Computers are indispensable tools in the modern business world. Virtually every aspect of running a business incorporates some degree of computerization. These devices enable businesses to reduce their reliance on paper documents, among their other benefits. There are many reasons why businesses should reduce paper usage.
Increase Company Document Security
Secure data and document management are a major issue for every business. Implementing competent security policies takes time and money. Certain types of business, such as insurance companies and doctors’ offices, have to spend huge amounts of money storing and protecting paper documents. Commonly, many copies of a paper document are made, simply to help the workflow of employees. Every copy that is made increases the risk of the information being used for malicious purposes.
Reduce Costs Associated with Paper
When you’re dealing with paper documents, extra costs add up. You’re going to deal with expenses related to:
- Paper and envelopes
- Postage
- Ink
- Purchase and maintenance of hardware, including printers, fax machines, and photocopiers
- Shredders and paper disposal
- Document storage costs, including remote storage with overhead, additional filing cabinets, etc.
Most of these costs can be eliminated completely, or be greatly reduced, by utilizing work practices that do not depend on paper.
Improve Efficiency Pertaining to Documentation
Many businesses need to make copies of documents available to different departments within the company. For example, a manufacturer of custom commercial furniture has to make copies of customer orders available to the accounts department, the stock control department, and the production department. The production department may need to create its own copies for various parts of the manufacturing process, such as different production line sectors.
It is far more efficient to scan the original order and store the information directly in a live database. The document is then accessible to all required departments. Allowing employees to access documents this way helps them work more quickly and efficiently.
It takes time to manually file, copy, or retrieve any document. The time factor increases if legacy documents need to be retrieved from remote storage locations. In a paperless office environment, all that time can be used more productively.
Get Your Data How You Need It
Manual filing systems have limited ways to retrieve data or documents. In contrast, electronic documents can be instantly retrieved in many different ways. For example, the database can be queried by:
- Time and date
- Order number
- Customer number
- Customer name
- Invoice number
- Invoice amount
- Item number
- Item description
- Any string of text
This type of instant access leads to improvements in how the company runs and enables a business to take on more work without investing in additional resources.
The Paperless Office is Now
Many businesses can reduce their paper usage by making simple changes to business processes. This is already happening. Many airlines have done away with paper tickets, and some of them have scrapped paper boarding passes. People can now check in using their smartphones. Giant utility companies no longer issue paper bills, preferring Cloud access or email instead. Companies both large and small benefit from implementing paperless offices.