With the advances in technology today almost everything is automated for companies. Strangely enough, most companies continue to use paper and have many storages files and documentation. I won’t repeat all of the benefits of going paperless; as I’m sure you all know them by now. (I guess I will anyway- reduced costs of purchasing, printing, filing and storing paper as well as creating more room). Going paperless is simpler than you think.
- Start the discussion with your employees. The transition to a paperless office will take time and employees will need to be trained before the process can begin. If your office did a lot manually, it will take more time to get all employees trained on the computer and other equipment.
- Decipher what documents should be transferred into digital documents. Consider the time you have as well as your available budget. Check to make sure that your equipment can handle the amount of storage that your company will require.
- Get the hardware and software that is necessary for your company. Hiring a consultant to set up your equipment and software systems. You can get the computers in bulk but you may have to order customized software according to your needs, which would also require more training.
- Begin transferring documents. After finishing the training process, gradually start digitalizing your documents. Most of your documents could be scanned for records and typing documents will be required.
- Gradually reduce paper. Stop printing every document and keep digital copies instead. Each employee can have personal storage space for their work. Cloud storage is something to look into as well as services like Dropbox that will offer storage space for companies.