How to Optimize Your Business by Going Paperless
Going Paperless is important as lots of paper is being wasted. According to statistics, the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper per year. Moreover, 45% of the paper printed ends up thrown away by the end of the day. Excessive paper consumption is not only wasteful but also quite costly. Besides printing costs, let’s not forget that all that paper needs to be stored somewhere, so the costs of using paper can quickly add up.
On the other hand, storing your files digitally is cost saving and time-efficient. With a digital office, you don’t have to worry about storing files, losing and finding documents, and jammed printers.
So how can you digitalize your business and have a paperless office & what are the benefits of going paperless? Let’s find out!
Embrace the cloud
The benefits of storing your documents in the cloud are numerous. First of all, it’s a much more scalable solution than storing paper documents in the office. It enables you to securely store and backup all of your important documents and files and diminishes the risk of losing them due to human error or natural disasters.
Also, having all your files in the cloud allows you to access all of your documents wherever you are and easily share them with others. According to a survey, 42% state that the main reason why they are opting for the cloud is that they can access their data anywhere.
It is predicted that by the end of 2020, 67% of enterprise IT infrastructure and software will be cloud-based. Also, cloud computing is becoming one of the most in-demand skill and good knowledge of this emerging technology is becoming a must.
This all goes to show how fast businesses are turning to desktop virtualization and digitalized offices, and this trend will only continue to grow. So it’s about time to ditch your paper documents and move them to the cloud. Click the link below to see the infographic for cloud computing statistics.
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Credits https://www.cloudaeon.co.uk
Automate payroll
Manual payroll preparation can be a cumbersome job. Endless spreadsheets and numbers, data entry, and writing checks is something no one likes to deal with. In fact, 40% of small business owners say bookkeeping and taxes are the worst part of owning a business.
Luckily, there’s a rising number of payroll automation software that can do the work for you. This software also allows you to integrate paperless payroll solutions in your office. Instead of manually calculating payroll and writing checks, you can automate this process and offer personalized payroll cards to your employees. That way, you will not only reduce paper usage but also eliminate the risk of human error.
Payroll cards are becoming increasingly popular amongst millennials, who are the biggest group in the workforce today. Because of their convenience and low maintenance, their popularity is even surpassing paper paychecks and direct deposits to a bank account. Millennials don’t want to deal with cashing out checks and bank account costs, so automated payroll cards will also help you increase employee satisfaction.
Use e-signatures
Signing a document by hand used to be a tedious task that required multiple steps. First, you’d need to print the document, then sign it and finally scan, fax or send it by mail. Fortunately, now that electronic signatures are legally recognized, this process is much easier, faster and cheaper.
E-signatures are especially handy if you need to sign multiple documents at once, as they will save you time and minimize repetitive tasks. Besides that, electronic signatures are also significantly cheaper than traditional ones. As a matter of fact, they cost 55% less than preparing the invoices on paper and sending them to the recipients via ordinary mail. The payoff is even bigger if you need to deliver a signed document to a faraway location. With e-signatures, you can do it with just a few clicks, saving both time and money.
Also, with paper documents, there’s always a risk of damage and loss. It’s much easier for your important contract to be lost in the mail, or even be accessed by third parties. Handling your documents digitally eliminates these risks and helps you get everything done much faster.
Use email
If you want to have a paperless office, email is your best friend. It’s a versatile solution with no additional costs. It can be used for both internal communications within your company, and external communication with your clients. Email enables you to streamline your communication and it’s much easier to keep track of previous conversations.
Moreover, you can connect your email with additional tools and further automate your business operations. For example, you can integrate your email with invoicing software and send invoices and payment reminders to your clients.
Email is overall a great channel for communication, even though new communication software and tools are constantly emerging. Email continues to be one of the most effective types of digital correspondence due to its simplicity, quickness, and inexpensiveness. Communicating through email is one of the best benefits of going paperless
Conclusion
Using paper in the office is expensive and inefficient, but keep in mind that digitalization doesn’t happen overnight and that it also requires some initial investments. However, once you complete the digitalization process, your day to day business operations will run much smoother and you will end up saving money in the long run, also you would have lots of benefits of going paperless. So don’t be intimidated by the change, but instead start working on it as soon as possible. Both your budget and the planet will be grateful for your initiative of a paperless office.
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