4 Steps to a Paperless Office
The lure of a paperless office has existed for decades. However, the technology is finally here. And ecommerce companies are uniquely suited to go completely paperless -- receipts, invoices, newsletters and much more are digital documents already. Ditch the paper-based filing system with concrete closets, shelves, storage centers full of files, folders, stacks of papers and go completely digital with searchable PDFs, storage clouds, e-faxing and much more.
There are numerous advantages to removing paper in your enterprise. A paperless filing system takes up far less space and makes for quicker retrieval of information on your documents and sharing of the data electronically. And it's an efficient way to go green; less paper used is better for the environment.
Here are the fundamental building blocks and issues to be mindful of if considering going paperless.
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1. Opt-out of Paper Statements
Banking. For credit and banking cards, have all accounting statements emailed to you , if possible. Most national banks and credit card companies -- such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citibank -- will permit an opt-out of paper statements and instead give an email statement or simply the ability to login to a secure account on the internet to track and pay off balances.
Bank of America home page.
By way of instance, Bank of America offers several paperless solutions to its business customers. Most major banks offer this solution, but for this example we will have a look at Bank of America's paperless alternative.
- Log into your Bank of America online account.
- Go the"Accounts" tab and then click on the"Account Details" sub-tab on peak of the window.
- Click on the"My Statements" tab. From that tab you will see a green leaf logo on the left corner saying"Proceed today" and a"Tell Me More" link just below that. Click"Tell Me More"
- Click on the"Proceed Today" button. Agree to some of the online announcement terms, save your changes and you are done. This will prevent all paper statements from being physically sent to you.
Again, taking Bank of America for instance, in addition, it provides a free and convenient mobile banking app. It is possible to transfer money, find ATMs, pay bills and check balances from this app. Take a look for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry.
Shipping. Lots of the significant shipping services like FedEx and UPS have a choice for fully electronic and automatic invoicing, accounting and charging choices. Set up email notifications for your clients and for yourself so everybody gets digital receipts and sending documents. The only paper you are going to need to generate is the delivery label for your package. Find more information about paperless solutions for businesses at FedEx.com and UPS.com.
2. Create Searchable PDF Documents Yourself
Scanning and Searchable PDFs. When paper enters the office, scan it and shred it. It is not quite as straightforward as it sounds. The sort of scanning is the vital element here. Scanning paper documents and turning them into PDFs have become the most usual thing to do, but a very simple PDF filed away in an electronic folder rather than a paper folder is at least as hard to search out and extract info from within an efficient manor. So, the key here is to create searchable PDF files.
Searchable PDF files are much like regular PDF files with the exception which you may search out any text in them. This includes PDF files which were created from original hand-written notes, typed documents or any other printed document which wasn't originally digital. Using optical character recognition software (OCR) these scanners can convert just about anything into a searchable and editable file. This way you can use your digital file system as your own searchable database, searching out keywords, names or another word or phrase that may help you track down the document you require.
To make searchable PDF files yourself, you can purchase a scanner that produces searchable PDFs. A popular model is the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 that's compatible for both Mac and PC. It's small enough to travel with and scans about 8 pages per minute. It includes one-button"Searchable PDF" creation. Fujitsu also makes larger versions such as the fi-6010N and S1500M with comparable capabilities. Both handle between 20-25 pages per minute, but have different compatibility requirements.
Adobe Acrobat software.
Adobe Acrobat. If you already have a scanner and do not need to purchase another, you may even create searchable PDFs using highly-rated OCR software such as ABBYY Finereader or Adobe Acrobat program. Just scan your document and save it as a PDF. Then apply your OCR software to convert that document, or some other existing PDF files, into a searchable PDF.
3. Consider Third-Party Document Conversion for High Volume
Document Conversion Firms . Scanning paper documents by hand, in spite of a high-speed scanner that makes searchable PDFs, are a fulltime job and might take months or years to finish. If manual document scanning isn't a realistic solution for your organization, there are lots of document conversion solutions available like Tab Service Company, Document Conversion Associates, or microMedia Imaging Systems which will convert any your paper documents into Searchable PDFs using a brand of OCR applications. They will send you your old paper files back as electronic files on DVD, CD, hard disk or flash drive.
A number of these services also offer safe hosted storage solutions for all these new digital files. You can download your files from their servers or leave copies as a backup. Decentralizing your documents from servers or computers in your workplace can be a helpful tool in the electronic office. If your electricity goes down or there's an emergency, you may still get those files on the document conversion company's hosted server.
Digital Document Management. As soon as you've created your electronic files, you want a way to rapidly and reliably search for the information in these files that are digital. There are lots of document management solutions -- such as HP Managed Enterprise Solutions, M-Files, FileHold or Microsoft's SharePoint -- to discuss and search out these electronic files. A number of these services will allow for limited access and other security-oriented attributes for files that contain sensitive information.
4. Additional Hardware and Software Concerns
Storage Space. With all these electronic files that you have created, you want to consider storage. Fortunately, computer hard drives are low-cost, and making your own digital file cabinet is within reach for smaller companies with limited resources. You can simply purchase a computer, install some additional hard drives and you have got yourself a smalltime server you could store all your digital files on.
For businesses with more resources, get a server with the required quantity of hard disk space to store your documents. When you need more space, purchase and put in more hard drives. There are lots of storage server choices from Intel to Dell.
For files which are stored for record keeping and backup purposes -- which do not have to be accessed frequently -- move them to DVD, external hard disk or attempt the cloud based protected storage solutions from companies like Rackspace.com, Box.net, Windows Live Mesh or Dropbox. For varying monthly charges, you can gain access to nearly as large of an electronic storage space as your business needs.
eFax home page.
Electronic Fax Machine. Why take up more space on your office with a fax machine when you're able to send and receive faxes online? With an Internet connection, a scanner, printer and an email account, tools which you probably already have in your workplace, you can fax without an extra office appliance. Set up an account with one of the many electronic fax solutions such as eFax, Send2Fax or myfax and you can send and receive faxes, digitally.
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