Today, the modern working day functions digitally on many levels. Whether practical gadget, productivity and planning tool, or to-do lists, hardly any task is carried out without digital helpers or web-based applications. They promise to make familiar processes simpler, faster and above all paperless, and have long since become an important part of our daily work.
So digital is en vogue - and that now also applies to office administration. Where previously all documents had to be printed out in multiple copies, filed and sorted, today there is clear order. The digital management of private documents offers enormous potential for reducing workload and saving money. We want to give you a few tips on how you can make the switch to a paperless office and why it's worth it.
You can do this easily with fileee, for example. Scan documents with the fileee app for iOS or Android. Of course, you can also work with a standard scanner and upload the digital documents. You can also import documents automatically by linking email accounts and services such as Dropbox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive, box or WebDAV with fileee.
Once you have digitised all your documents, your data can be found much faster than in an analogue filing system. Many work processes can be made more efficient, as paths are shortened and time-consuming routines are eliminated - such as the annoying search for documents.
One of the biggest advantages of the paperless office is the great savings effect, as the consumption of materials such as paper, folders or printer cartridges is greatly reduced. With the digital management of mail and invoices, postage costs are also eliminated. In addition to the more efficient work processes and material savings, you also protect the environment with a paperless office.
The paperless office becomes "officeless" by moving documents and data to a cloud of your choice. If you are online, you have access to your data anytime and anywhere. This spatial freedom allows you to set up your workplace anywhere, flexibly forward documents and respond to requests. By working independently of location, you manage to avoid clutter in the first place.
The easiest way to create a digital signature is with the help of Adobe Acrobat. Here you can find out exactly how it works.
Contrary to prevailing opinion, digital contracts, documents and electronic invoices today have the same legal relevance as their paper derivatives. Moreover, many invoices can now be validly signed with a digital signature. BITKOM has set out details on this in the 10 principles for electronic invoices. The fear that digital documents are legally inadmissible when it comes to tax accounting, for example, is therefore unfounded.
The advantages of the paperless office have convinced many over time. According to a study by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Bitkom Research, the general trend continues towards digitalisation. Around three quarters of German companies are open to digitalisation.
The first step towards a paperless office is to generally reduce the amount of paper. Unwanted mail such as advertisements, information letters or flyers can be rejected. The well-known letterbox sticker "Please do not post advertising" is one possibility. Or you can tell your internet provider, your insurance company and other providers with whom you are a customer to stop sending you advertising. If this is not possible online via a customer portal, the alternative is to call customer support.
By the way: The principle of avoiding unnecessary mail can also be applied to your email inbox. Simply unsubscribe from useless mailing lists, deactivate forum notifications or Facebook mails and make sure not to sign up for advertising mails from online services.
Almost all major publishers now offer their newspapers and magazines as e-papers. The same content is delivered digitally to your tablet or smartphone. This not only saves paper, but is also more practical. Many e-paper versions offer videos or cross-references to other articles. The direct added value to the paper version cannot be overlooked, because the digital version of the newspaper is also much easier to handle on the go.
Items that cannot be cancelled, such as invoices, bank statements, pay slips or legal communications, can often be handled completely paperless. Simply ask the company whether it is possible to switch to paperless billing. Account statements can be conveniently downloaded as PDFs from online banking. Often, an online customer portal also offers the possibility to receive bills and documents digitally.
Before you leave your workplace, take 5-10 minutes to tidy up the worst of the mess. This way you start your work the next day in a tidy place and start your work in a more positive and motivated way!
Less is more: Do you really need so many storage compartments and drawers? Or do they even tempt you to store more than you actually need? Take a look through everything and clean it out properly. Most of the time it's even quicker than you think.
You should always have your wastebasket within reach and use it. Especially if you are still a fan of handwritten notes. If you prefer to switch to digital notes to avoid paper chaos, Evernote can help you as your new digital notebook. You can find a detailed article on Evernote in this blog entry.
What do you think about the paperless office? Do you have any other ideas on how to avoid unnecessary paper? We look forward to receiving your tips and suggestions! fileee can support you in realising your paperless office. Here you will find all the features and information.
