5 Steps to a Paperless Office
5 Steps to a Paperless Office
Thanks to emerging paperless technologies, business owners can bypass many headaches and decrease their environmental footprint at the same time. Not only does going paperless clear clutter from your office environment but it can also save you money and is a great PR message for potential customers and partners.
Here are five cutting edge ways to cut paper out of your daily routine:
5 Steps to a Paperless Office
1. Internal Documents. Share files without that trip to the printer. With Google Docs, a free service run through Gmail, you can work simultaneously with colleagues on a document or spreadsheet. Or have your own file server within a secure and controlled environment.Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down
5 Steps to a Paperless Office
2. Paperless statements and bill paying. The more online bill paying you do, the less you’ll spend on postage, envelopes and employee time coordinating invoices, checks, and mailings. Running your office finances through the web makes payments prompt and much easier to track. Most banks offer paperless statements and even provide incentives for customers to manage their accounts online. If you are a merchant, use an App like Square to accept payments through your smartphone. You can also email receipts for customers instead of printing them.
5 Steps to a Paperless Office
3. Storage and file sharing. For moving and storing large files, consider investing in Dropboxor another file transfer system. Dropbox allows you to create group folders for different members of your office to allow you to quickly disseminate reports. YouSendIt is another good paperless option for sharing and storing large files.
5 Steps to a Paperless Office
4. Meetings and Printouts. Doodle, SurveyMonkey and whenisgood.net provide free
services for conducting surveys and scheduling meetings, but what about handouts once you’d give out? TeamViewer is an impressive office package that allows users remote access to office computers 24/7 through any other computer or smartphone. It also includes features for screen sharing during presentations, transmitting videos, sharing files, teleconferencing and accessing whiteboards. With TeamViewer there is no need to print handouts when you make a presentation or pitch; just temporarily hijack your colleagues’ laptops while you demonstrate why your idea is the best — then upload the slides to Basecamp or Dropbox so they can have access to a saved digital copy.
5 Steps to a Paperless Office
5. Scanning and Faxing. More companies rely on scanning and faxing than you would imagine, despite the prevalence of online and digital solutions. TurboScan is an excellent App that allows you to use your camera as a scanner and quickly converts captured images to PDFs for easy emailing. For incoming faxes, eFax.com puts them right into your email box as paperless emails for less than $15 per month.
Technology provides a vast array of smart tools to help your office reduce paper waste. Every step towards a paperless environment will save you time, money, storage space and clutter.
5 Steps to a Paperless Office
Don’t forget to recycle any paper you still use and don’t need anymore. Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper is thrown out every year in the U.S. Small choices add up, so keep paper and trash separate.
