From Pigeonholes to Paperless (The ROI Of A Paperless Office)
by admin
Introduction:
In 1898, Edwin Seibels introduced the modern lateral file cabinet and revolutionized record keeping. Until then, businesses folded papers in envelopes and placed them in pigeon drawers or boxes. Seibels recognized that finding and opening envelopes was wasteful and folding wasn’t necessary since papers could stand on end vertically in a filing cabinet drawer.
With the explosion of documents and information in the world today, businesses are realizing that Seibels’ genius of improving efficiency and reducing waste when storing paper documents should be applied to the modern era. At the heart of the problem is the paper itself. Computers revolutionized the world and businesses processes. Going paperless leverages this technology in a way that allows businesses to remain competitive, despite the volume of documents they must manage.
There are four critical elements to going paperless: Vision, Budget, Implementation, and Review. When properly addressed, the benefits of going paperless are unlimited.
Vision:
What’s your vision? Do you know why you need to go paperless? Sounds silly, but you will never see the big picture without having a firm grasp on the “why.” and no one else will either.
For most, the “why” resolves around improving efficiency, recapturing floor space, meeting corporate policy and government compliance regulations, and/or just reducing the expense of operating with physical paper. Do any of these apply to you? If so, use them as a starting point in building your vision.
Your vision also needs to be communicated across the organization. Both management and users are more likely to support change once they understand the vision. Include everyone that will be part of the system, so their needs are accommodated in the vision. If going paperless is new to you, consider working with your document management vendor. They can help you prioritize goals and set expectations.
Budget:
Do you know how much it will cost to go paperless? Many vendors are quick to point out what the savings of going paperless will bring, but at the end of the day it’s not free. The good news is that in most cases, the cost of going paperless can be recouped in a matter of months.
Going paperless is an investment and it’s expected that a return will be realized. Using a ROI calculator will help estimate what your return may be. There are purchase decisions that can make a difference on how you setup your budget. For example, making an upfront software purchase requires full payment for the software.
Let’s say a typical five user document management solution may cost approximately $6,500 for the software and implementation. This can be paid in full, or the expense can be spread out by purchasing through a leasing arrangement.
The 48 month lease, with a $1 dollar buyout, is becoming very popular for software purchases. In this case, you would pay a monthly fee for 48 months and then purchase the software for a dollar at the end of the term.
Another way to fit document management into your budget is through a subscription-based model. Subscription models are also referred to as Software as a Service (SaaS), hosted or online offerings.
With a subscription, you pay for using the software rather than buying it outright. The subscription model is ideal for small to medium sized organizations with limited or no IT staff because most of the technical responsibilities, such as software backup and upgrades, are provided as part of the service. The subscription model also costs considerably less to get started.
Selecting a single software platform that is flexible enough to support both the purchase and subscription software models is ideal. This gives you the ability to change models as your needs dictate. You can start renting the software with minimum investment (subscription) and later buy it when you are ready to move everything in-house (or vice versa).
Implementation:
What’s your implementation strategy? Today, most companies have paper filled file cabinets, plus local and shared computer hard drives with all sorts of company documents. By consolidating all these documents into a centralized document management system, you have the ability to put documents at the fingertips of the right people, at the right time from anywhere.
As you think about the documents you use to run your business, it is impossible not to think about the process each of those documents goes through in order to make things happen. Documents are created, routed, checked, approved, sometimes edited and ultimately filed at the end of the process.
Most companies have proven processes in place. With a document management system, you can keep those same processes, but move them out of the in-basket and onto your desktop computer. By processing documents electronically (using the system to automatically manage, track and report on these processes) you have the ability to streamline operations and take better care of your customers.
Because your business is unique, there is no cookie cutter approach to solve all of your document process challenges. The “Guide to Going Paperless” will give you insight on what can be done with your document management system and point you in the right direction.
Review:
What’s next? Completing the initial implementation is cause for celebration. Enjoy the moment. In the coming months a couple of things will happen. First, you will notice the benefits of going paperless. Productivity will improve, users will settle in on using the system, and you will start getting the itch of how to take your accomplishment to the next level. The final challenge is to follow that itch and evaluate how you can apply what you accomplished in initial implementation across the organization.
Most document management systems are initially deployed in one area (wherever the pain of paper is greatest) and expanded into other areas/departments over time, such as accounting, sales, order management, human resources, engineering, production, etc.
Apply past lessons to the future. According to Winston Churchill, “The further backward you can look, the further forward you are likely to see.”
Expanding paperless across an organization also creates a tremendous opportunity to apply complete end to end business workflows that automate and apply existing processes more efficiently.
Finally, look at taking the technology deeper into a process. For example, can the initial scanning task be further automated by implementing a more sophisticated document capture approach? The more you automate with the system, human errors decrease and efficiency increases.
Summary:
Going paperless, by applying document management technology, is giving businesses a competitive advantage that is unattainable using a paper based processes. While the reality of being 100% paperless may not be attainable, businesses that are taking the paperless path are rewarded with each step they take.
Creating and communicating the vision, properly funding the initiative, implementing with guidance, and expanding on past success will make your paperless journey a rewarding success.
About The Author: James True is VP of Business Development at Cabinet NG, a leading document management software company.
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