Tag: electronic documents

Go Green by Going Paperless

Go Green by Going Paperless

Advances in technology have brought a new era where paper use is no longer a necessity in the office. If you chose to go paperless, there are technologies that can be used in place of paper and yield the same results. It is no longer necessary to sign papers using ink to make that contract binding, or to give credibility to an invoice. Hardware such as tablets can be used to create and manipulate electronic documents and ensure that they reach the necessary parties.

Benefits

The thousands of tons of waste paper generated each year can be avoided by adopting the paperless initiative. Additionally, going green will not only save you on costs associated with paper use, but also help in saving the environment. So many trees can be saved and at the same time, the greenhouse gas emissions from paper industries can be reduced. Manual filing will also be an issue of the past, and valuable time used to search for documents will be saved. Converting documents into searchable text increases efficiency as the document can be searched and edited by the click of a button. Conducting business online also increases efficiency in reaching your clients. You can bill your clients through electronic invoicing, and save on postage and stamping costs.

Go Green by Going Paperless

So, What Are The Alternatives?

There are people who are still stuck at using paper and either do not know of alternatives, or they are just scared of going paperless. Well, there are hoards of alternatives that can be used in place of paper. Think about the hardware technologies mentioned earlier. With your tablet PC or smartphone, you can create, update and send invoices to your clients with real time updates. Sending that invoice or any electronic document will require the use of software technologies such as electronic mail or electronic fax. Online fax services are especially helpful in distributing contracts used in law or by real estate agents.

Digital Signature Services

Some documents need to be signed for them to hold legal weight. There are software services that can be used to imprint digital signatures using your smartphone of tablet. For documents that need multiple signatures, these can be embedded on the document and shared through the cloud.

Storage of Documents

Go Green by Going PaperlessGoing green will eliminate manual filing of documents. In place of that, you are spoilt of choice with the different paperless filing systems to help in managing your documents. Different filing systems have different features, benefits, and costs, and your choice will depend on your business needs. Some examples include PDFelement for Business to edit and store your PDF and scanned documents or CrashPlan easily back-up your documents.

Bottom Line

Most if not all normal business activities, can be done digitally. Sharing of information within and outside the office can be done online through the use of email. Creating an internal memo and sharing it through email will ensure that your employees receive any updates or instructions without wasting time and paper printing the same. In an era where people are increasingly becoming environmentally conscious, going paperless can be a source of competitive advantage for your business.

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