There are a lot of reasons for an office to go paperless; it saves money, it is better for the environment, and all that paper can take up a lot of space. Going paperless takes a lot of time and effort. While switching to paperless may not be easy, it is worth it.
One of the first steps to going paperless is to make a plan. Pick a reasonable day to start. It is best to have a clear end goal in mind with the steps needed to get there. The plan should include a schedule for scanning all of your current papers to a shared file directory. Having documents stored online has the added benefit of making the information easy to access at any time or from any location.
Going paperless will involve recycling a lot of old documents. You should go through what you have and get rid of any duplicates or outdated files. Once you start getting rid of old documents it will be easier to know what you really need to keep. Files that should be kept should be clearly labelled.
Perhaps the most important part of the process is to start generating less paper. This will likely include numerous steps, such as switching to paperless billing and online bill pay and e-signing documents. E-signing allows you to sign important legal documents without having to print them. It is also best to let any clients and suppliers know that you plan to go paperless. This way they will know that you prefer for documents to be scanned and e-mailed, instead of sending you a hardcopy.
If you take everything one step at a time, going paperless is manageable, and it is a great idea for the planet and for your wallet.