There once was a time when, if you were running an office, you needed to have paper. However, thanks to the proliferation of computers and the internet, paper is becoming increasingly unnecessary. Not only does it take up large amounts of space, but it’s also harmful to the environment. These are four ways to help your office transition to a paperless system.
Scan All Paper Documents
There are sure to be all sorts of important paper documents that you can’t afford to waste. You need to go through all of these and scan them right away. How to Geek explains, “there are many ways to go about scanning your documents. You don’t even need a scanner! Scanning using software on your phone or tablet has never been easier.” Having electronic copies of your paper documents ensures that you can make your paperless system go off without a hitch. You also want to make sure to back up these files to cloud storage in the event of a computer crash or another malfunction.
Store All Scanned Documents
Once the documents are scanned, you need to find a place to safely keep them. Depending on your state, you might be required to store for a certain number of years. Since you’re transitioning to a paperless office, you might wonder how that would be feasible. The solution is to find a proper storage facility outside of the office. According to All Storage Online, “documents require special care when they are placed into storage. Fire safety is imperative, but special precautions should also be taken to avoid even small amounts of moisture as this also can destroy documents. A little humidity may be enough to cause documents to mildew when they are not stored properly.” You don’t want to let yourself choose the wrong facility and end up with a mess when you try to store business documents.
Give Yourselves Time to Transition
Don’t come into the office announcing a paperless system and stating that it’ll be accomplished by the end of the day. Depending on the size of your office, this could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. You need to first get the approval from other management-types in your office. Then, announce it to your employees with a reasonable end date. Auto/Mate explains, “you also need to find a system for paperless management that works. If you don’t set up a functional system, then the whole transition to paperless wasn’t worth it. Make sure that everyone is on board. Even if there is one person on your team that won’t change, it can spoil the rest of it and cause massive redundancies over time.”
Transition to Paperless Billing
It’s likely that you’re already paying most of your bills electronically. However, you need to ensure that it’s like that across the board. You want to get in touch with every company that bills you, from water to electric and internet and let them know that you are switching to paperless billing. Many companies make this a very easy process to fulfill. EchoWorx continues, “incentivizing going paperless for your customers can greatly improve their chances of going paperless. By going paperless you can save tons of time, money, and most of all your customers will be happier from it.”
Transitioning to a paperless system can be quite beneficial for your office. Not only can you save space and keep track of files more easily, but you can also help to protect the environment. With these tips, you can help make this transition as smooth as possible.
If you need outside assistance for how to find success keep BMOC Group in mind! We help with all sorts of internal audits and will help you find the best way to run your business.