For decades, massive use of paper was seen as a necessity of the office. Something that was endemic to the business world. But over the last few years, it’s becoming clearer that we can reduce paper use tremendously in modern offices.
Here are some of the things you should implement in your office!
Strict printing rules
I’ve been in a fair few offices where workers seem to be thrilled to have access to the printer. We’re in the modern business world, after all, so employees are expected to have a little more fun that was perhaps the norm a few years ago. Often, this fun translates into “printing silly things to stick around the office”.
WikipediaWell, that’s fun and everything. But it ends up wasting a lot of paper. And even the “serious”, professional reasons for using the printer are usually wasteful. After all, how often do we really need to have something printed? Make sure employees know that the printer should only be used when necessary. And remind them that printing on both sides of the paper is totally a thing!
Virtual payment data
When it comes to payment in the office, either in accepting or sending, there’s a lot of paperwork involved. There are receipts, invoices, quotes, payslips – all that kind of stuff to consider.
PixabayIt may seem like something that you can’t really circumvent. After all, who’s comfortable enough not to have physical proof of these payments? Well, if you’re using the right small business app, you can circumvent all those problems. Everything can be made virtual, with all the necessary documents being sent via email to whoever needs them. Databases can be used by all involved parties in order to keep track of everything.
Converting your files
When we talk about going paperless, some business owners get a little uneasy. That’s because the process of digitizing what you already do can be quite demanding. It’s not so much about getting used to using a new system for future work, although that is an understandable worry for some. It’s more about making sure everything is consistent – and that means digitizing the work you’ve already done!
PixabayThis usually comes in the form of the heft task of converting all of your paper documents to digital form. You may be tempted to skip it. But don’t! If you digitize your records, then this establishes and good precedent for continued digitization in the future. It will require the right scanning equipment, of course, and maybe even some transcribing. But it will be worth it in the end.
Get into recycling
The main reason that many companies decide to go “paperless” is to help protect the environment. And if you want to do that, then you should be looking into other methods of helping out when it comes to your paper consumption. Yes: I’m talking about recycling the paper you use, as well as buying your blank paper from sustainable sources.
PixabayThis is important because of one sem-tragic fact: it seems that no office can actually go completely paperless. We’re going to need paper from time to time. So make sure you buy it and dispose of it responsibly!
