7 Reasons to Go Paperless

Paperless office is very much like adopting a new technology: the only difficult thing about is transitioning from paper-based operations. After that, there are only benefits on the horizon. Just as a sample, consider these seven big and small business boosters that will appear as paper usage disappears.

1. Easier document sharing
There are often certain documents that are needed in several places simultaneously. This can be a client’s personal file that different offices of the same dentist may need to retrieve. This can be an unfinished flyer that you started at your office and want to edit at home during the weekend. In either case, relying on only a paper version of the document complicates the work process for you and your employees. Electronic documents, on the other hand, are easily transportable through the Web and programs like MS Access.


2. Greater information protection
Breaking computer-based security systems requires much more knowledge and precision than the more traditional methods of security. With paper-based office, all one needs to steal an identity is gain access to a paper with personal information. With numerous paperless options, on the other hand, you can put your documents under multiple layers of passwords, restrict or allow certain users’ access, and otherwise encrypt confidential information. Strong safety measures are becoming also increasingly important as governmental regulations tighten their grip on personal information security.

3. Extra legroom
This is simple: if your office does not store all its documents as hard copies, it will have more free space for you and your workers. Furthermore, free space increases work motivation.

4. Faster searching
With a little bit of organizing (far less than paper filing requires,) search for electronic documents can become instantaneous. In addition, modern operating systems come with built-in search engines, and scanning software automatically converts scanned text into Word files. All this means that paperless office will save you and your personal assistant from hours of unnecessary work and frustration.

5. Less spending
There are two factors in the dramatic decrease in spending that paperless office produces, the first concerning all adopters of this incredible practice, and the second further affecting those who hire office aides. Foremost, paperless office lifts the financial burden of printing expenses off each adopter’s back. Adopters of the technological archive route do not have to spend money on packs of printing paper every week. They also get more free time from not having to search for a cartridge that matches their printer as often.
For those who hire office help, there is no need to have an aide filing documents if the documents are on a hard drive. Your aides can do something more productive.

6. More environmental sustainability
Less trash, more trees, less CO2, more time to volunteer for your local environmental non-profit. If enough professionals transfer to paperless office, you also get noticeably more oxygen during sleep and will be more energized for work. Please comment if you would like an explanation of the logic behind this paragraph.

7. Tidier appearance
It isn’t our job to teach about personal hygiene, and we assume that all our readers know about it. However, many small business owners and other professionals forget how big an impact the appearance of one’s workspace can have on sales. Clients and investors tend to prefer working with those professionals whose office looks organized and professional, and they will often pay a higher price after seeing a professional, neat desk. We should not need to mention that stacks of folders or, worse, not filed documents make an otherwise praise-worthy office despicable in visitors’ eyes.

For a practice that has yet to become widely used, this is a pretty sound list of accomplishments. If I were looking for a sustainability director who would also improve my efficiency and offer some aesthetic solutions for my office, Mr. Paperless Office would get the position after the first paragraph of this article. However, Mr. Paperless Office already works at NVS Business Solutions. If you want help with getting rid of paperwork in your office too, write to us. We pay close attention to any comments or suggestions that we get. Please check our blog next week for a fresh article about efficient business practice.