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You may be surprised by the benefits of going paperless within your office. When running a business, you are probably looking for every possible way to streamline operations, cut costs, and save time. Have you tried moving toward a paperless business?
The benefits of a paperless business go beyond environmental implications. Here are a few reasons you might want to consider going paperless.
Sorting through a stack of post may take a large proportion of your day and is time-consuming. What do you do with it once sorted? Usually, you either throw it away, shred it, or file it.
Wouldn’t it be easier to try and reduce the amount of post in the first instance?
You can opt out of receiving paper copies of important documents like bank statements, bills, and even invoices. Instead, you can ask to receive statements via email or through an online account.
Reducing the amount of post you receive also adds another layer of security. You don’t need to worry about mail being intercepted or misplacing important documents.
No one likes clutter in their office, as it is not conducive to a good working environment. When you go paperless, you can alleviate some of the disorganisation and chaos that come with paper files.
Digital files take up less room than filing cabinets, and once you eliminate some of the space devoted to paper records, you might find yourself more able to access information.
“When’s my invoice due?” your customer asks. If you access this information via your filing cabinet and some tatty file, it might be time to use a paperless filing system.
With paperless business systems, you do not need to sort through mountains of paperwork to find documents. If you use a cloud-based filing system, you can access data from any device with an internet connection. For example, if you use online accounting software, you can update your books any time you want, from any location you want.
Paperless systems can make locating customer information faster and more accessible. You can send tailored email campaigns to customers instead of blanket promotions.
When you bank online, you are not limited by bank hours. You have 24/7 access to your accounts.
To have a successful business one of the key elements is sharing knowledge amongst your staff. But this can be hard when everything is paper based.
Using digital collaboration tools makes it easier for sharing this know and communicating information. This can improve teamwork, encourage innovation, and prevent knowledge hoarding.
Online tools let employees share documents, folders, and projects using an efficient system. Employees can collaborate easily and almost instantly in the Cloud. No, waiting for paper files!
At some point you are going to have to invoice your customers. Instead of sending paper invoices, you can switch to electronic invoices, saving you money on paper, envelopes, and postage. Aside from the cost savings of supplies, there is also the chance you could speed up the payment process.
When you send an email invoice, your customer will likely receive it immediately, which could speed up how soon they pay. If you use software that lets you create and track invoices, you can handle unpaid invoices more efficiently by sending out follow-up requests for payment, when appropriate.
Keep in mind that invoicing online might not work for every customer. Some customers prefer to receive physical invoices.
Date: March 15, 2021
Author: Morris