With
the invention of the computer, it was eagerly predicted we would all
be working in a computer-driven, paperless office by the year 2000.
Information would flow easily and quickly to create new order
requests, to prepare working documents, invoice processing, and
information storage. Hand-held computers, laptops, and wireless cell
phones would all make the business process fast, easy, and very
inexpensive.
We've now moved beyond Y2K, and computing and
wireless technology has even surpassed what we thought would be
available. Yet the amount of paper used today is almost 27% more than
it was just 10 years ago. What happened?
Inexpensive printers, copiers, and scanners have
made creating an "extra copy" easy and almost mandatory. Paper is
still "comfortable", it's easy to read and to work with, and it
provides a "familiar" working medium. But, the apparent ease and
ubiquity of paper has delayed and obscured the benefits of a paperless
office.
So
what would it be like to work in today's paperless office? Paperless means having all your office files and
documents on a server (or a single pc) and available to whomever needs
access to them to do their job. Documents are stored and sorted by
client, by project, or by whatever system you now use. The only
difference is that you don't have any more paper documents to file,
re-file, or to store.
If you're working at home, you can log in and
review files, notes, or any document in your system. You can re-send
(by e-mail or fax) a critical invoice to a client who's lost the
original… all from your home office pc.
If a client from years ago calls your office for
some follow-up work, you can retrieve their records (original work
order, installation notes, invoice, and any follow-up repair visits)
in an instant. There's no more calling back when you've found their
records, or trying to recall what price you quoted or what equipment
you installed. You've got all their records, instantly and completely,
while you're talking to them. It makes a client feel important, and
makes you look organized, capable, and very efficient.
At
the end of each year, when you normally send all the previous year's
paper records to a storage archive, you have instead, one cd with your
entire year's work on it... easy to access at any time. A secure
second copy can easily be kept off-site. Everyone understands the cost
benefit of not needing "document storage space".
Another example. A client calls to request a second
copy of some drawings, an old invoice, a confirming work order, or any
document in your office. Instead of searching for the document, making
paper copies, and mailing the files, you now have a paperless office.
You find the documents on your computer, attach them to an e-mail, or
a fax, and send. You're done. We have all done it the old way, and we
all know how much wasted time and office expense this method required.
Paper creates it's own system requirements.
Printing, filing, searching, copying, handling, and mailing are all
part of the time-consuming necessities of paper. It's slow, tedious,
and expensive.
We're all going to get to a completely paperless
system some day. The question is are you going to get
there when everyone else arrives, or will you get there first and
benefit from the many cost advantages, the higher security, and
improved client relations. The advantages available to you today will
help make your business stand out from the crowd. This is what makes a
small business successful. Creating a paperless office for you is what
we do.
The benefits are many; the disadvantage is only in
the time to get comfortable with a new and better idea. But look at
what you get for your habit-changing effort!
Time
Savings: It takes less effort, less time, and less manpower to
do an equivalent amount of work from a pc than to do the same work
using paper records. It's faster, with less filing, less copying, and
less handling. Time savings mean cost savings.
Space
Savings: Fewer filing cabinets, fewer supply cabinets, less
office furniture, fewer employees… all produce generous cost savings
in the form of needing less rentable office space to do the same
amount of work.
Cost
Savings: By using less material (ink, paper, cabinets,
folders, etc), there is also a quantifiable material cost savings in
doing work on a pc. Material savings mean cost savings, too.
Efficiency:
e-files are inherently easier to sort, easier to file,
and easier to
work with than the equivalent amount of work done on paper files. All
of these efficiencies create a work product with much less effort and
much less cost. You've got access to complete client records,
instantly, while you're talking to them. It makes a client feel
important, and shows that you're organized, capable, and very
efficient.
Security:
Password protected and encrypted files can be made available only to
those with the appropriate security clearance. Various corporate
records are accessible only to those given the responsibility to view
and use them. Paper files are usually more difficult to provide the
necessary office security and are often "available" to everyone in the
office.
Remote
access and retrieval: Only e-files allow you the freedom and
flexibility to be away from the office while still having full access
to your office files. Finding an important file on the weekend, or
re-sending a lost invoice to a client, or quickly sending an e-drawing
to a repairman on an emergency service call all provide important
benefits that are unavailable from yesterday's paper office.
Safe
Storage: Keeping vital and current company documents in a safe
off-premises location guarantees their safety and security. A typical
"paper" office can sometimes be put out of business when vital records
are destroyed by fire or theft. E-files provide a secure alternative
that can keep you in business.
Accident
or Fire Recovery: Recovery can be quick and easy when secured.
Critical documents can be downloaded remotely to a temporary location
until rebuilding or repairs can be made. With a viable back-up plan,
your insurance premium costs can be lower, but more importantly,
you'll still be in business without losing essential customer records
or company documents.
A Complete Win-Win: For your
business, it's better, faster, easier, and cheaper. For your clients,
it shows you're efficient, organized, accurate, and reliable. There's
no better combination of benefits available to improve your business.
To
meet the absolute basic requisites of a "paperless" office, all you
really need is a scanner. However, to become a truly efficient
paperless office, you'll probably need to add more new hardware and
some helpful and essential software. It will also depend on the size
of your office. After the addition of some basic starting components,
your conversion upgrades can be as little or as much as you want.
You'll be the primary factor in deciding the overall cost. We'll be
happy to provide as much, or as little, as you want. What we'll do is
show you how the new hardware and software can benefit your office
"paperless" conversion.
If you
have more than one pc in the office and you want your employees to
have access to the office records, you may want to add a central
server to store the office files. Connecting an office server via
wireless connections is now also possible.
If your
network is exposed to internet traffic, you will want to build in a
firewall to protect your corporate records.
Using this conversion opportunity to upgrade other
office computing components can be fast, easy, and profitable. The
decisions are yours. We'll help you decide by showing you what works
best in your office.
By
looking at the previous section, you can see the many possibilities by
adding a lot, or adding only a little to make your office completely
paperless. We'll review what you have now, what you want to achieve,
and what you can do to make it happen.
The easiest way is for us to review your site,
prepare a range of possibilities for you and let you decide how much
you want to do now, and how much to do later. Equipment, software,
installation, and set-up will be quoted as a fixed price. You'll have
a complete working system in your office for the component prices
quoted.
Included in the price will also be training on all
the new equipment and we'll help you set up input and back-up
procedures. If you decide later that you want some additional
training, or even help to input your existing office documents into
the new system, we'll quote a reasonable hourly rate.
The best way for you to evaluate the benefits and
cost is to call or e-mail our office. We'll set a time that's
convenient for you; we'll review your present office system at no
cost, and will prepare a detailed proposal for your review and
approval.
