Is your workspace filled with collated stacks of documents, piles of manila folders, and filing cabinets overflowing with paper? Mountains of paper are a tell-tale sign that it’s time to embrace change. As Earth Day approaches, it’s the perfect time to streamline how you accumulate and handle documents, finally taking your business toward the paperless office.
While it may sound simple, taking your office paperless requires a plan. Creating a paperless office requires taking a top-down approach and a commitment to following your new practices. Once you’ve made the switch, you won’t just be helping the environment, you’ll be ready to handle business smarter, faster, and more efficiently than ever before.
Ready to take the plunge? Here are some tips to get started!
Gradually Eliminate Paper Use
Start by identifying your biggest areas of paper use and create a strategy to cut back. For example, if it’s photocopies, consider restricting access or removing some devices. Introduce digital documents gradually over time to get your team used to the new way of doing things.
Consider the Cost Savings
Replacing paper with digital alternatives isn’t just convenient; it’s cost-effective. Once you factor in the actual costs to produce a paper document including toner, storage, and printer equipment, you’ll realize that producing paper documents isn’t cheap. In addition, on average, time spent filing hard copies of documents can cost up to $1400 per year.
Implement Intelligent Information Management
Even a “paperless” office still needs to use some paper… just a lot less! However, with a powerful digital solution that keeps track of records plus enhances collaboration and file sharing, you’ll wonder why you stuck with paper for so long in the first place.
Here at Allied Business Solutions, we can help you reduce your reliance on paper. We offer comprehensive document management solutions that can take your efficiency to a new level with lightning-fast search capabilities and easier collaboration, all backed by robust automation.
Ready to learn more? Talk to an Allied representative today about a document workflow assessment for your business, and let us show you how a comprehensive document management solution from Allied Business Solutions can lower your document management costs, improve efficiency, promote collaboration, save time, and significantly reduce your reliance on paper.