Jun 3, 2018 5 Steps To a Paperless Office
For many small businesses the idea of going paperless is daunting, but this doesn’t have to be as scary as it seems. With emerging technologies, businesses are able to reduce clutter and be environmentally friendly at the same time!
Here are 5 simple tips to reduce paper from your day-to-day.
1. Reduce Printing
You’ve probably noticed that you print a lot and as a result, spend a lot of money! The quick solution - don’t print it. If this isn’t an option here are some simple tips to reduce your printing:
- Print more than one page per sheet
- Only print the sections you need
- Print in ‘draft’ mode to save ink
- Print double sided
- Use recycled paper or reusable paper
2. Understand your habits
To make an effective change and break bad habits, you must first understand your current ones. As a small business, you have to first track your habits. Identify what each individual is printing by implementing a spreadsheet that keeps track of this. Incentivise your employees by providing rewards for being eco-friendly.
3. File sharing
Cloud-based applications such as Google Docs (which is a free service run through Gmail) allow you to share and collaborate all your documents. If Gmail isn’t for you, here are some other suggestions:
- Microsoft Office 365 to edit documents
- DropBox to share files
- EverNote to take notes
- Basecamp for project management
- Slack for team communication
This will definitely save you from running to the printer and passing documents around the office.
4. Online banking
You would be surprised about the numerous amount of bills your business has to pay for services available online. To avoid printing each and every statement, contact your financial institutions for paperless statements. You could even start sending receipts to your clients online.
5. Scanning
Scanning is a vital part for most businesses, with more and more companies relying on this. There are many useful apps that can be downloaded to your smart phone eg. Scannable which allows you to use your camera to quickly scan and convert images!
Over the years, going paperless is somewhat always spoken about. Today, with emerging technologies and the benefits becoming clearer, we are becoming one step closer to reaching environmental sustainability. Going paperless, aside from the cost saving will ensure your business is far more productive and flexible.
