For the longest time, paper documents have been the way to store and manage information in businesses and offices. However, in recent years, organizations have started to realize the disadvantages of relying upon physical documents.
Many businesses are now undergoing a transitional process alleviating the need for paper documents and instead rely upon digital methods for information management. A paperless office has minimized or completely removed the need for physical documents and instead utilized digital documents.
Daily, Organizations and businesses will produce hundreds, if not thousands, of documents due to a wide variety of internal processes such as production, sales, payroll, etc. These documents are handled by the organization’s accounting department, often creating headaches for employees who have to manually organize and store these documents for future retrieval.
Not to mention the fact that disposing and proper management of these documents incurs significant financial losses. As paperless offices have been gaining traction, the accounting sector has greatly benefitted from the transition to digital documents. There are several significant advantages for adopting paperless practices, including;
Improved Time Management and Retrieval of Information
According to statistics, office employees in accounting will take up to 30 to 40% of their time retrieving documents manually. In the world of business, time is money. Reducing the time spent looking for documents will significantly benefit the organization and its employees.
Paperless offices will allow employees to store digital documents in an organized and adequately indexed manner and retrieve documents significantly faster than manual retrieval methods. In turn, this will allow employees to focus on other value-laden tasks and become more productive.
Minimize Security Risks
Research suggests that up to 62 percent of data breaches in SMEs and large-scale organizations directly result from dependency upon paper records in accounting. Paper documents are vulnerable to accidents and mishaps, including theft, misappropriation, falsifying records, natural disasters, etc.
Many of these vulnerabilities can be removed entirely by transitioning towards digital documents and paperless methods. In Paperless offices, digital documents can be stored alongside access rights. This way, only select individuals with the proper authorization can view the documents.
Considering that most documents in accounting contain sensitive information, paperless offices provide a significant security boost to the sector. Documents can also be digitally tracked and monitored for any tampering or hacking, minimizing the risk of theft and falsification of records.
Reduces Operational Costs
By converting your work environment into a paperless office, organizations can significantly reduce their operational costs and budget assigned to document management. With physical documents out of the way, there is no further need for filing cabinets and other storage mediums that may take up valuable office space.
Removing these storage mediums will provide plenty of space for renovation, likely bringing a smile to employees’ faces. Furthermore, digital documents altogether remove the need for printers as they can be copied and distributed digitally to other employees throughout the organization.
This method of distribution will reduce printing costs and the costs associated with purchasing and managing printers. As a result of going paperless, businesses will have adopted an automated workflow that will significantly improve business continuity and save financial capital. Improved and automated workflows will speed up other business processes and lead to further financial benefits and reduced costs.
Improved Response Time to Queries
One of the significant problems associated with using physical documents in the accounting sector is the delayed response time to queries. Often customers or clients will demand specific answers to their queries.
With a paper-based document management system, employees will have to manually find and retrieve the document from thousands of other similar documents. However, a digital document management system will allow employees to retrieve documents instantly without going through the hassle of manually finding a piece of information.
Minimize Environmental Impact
Physical documents and materials such as ink and plastic files carry with them severe environmental effects. Organizations harm the environment by utilizing physical paper documents, contributing to other environmental phenomena such as global warming and deforestation. By Adopting paperless practices, organizations can significantly reduce their impact on the environment and promote eco-friendly policies in offices.
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