The Elusive Paperless Office

The paperless office — does it really exist? Or, like Sasquatch and Ogopogo, is it just a legend, built upon the fanciful dreams of idealistic office managers? While not yet a reality for most businesses, it is a worthwhile pursuit. Aside from the obvious benefits to the environment, there are a number of scenarios in which “paperless” is the best option for increased productivity and reduced costs and clutter.

The Accounts Payable Pickle — Difficulty in managing invoice paper trails can often lead to late or even missed payments. This situation is particularly problematic when a business is quite large, has multiple locations or people are in the field and communication is intermittent. Appropriate document software can eliminate the need for physical invoices, and payments can be approved or recorded quickly and remotely via mobile devices. We’ve helped companies as diverse as professional services firms and contractors streamline their A/P process.

The Fax Fix — Print it out, get up and fax it off, bring it back and file it away. Believe it or not, faxes are still predominant in some industries — but it can be a frustrating waste of time and paper. Desktop faxing programs can send and record faxes without paper ever being used. This is particularly useful for medical offices and notaries.

The Retrieval Conundrum — Many businesses, whether by law or other regulations, are required to keep documents for years. This can use up valuable office space and retrieval can sometimes take hours. Many businesses, such as real estate and medical offices, are turning to management software to electronically store and index their records so that they can be retrieved at a moment’s notice.

The Disaster Dilemma — As the saying goes, “back it up or pack it up.” Though we all hope nothing will happen to us, in the case of disaster, very few companies have backups of everything they need to restart quickly in case the unthinkable does occur. Like any new approach, going paperless can come with a learning curve, but nothing good comes without some effort.

As an aside, it may seem contradictory that a premium provider of printing solutions takes the time to promote going paperless, but our goal is to help our clients increase productivity and reduce costs wherever they can. If you’re ready to take the paperless plunge, give us a call.

For more information on moving to a paperless office set up your free office technology consultation!