Published August 3, 2022
Why (and How) to Go Paperless as a Business
No matter what kind of
business you run, chances are it is built on documents. Employment contracts,
bank statements, business plans, financial forecasts, and many other types of
records are essential to keeping a company running legally and effectively.
But did you know that
most of the documents you deal with regularly are available in digital form?
Using digital copies can make your operations more efficient, save money and
time, and you can also help the environment. If you’re not sure where to start going
digital, keep reading for some practical guidance from Zero Waste
California!
The Benefits of Going Paperless
Let’s start with some
tangible benefits your company can experience by digitizing your documents:
Efficiency
Perusing documents when
you need to find a clause, expense, or other specific information on paper can
waste a lot of your time. When you store digital copies, Conserve notes that
you can quickly search for
what you need via an amount, a phrase, or a keyword. Plus, when you receive
digital documents, it is often as simple as getting an email or downloading
them directly from your bank, suppliers, or vendors.
Cost Savings
Emailing PDFs to
customers and business partners is cheaper and faster
than relying on paper invoices. Plus, you don’t have to wait for a week or more
for your customers to get their invoices by mail and process them, which means
that you will probably get paid sooner. You also will not have to spend as much
money on office supplies. And since you can update a document’s version number
and resend it through email, you don’t have to worry about printing out revised
drafts and distributing them by hand.
Versatility
Another advantage of
going paperless is that you can complete many business management tasks online.
For instance, you can establish an LLC by working
through an online formation service. If you think it’s time to switch to a
different entity, using this kind of service can ensure that you deal with
minimal paper documents and that your LLC complies with state regulations.
Accessibility
If you go paperless as a
company, you will have easier and quicker access to more of your documents.
Think about how much time you have wasted rummaging through file cabinets,
desks, and shelves to locate specific paper documents. By storing your
documents in the cloud,
Content Snare points out that you can immediately access any document you need
from wherever you are.
Starting the Process
So, you’re convinced to
go paperless, here are a few ways you can get started:
Determine Which Documents Like Invoices Can Be
Converted
Find out precisely what
types of documents your business can convert to the digital realm. This
includes the documents your company creates and uses (e.g., contracts,
accounting documents, memos, etc.), as well as those that you receive via
paper. You may be able to request digital versions of documents you regularly
receive. Likewise, if you need to share files with clients or employees, PDFs
are preferable to Word files, so use a tool to convert PDFs and save yourself a lot of hassle!
Get Organized
It’s also essential to
keep your documents organized by
establishing a system. This means finding a paperless document management
software that will meet your company’s needs and naming all of your documents
so they can be neatly stored in their appropriate category. Keep in mind that
digitizing files and documents will not boost efficiency unless they are
organized.
Scan Your Documents
Finally, you will need
to dedicate time to scan all of your existing documents so that you can upload
them onto your management system. Even though this will be labor-intensive,
understand that you only need to do it once with each paper document and that
there are scanners on the market that
can quickly process long documents. Once you have all of your paper documents
scanned, be sure to shred them.
Conclusion
These days, it just makes sense to go paperless. Most of the documents your company relies on like invoices can be made available in digital versions, so consider the benefits and tips above as you make a plan for going paperless. In no time, you will be operating more efficiently and saving money!
Kristin Louis
