Lately, we have been talking a lot about the benefits and strategies that lie behind becoming a “paperless” office.  However, we haven’t talked much about the “hows” in becoming a paperless office.

Lucky for you, its very easy to make the transition starting with only a few steps. Here’s how it works…

 Step One: Start with internal documents

In a previous blog, we raved about how going paperless increases accessibility.

This is seen through the use of softwares such as Google Docs.

Google Docs is neat in the sense that it allows multiple colleagues to collaborate on one document simultaneously. It also allows each user to upload files to a Cloud-based server which then can be shared between multiple employees.

This saves plenty of trips to the printer. On top of that, since files are stored on a server, if you have severely made a mistake on your document, you can easily revert back to an earlier version.

Of course there isn’t just Google Docs; they have software for slideshows and spreadsheets as well.

Another option besides using Google, is Microsoft Office 365, which has more functionality, for a small price. It essentially runs on the same concept as Google Docs, but is more suitable to those who are used to the Microsoft Office interface.

 Step Two: Pay Bills and Receive Statements Online

This is probably one of the biggest sources of paper in the office.

Paying bills online will not only reduce clutter but also save your company on postage, envelopes, and employee time.

This is easy to do as well since most banks offer paperless statements and allow for bill payments online. 

If you are a merchant, use an App like Square to accept payments through your smartphone. You can also email receipts for customers instead of printing them.

 Step Three: Use Storage and File Sharing

We briefly covered this in Step One. Google offers Google Drive which allows free storage per user for up to 15 GB, and to upgrade to more storage is insanely cheap; they even offer deals for companies.

Microsoft also offers the same deal through its OneDrive and OneDrive For Business. And of course, there is DropBox.

 Step Four:  Schedule Meetings via Software and Avoid Printouts

There are countless of applications out there for scheduling meetings. You can do this through Doodle or even create a shared Calendar via Google for all your employees that allows them to be on the same page.

When the meeting is actually happening, avoid handing out papers by using softwares such as TeamViewer, which allows for remote access to computers during presentations, transmitting videos, sharing files, and teleconferencing.

You can create presentations using Google Slides and take over your colleagues laptops using TeamViewer, and then have them download the slides to their Google Drive for instance.

Ultimately, we all choose what works best for us but with the tools and technologies available today, the question is – why not? Why not eliminate the needless use of trees and reducing forestation in our world today? Why not eliminate needless resources it takes to manage paper files? The truth is, it’s not necessary to use all that paper and the amount of waste is greatly reduced. 

Leave us a comment below and tell us what you think! We would love to know your perspective and assessment – good or bad – on the idea of eliminating paper.