Trapped by the past, many businesses still neglect paperless technology. Sometimes, they don’t think going paperless is worth all the software cost and employee training spendings.

But what if the benefits of going paperless in business are much broader than reducing eco footprint?

If you’re still hesitant about the return on investment, check out this comprehensive list of benefits you might get and consider catching up to the paperless office business trends.

Paperless technology is rife with advantages for everyone. Cost and time effectiveness, regulatory compliance, brand reputation are just a few of them. To find out more about the benefits of going paperless in business, read about:

• What is a paperless office? And how to check if you’ve finished the transition?
• Eleven benefits of going paperless in business
• How Inkit’s Render paperless technology can help you become paper-free

What Is a Paperless Office? And How to Check if You Have Finished the Transition?

A paperless office is an environment where the use of paper is minimized or eliminated. All the processes that involve paper documents are digitized when possible. To do this, a company needs to convert existing documentation to one of the electronic formats (usually PDF) and avoid print in the future.

Read how to convert HTML to PDF with paperless technology here

Note that paperless office meaning varies across industries. Less regulated companies, such as e-commerce stores, can almost entirely switch from paper, whereas banking, financial, and healthcare will need to store some documents for compliance.

The easiest way to determine whether you’ve switched to paperless technology is the answer to a simple question. Have you digitized all the possible paper operations? If yes, the transition is complete.

11 Benefits of Going Paperless in Business

The environmental advantages of paper-free offices are clear. Therefore, in our article, we want to focus on the business benefits of going paperless. It turns out that environmental awareness pays off. With paperless technology, you can:

#1. Save money and storage

Electronic record management is five times cheaper than physical content management. Since e-documents are stored on servers or in the cloud, you also don’t have to overspend on office space rent. Besides, financial service providers can potentially lower their carbon tax if they achieve a lower carbon footprint. These benefits of going paperless in business and cost savings are valid reasons to adopt a paperless system.

#2. Streamline important business processes

Your employees may need lots of time to find a paper document. This slows down your business operations and harms customer relationships. On the other hand, paperless technology enables you to access a specific digital file in a matter of seconds. Thanks to it, your company will solve routine issues much faster.

#3. Optimize document management

Electronic document management systems let you edit, change, and redistribute files. You will no longer have to reprint a document each time you need to make a change. Paperless technology also allows you to connect multiple teams within one system and control their access rights. As a result, they can share electronic documents and align all their actions.

#4. Make your employees more effective

Paper time cards steal 10 minutes per employee every day. Endless searches of file cabinets may take hours. Therefore, time-effectiveness is one of the key benefits of going paperless in business. Your employees will be able to focus on critical business tasks instead of tiring chores and paperwork. Thanks to this, the same effort generates better results.

#5. Implement self-service for your customers

The use of e-forms and autofill of existing customer information reduces the time per customer request. Besides, if you support electronic signatures, you can enable customers to sign important documents online. They will complete all the necessary actions without your help, while the document management system will store critical documents for record-keeping.

#6. Leverage advanced automation capabilities

Paperless technology is only a part of digital transformation. It’s a mandatory element to implement automated online banking, send automated PDF invoices to e-commerce customers, and complete many other automated, trigger-based actions. Simply put, if you don’t use paperless technology, you won’t be able to automate your business operations and customer communications. This will make you lag behind the competitors with a higher level of automation in the long run.

#7. Enhance customer data protection

When anyone can access a physical document, the risk of identity theft and data leakage is high. Storing critical communications and records in digital form, you can choose who views them. Moreover, the vendors who offer paperless systems usually pay great attention to data storage security, so customer data is additionally protected.

#8. Protect documents from getting lost or destroyed

60% of small businesses cease to exist within six months after losing their data. Due to the cost of recovery and reputation damage, they have no choice but to fold. By using paperless technology, you create digital copies and protect yourself from possible losses. Electronic documentation is easier to restore and more secure.

#9. Easily comply with regulations

The Protection of Personal Information Bill (POPI) requires all companies to destroy customers’ records after a certain period. According to GDPR, EU and EEA citizens must be able to access and erase all personal information stored by a company. There is also a range of other industry-specific rules that regulate business owners who process confidential data. Paperless technology allows you to collect all personal information and communications in one place. You always keep them in order and can promptly delete them upon request. 

#10. Let your customers choose between print and paperless technology

Let your customers make their choice, tap into the benefits of going paperless in business, and pick the preferred document format. Apart from reduced use of ink cartridges and paper, digital documents are also more convenient. Since customers won’t have to store piles of documents, they will become more satisfied with your service.

#11. Make your company more attractive for job seekers

64% of millennials pay attention to the company’s social and environmental commitments choosing where to work. Since the competition for skilled candidates is high, your business risks repelling potential employees when overlooking such tendencies. Paperless technology is an effective way to show that you care about social issues and build a positive brand reputation.

This list of the benefits of going paperless in business is non-exhaustive. Paperless technology also speeds up payment and approval cycles, makes an office more ordered, and simplifies business owners’ lives in many other ways.

How Inkit’s Render Paperless Technology Can Help You Become Paper-Free

Inkit is a multi-functional reach enablement platform ensuring paperless communications, among other things. You can leverage it to create bills, invoices, notices, and other documents. Inkit allows you to limit the use of print and quickly become paper-free.

Render is one the Inkit’s products, which automatically generates PDF documents from HTML files. It accesses HTMLs in your system with an API request to create PDFs and store them securely. The best thing about Render is that you can easily integrate it with your system. It’s a developer-friendly tool that takes just a few lines of code to connect.

Have any questions about going paperless with Inkit? Contact us to discuss them.