What does it mean to go paperless?

For all those saying “but I don’t even use that much paper” or “but I do use a computer for my everyday tasks”, going ‘paperless’ doesn’t literally mean getting rid of just your paperwork.
There are many tasks that cause just as much friction as paperwork that doesn’t necessarily come from trees. These can include:

• Using whiteboards to map out staff schedules
• Online spreadsheets for tracking expenses
• Cold calling and texting staff and clients
• Filing cabinets packed with god knows what

These processes look better than pen and paper on the surface but are just as convoluted and difficult to manage. It causes your information to be spread across multiple platforms with no way to be connected. Going paperless means ridding your business of processes that require you to manually enter information and replacing them with a complete solution that puts everything together.

Why are these processes bad?

• It’s costly
  The materials of paper, stationery, printer ink, markers, etc may seem cheap but seriously add up over time. One of the biggest reasons businesses can’t get their finances under control is due to wasting money on office supplies.
• Productivity killer
  It takes time to cross every T and dot every I. The average business owner works 6 days a week and spends about over 20 hours on just admin tasks.
• Risk of human error
  Your workers aren’t exactly known for their stellar penmanship. If you can’t read an important form or invoice it’s going to be a pain to process. Not to mention if some paperwork becomes damaged or lost.
• Takes up space
  Your office can only hold so much. Filing cabinets and folders filled up with years of documents that you haven’t looked at in years mean its next to impossible to find anything.

So what’s the alternative?

Job management software and other digital platforms help your business keep all your daily tasks in one place. Not only does this make it easier to find things but the information from tasks can be used to complete another quickly and easily.

For example, you can create a job in your software and send all the details from it to a staff member. Once they complete it they can then create an invoice and send it straight to the customer. And without using a single pen or piece of paper.

Job management software is easy to use and is a central place for all your information that you and your staff can access across any PC, tablet or mobile.

What if I can’t undo all my manual processes?

Overhauling your entire way of doing things feels daunting. But staying in your old ways for the sake of following the path of least resistance only harms your business in the long run.

There are a few easy ways to go paperless:

• Identify your biggest time wasters
  Look at what tasks you do every week and which would be easiest to convert from paper right off the bat. Seeing what will be easy to switch over and which will take a bit longer helps you create a game plan for going paperless.
• Calculate how much you’re spending
  Actively track how long your individual tasks take. Once you see just how many hours you and your team spend on certain makes it far easier to justify bringing in some digital systems.
• Start small and build-up
  You don’t need to start changing everything at once. Start with one process, such as an online scheduling tool. Once you’re used to it you can then start to build up more and more until you’re completely rid of paperwork and manual tasks.
• Complete a free trial of management software
  Almost all job management software offers a free trial where you can test out features before going all-in. You can play around with features and see for yourself how much time you save from going paperless.