If you’re a bit of a traditionalist and love making notes in a notepad or printing everything out so you have a hard copy, it can be difficult to think about going paperless, especially for your business. But there are so many benefits to going paperless, they’re hard to ignore.
Cost, what cost?
With some free software solutions for your everyday needs like documents and spreadsheets, such as Google Docs and Google Sheets, you can reduce – or even completely remove – the need to pay for some software for your business. Although there are slight differences between them, once you and your employees have had a poke around and have got yourself familiar with them, there will be no looking back.
Let’s share
A huge benefit of using online software such as Google Docs and Google Sheets, is you can easily share access with others. (Most even allow people to have individual access too) By doing so, rather than downloading and needing to remember to click the ‘track changes’ button, for example, any changes made by yourself or anyone else are automatically saved and you can easily revert back to earlier versions if you, the owner of the document or spreadsheet, isn’t happy with the changes. This is especially useful if you need to share them with clients or more than one person is working on a project at once.
No ugly filing cabinets
Going paperless by using online software solutions can not only reduce the need to spend budget on some software, they also help to reduce the need to spend budget on notepads, pens and those ugly filing cabinets – which often end up being a complete waste of space or a glorified plant stand. We usually end up storing useless pieces of paper in them for years, only to recycle them at a later date anyway, so it’s a win-win situation.
It’s not just about the day-to-day…
There are many online software solutions out there offering different benefits. You can start small with everyday solutions or go all out and use something to help with managing inventory, accounting and even your pricing systems. Some even offer all of these solutions in one place so choosing the right online software can help reduce budget spent too. Going paperless should, in part, be about looking at how you can do more with digital working practices, not just replicating your existing processes.
Saving the planet one step at a time
If you are encouraging the recycling of any paper you or your employees are printing or using, or anything else in your office such as batteries or plastics, then that is the first step to helping reduce your business’ impact on the planet. Online software solutions are the next, even bigger, step to helping. Being able to share things among employees online, means everyone is less likely to print them out and with you and your employees printing less, you’ll also be saving on paper and toner as well as helping the environment.
Remote workers
We are all aware that sometimes things don’t go smoothly and, with employees having young families or even active lifestyles, you can end up with your staff needing to work from home because of a sick child or even a broken leg. Online software solutions allow your employees to access what they need as long as they have a computer and internet at home, meaning your business can continue to function even if your staff aren’t in the office.
