Paper? We Don’t Need No Stinking Paper.
The days of paper are done, well at not completely, but in large quantities for business purposes, the days are certainly numbered. It seems all traditional uses of paper are slowly being replaced by their electronic counterparts. Want to read the news? That can be done online. Want to read a book? Get yourself a Kindle. Need to read a menu, takes some notes, look at calendar or find a local dry cleaner? Well guess what, there are apps for that, all of them.
Paper in general, while still does have some practical uses, is expensive, cumbersome in large quantities, fragile, easily misplaced and burdensome on the environment to reproduce. It’s no wonder that companies in an effort to be greener while saving money and time are switching from dealing with paper to document management systems.
Document software is essentially a large database that allows you to store and organize whatever paperwork your company deals with and amasses. Depending on your business that could potentially be millions of pieces of paper, which previously would have to have been stored somewhere in hard copies. Chances are sooner or later at some point in time somebody may need to go back a few months or even years and take a look at a memo, report or invoice, but would they be able to find it?
Document management systems allow you to organize any quantity of data in any way you see fit. You can also make the entire database searchable, giving you immediate access to any document you might need to go back and review. Another useful benefit is the ability to access the document from multiple locations as well be able to extract a copy and send it electronically via email or ftp server.
Document software has been a regular in the legal field for many years, especially with firms that deal in heavy litigation. When the client is being billed at a hefty rate per hour, they don’t want to be paying for someone to dig through a countless number of boxes, plus they need the information immediately when requested. An entire case could be lost if the wrong document is misplaced, so the added security of working with electronic copies makes it an ideal tool for top tier firms.
The medical field is following the lead as well, with the help of the federal government and the HITECH Act. This act, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, offers financial incentives to physicians and hospitals for making all health records available electronically in a timely manner. The payments range from $44,000 to $64,000 per physician over five years diminishing in amount nearing 2015. After that point electronic health records will be required, and penalties applied to those not in compliance.
Storing your documents electronically is environmentally friendly, convenient and secure. With the appropriate back-ups in place you don’t have to worry about losing a file, you can share the documents instantly with partners or clients in other locations and you can organize them easily in whatever fashion suits you best.
Patrick Kelly is an expert writer on phone systems based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as VoIP service at Resource Nation.
