business's needs. Choosing realistic goals will help you keep your office on track and make progress.

Train yourself to choose digital services whenever you can – but don't force it. It might take time, but it will eventually feel like second nature.

This will open so many options for you, your employees and company.