You can’t have an office without paper. Or at least, that’s how it used to be. Pens, ring binders and post-it notes were once an integral part of any office. Those days are gone. Now, many things are purely digital, and this is increasingly becoming the norm. That’s why the time is right to switch to digital solutions. Cutting down on paper is a very straightforward step in that direction, but also an important one.
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Created on 07.11.2022
Paperless office: how to make the switch successfully
Everyday office life is becoming increasingly digital: video chats rather than face-to-face meetings, time recording done online, digital signatures, electronic invoices and more. Many of these options are convenient, save time and paper. It’s no wonder more and more companies are switching to digital solutions. Find out in this blog how to go paperless at work, and the benefits you can expect to see.
What exactly does paperless office mean?
The concept of a “paperless office” is simple: getting rid of paper in everyday office life completely. This applies to all documents: from invoices and delivery notes to job applications and notes. In the future, everything will be purely digital. For this to work, you’ll need viable digital solutions for the following processes:
- Transfer, storage and archiving of data and documents
- Document signing
Why have a paperless office?
Going paperless isn’t something that will happen overnight. First, you need digital alternatives to paper. These need to be tested, selected, purchased and integrated into your work processes. This will only work if employees appreciate what going paperless is all about, and actually view the new tools as progress.
This switch will take time, but it’s worth persevering. Why? Because a paperless office:
- saves money
- is good for the environment and promotes sustainability within your company
- simplifies work processes because data is stored centrally and can be accessed wherever you are
- increases productivity as data can be located and shared quickly
- promotes teamwork and makes it easier to work from home.
What’s the best way of going about this move?
Depending on how big and complex your company is, the switch to a digital, paperless office can involve a lot of work. Allow enough time to make this switch. And remember: take a step-by-step approach. Simply ditching paper altogether overnight won’t work. Identify specific work processes or areas you want to digitize. Next, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- What software should I choose?
- Is your current hardware good enough and ready for digitization?
- How and where should the data be stored?
- How can I empower my employees to keep pace with the switch?
The answers to these questions will give you the right framework to take action. Your decisions should also be in line with future digitization projects. A far-sighted approach is vital when it comes to your employees. Changes are often met with scepticism, and it’s not uncommon for new digital tools to be met with resistance at first. Employees may have more work to do because they’re not used to the tools, and so the overwhelming benefits get overshadowed. This is why it is so important to convey the benefits. The best way to go digital and paperless is by triggering cultural change within the company.
Take the first step with e-bills
If you decide to modernize your company with digital solutions, this raises the question: where to start? A good place to start is e-bills. Digitized invoicing processes will quickly have a positive impact on your company, and don’t require much investment to implement.
Switching to e-bills will have a positive impact on your company in all sorts of ways:
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It’s easy and convenient to archive e-bills digitally. This saves you a lot of space and allows you to find your invoices quickly.
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E-bills help you save on material resources. Letter paper, envelopes and files are no longer necessary. This is environmentally friendly and makes your company more sustainable.
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Digital invoicing is very speedy and direct. Your customers will normally pay quickly and reliably. This improved payment behaviour comes with an added bonus seeing as the time spent on sending out reminders is greatly reduced.
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E-bills come with a low rate of error. For instance, you avoid errors when typing up reference numbers. Using purely digital invoices improves your data quality.
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Going digital will save you money. Processing e-bills is quicker and cheaper. Cut down on staffing and material costs. You will save up to 60 percent in costs when it comes to receiving invoices.
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Digitization = automation. Receiving invoices digitally makes processing them much easier and quicker. This eliminates manual data entry processes and shortens turnaround and processing times.
Get started as a partner with PostFinance
You’ll need a partner to switch to e-bills. PostFinance’s solution will give you access to the largest e-billing network in Switzerland. And that is really important. Why? As an eInvoicing provider, PostFinance makes sure you are able to network with other companies, whether as an invoice recipient or sender.
Find out more about how e-bills and eBill work in our article “E-bills and eBill – the differences”. Here you’ll see which digital invoicing solution is best suited to your company.
