You likely find yourself using paper less and less at home these days. Bills can be sent by electronic delivery for instance. Writing and mailing checks has been replaced by auto payments and cash app transactions. Sticky notes are replaced by dry erase boards and cell phone calendars. Even when you make a big house or car purchase, you can sign many documents through online platforms.
It might seem a bit more challenging to cut down paper use at work though. It’s a noble endeavor, however, due to the costly nature and environmental wastefulness it causes. The more you print the more you either have to throw away or shred. Or, if it’s important documents that need to be kept, then you need space to file and store the documents.
Excessive paper usage can cost your business in many ways. The cost of paper itself is one way, with many businesses spending thousands of dollars each year. If you need to shred sensitive information, that can cost your employees’ time. If you outsource that task, hiring a secure shredding company can add up. Square footage space to have file cabinets to store the important documents is another major cost. And, of course, you have to consider the cost to the environment, which can also affect any sustainability efforts.
Hope is not lost if you’re wanting to declutter and reduce your paper usage to save money and the environment too. You can reduce your business’s reliance on paper with simple and innovative solutions. It might even make your organization more productive in the meantime. Keep reading to learn more about strategies you can adopt to curtail your paper consumption.
1. Contract Management Software
Contracts are a part of life and business. It’s important to have a system in place to help you navigate contracts through draft to close. If you’re familiar with contracts you also know many of the pages are disclosures. What does that mean? You guessed it — pages upon pages to print.
If you utilize a contract management software, you can go through the process digitally. From negotiations to final signatures, the software can track and send the documents back out for signature. You can set timelines and see who signed when. You can also search for key phrases through the system as opposed to manually skimming everything and wasting time. Once complete, you have the saved documents stored digitally in the system, reducing the need for storage space.
2. Digital Documentation Signing
Another way to cut down on paper printing is through digital documentation systems. At this point, many people have heard or experienced a digital signature drop or used DocuSign. These platforms allow you to sign important documents from your computer, tablet, or phone. This saves in a couple of ways. You save on printing paper and the time it takes to mail or fax the documents. Your clients or customers are spared from this step too, which can reflect well on your business.
This tool makes your business nimble, allowing quick turnarounds on documents. This can be a huge blessing, even for internal communications and human resources. New hire onboarding gets a whole lot easier when you can send documents over before their start date. Completed digital consent forms for background checks, I-9s, and W-4s gets the onboarding process moving quickly. Other disclosures are easy too, and HR can have all these files stored digitally for each team member.
3. Electronic Accounting and Invoicing
Accounting can take a page (well a digital page) from HR’s and legal’s books by cutting down on paper. Mailing paper invoices and receiving paper checks can take time and use a lot of printed paper and envelopes. You, in turn, have the cost of stamps and potential of things getting lost in the mail to deal with. Switching to a digital accounting platform can save time and money. It can also help automate some processes to reduce human error.
For payroll, there are a myriad of ways to save on paper too. Using systems like ADP or Workday can allow employees to set up direct deposit on their own. These systems also allow for digital pay stubs and tax documents as well. Timesheets and approvals can be done online this way too. Whether you have an in-person, hybrid, or remote staff, these types of tools can save time and money.
4. Cloud-Based Files Storage
Many of the ideas above are great for paper reduction, saving costs, creating efficiency, and increasing customer and employee satisfaction. However, they won’t do you much good if you don’t have a robust and secure way to save your digital files. If you’re all for incorporating innovative technology, look into switching from physical to cloud-based servers. This helps your organization be adept regardless of where your workforce physically sits.
Utilizing tools like SharePoint and Microsoft Teams for file storage gives you a secure way to save your files. It also makes files easy to share between team members when needed. And gives you the searchable function when looking for a document or contract. Permissions and access restrictions also keep documents, like HR forms, protected.
Change can be a challenge in any area of life. When it comes to adopting a more mindful approach to paper reduction and embracing technology, that can be hard too. Just remember it can do wonders for your business. From an environmental standpoint, it can help the planet, which can also help recruit environmentally-conscious employees and customers.
There may be some growing pains, but rest assured reducing your paper usage will bring your business up to speed in today’s digital era. And you’ll soon see positive results. Being less reliant on paper and in person document preparation gives your business an edge. It makes you more mobile for your workforce and client base. That will help you be a key player for years to come.
