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:
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, Conservice 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!
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