In modern day business, many companies are weighing up the option of developing a paperless environment. Electronic management can have a huge impact on the everyday processes and procedures within the company by increasing productivity and streamlining the workflows within. There are numerous benefits to going paperless.
When you are attempting to manage a company with various locations and a number of departments, there may sometimes be two or three copies of the same
document and an electronically managed system can eliminate the need for this replication. Take real estate for example where it is often the case that the legal, lease administration and accounting departments will all require a copy of an identical file. This leads to three departments with three totally different filing systems. If an amendment needs to be made, each department will have to be informed so that they can update the requisite document. By scanning the documents and making them available electronically, besides saving space, they become available to everyone who needs them without creating several copies.
A system which is centralised also assists in communication within the company. If all files are being saved to a shared network, they are available to everyone instantly as opposed to the slow process of passing round hard copies. Everybody knows where to look to find the file they are looking for and the overall dynamics of the company can be vastly improved.
By incorporating a web based system into the company, you will be able to allow third parties to view files with ease, without the risk of losing them en route. This could be especially important for legal documents that need to be transferred at speed or for vital information that is required by suppliers. Naturally, you can set limits on the system so that only certain people are able to view specific documents in order to maintain integrity and security. A substantial amount of time can be saved by not having to send copies of documents to various groups but giving instant access instead.
A further benefit of the paperless environment is the speed that you can look something up. Just think about how long it can take to go over to the filing cabinet, sift through hundreds of documents and still not find what you are looking for. With an electronically based system, all it would take is a quick search on the computer, perhaps by keyword of what you are trying to find and it will appear on your screen. As long as the system is managed properly and all documents are named effectively, they will be very easy to locate.
Although it can take a significant amount of time and effort to set up a paperless environment at first, the benefits in the long run will largely outweigh the costs. Once the people within the company get acclimatised to the system you will notice considerable improvements in the time in take to complete tasks and the communication process of doing them.
When you are attempting to manage a company with various locations and a number of departments, there may sometimes be two or three copies of the same
document and an electronically managed system can eliminate the need for this replication. Take real estate for example where it is often the case that the legal, lease administration and accounting departments will all require a copy of an identical file. This leads to three departments with three totally different filing systems. If an amendment needs to be made, each department will have to be informed so that they can update the requisite document. By scanning the documents and making them available electronically, besides saving space, they become available to everyone who needs them without creating several copies.A system which is centralised also assists in communication within the company. If all files are being saved to a shared network, they are available to everyone instantly as opposed to the slow process of passing round hard copies. Everybody knows where to look to find the file they are looking for and the overall dynamics of the company can be vastly improved.
By incorporating a web based system into the company, you will be able to allow third parties to view files with ease, without the risk of losing them en route. This could be especially important for legal documents that need to be transferred at speed or for vital information that is required by suppliers. Naturally, you can set limits on the system so that only certain people are able to view specific documents in order to maintain integrity and security. A substantial amount of time can be saved by not having to send copies of documents to various groups but giving instant access instead.
A further benefit of the paperless environment is the speed that you can look something up. Just think about how long it can take to go over to the filing cabinet, sift through hundreds of documents and still not find what you are looking for. With an electronically based system, all it would take is a quick search on the computer, perhaps by keyword of what you are trying to find and it will appear on your screen. As long as the system is managed properly and all documents are named effectively, they will be very easy to locate.
Although it can take a significant amount of time and effort to set up a paperless environment at first, the benefits in the long run will largely outweigh the costs. Once the people within the company get acclimatised to the system you will notice considerable improvements in the time in take to complete tasks and the communication process of doing them.
Click here to view more of this type of article and learn more about the author, Marc Steel
