The Benefits of a Paperless Business Software
Paperless Business Software: Business digitalization is essential in today’s fast-paced and competitive corporate landscape. Digitalization improves efficiency, ensures consistency, and streamlines business operations.
For instance, a restaurant startup implements a document management system to integrate historical/traditional files/documents into a digital form. The purpose is to go paperless, eliminate data redundancy, and improve informational exchange.
Gartner reports that 91% of companies, including small-medium enterprises, adopt some form of digitalization. Likewise, 87% of giant corporations prioritize digitalization to streamline their business processes.
According to IDG, 89% of all businesses have adopted a digital-first strategy. Research shows that intelligent systems will drive 70% of customer engagements by 2022. However, Go Nitro highlights that 31% of businesses use traditional methods and experience piles of paper in their offices.
According to All-Stars, paperless business software, also known as a document management system, allows employees to search, find, retrieve, and use files/documents efficiently, reliably, and quickly. Today’s article will highlight the benefits of adopting and implementing paperless business software. Read on!
Increases Employees’ Productivity
Productivity plays a crucial role in improving your business’s bottom line. Productivity improves morale, develops a culture of excellence, enhances the workplace environment, and encourages employees to put in their best efforts and turn each project into a success.
Gartner reports that an office worker makes 61 trips a week to the printer, copier, Xerox machine, or fax machine. Employees lose an average of four weeks working on mislabeled and misfiled documents. In contrast, paperless business software enables employees to find the required/desired documents within a few seconds.
For example, if your company’s accountant needs to analyze historical data and find a specific file, they can carry out the process instantly using paperless business software. However, you must select and install software tailored to your business needs.
According to Venture Beat, employees spend 3.5 hours weekly searching for papers, files, and documents. Searching for physical documents in cupboards and cabinets and scrolling through a pile of folders can cause problems and delay processes/projects.
On the other hand, paperless business software with excellent document management features can provide employees with a central and secure database to store, manage, retrieve, and share documents. Remember, increased productivity is directly proportional to boosted sales and higher ROIs.
Automates Workflows
Managing documents manually is one of the leading causes of productivity losses. Research shows that 83% of employees in different companies or industries recreate documents if they fail to find them in the office/workplace.
A survey conducted by Nintex shows that 49% of employees find it challenging to locate physical files and folders. 43% of workers say finding and sharing physical documents is daunting and time-consuming. About 33% of respondents say they have problems with document versioning.
These statistics indicate the significance of transitioning to a paperless workplace and implementing business software. Employees usually need documents, files, and checklists on demand. However, when they fail to find a document, they can recreate them for a local database. However, this can waste time.
On the other hand, having paperless business software with cloud storage is essential to centralizing all critical data and documents. The purpose is to automate the workflow and streamline components of office systems.
Workflow automation eliminates unnecessary tasks and automates the remaining ones. Automation via paperless business software is an excellent way to flow information, data, and documents across work-related activities based on your business requirements/needs.
Enhances Teamwork
According to a survey by HBR, 75% of all cross-functional teams fail to achieve their goals in the workplace. The primary reason behind this is the lack of collaboration, communication, and teamwork.
However, the good news is that paperless business software with cloud computing and machine learning features allows employees from different departments to share and work on data while streamlining team communication.
For example, an employee in the marketing department can easily send an email with an invoice to an accountant working in the accounts. The accountant will pay the invoice, enter the data into the system, and mark the status as “paid.” So, this is how paperless business software can improve teamwork.
In addition, Adobe highlights that 97% of companies lack a digital document processing system, and 72% of organizations use a mix of paper-based and digital processes. Remember, your teams in various departments can lose valuable time when applying changes to multiple or outdated documents.
So, installing a centralized paperless business software system is essential to speeding up the process. Moreover, companies rely on various tasks, such as emails and document attachments, and send them to multiple recipients for input and feedback.
Paperless business software with a document management system allows you to quickly attach files to emails, scan paper documents, and send them to your colleagues, teams, or clients.
Saves Time
According to Forbes, office employees spend 40% of their day finding and retrieving printed files. Companies spend an average of $20 on a labor/worker to find a printed document, $120 to find a misfiled document and $220 to recreate a lost file.
These are unnecessary document management costs that can take a toll on your company’s financial stability, disrupt the budget, hamper employees’ productivity, and limit growth potential.
On the other hand, paperless business software allows you to use the filtered search feature and locate a missing/lost file efficiently and quickly. So, paperless business software is a powerful, efficient, and time-saving tool for companies.
Improves Data Security
A data risk report highlights that 41% of companies have more than 1,000 documents with confidential information, including health records, personal data, and credit card numbers.
These files get into the hands of thieves, or someone from the office can illegitimately use the data for personal gain. Therefore, you must not leave these documents with sensitive information unprotected or open to any employee.
Otherwise, you will experience harsh consequences and increase the likelihood of shutting your business due to legal penalties. Paperless business software has high-level security protocols with varying authorization levels. It enables you to prevent unauthorized users from accessing confidential data or documents.
Paperless business software with cloud computing features allows you to access any document remotely if you have a good internet connection. Remember, the software you select or implement in the workplace must have data backup and disaster recovery features.
Paper documents are more prone to fires, floods, pests, and other disasters. However, archiving documents digitally in a database with cloud access makes the files highly traceable and accessible.
Reduces Waste in the Office
According to IDC, companies spend over $35 billion on filing, storing, and retrieving paper in the United States. The Paperless Project reports that a file cabinet with four drawers has more than 12,000 documents/papers.
The cabinet occupies nine square feet of floor space in the office and costs around $1,500 for maintenance. Research shows that a company with a business growth rate of 22% will experience double paper usage in 3-4 years.
Therefore, reducing paper usage in the workplace is essential to decreasing waste and lowering paper consumption. Not only does paperless business software prevent you from investing in cabinets, but it also frees up extra space for employees.
Instills Corporate Social Responsibility
Research shows that paper is the third most significant cause of land, water, and air pollution in the United States. Paper and pulp cause over 100 million kilograms of toxic pollution in North America.
According to the University of Colorado, continued deforestation for producing paper will take less than 100 years to eliminate rainforests on the planet. Paper thrown away or ending up in landfills can make a 12-inch wall from NY to CA.
Reducing paper waste by adopting paperless business software can benefit the environment and allow your company to fulfill its environmentally conscious practices and corporate social responsibility. The purpose is to make your business eco-friendlier and more sustainable.
Therefore, whether small businesses or giant corporations, every company should invest in waste reduction programs and encourage environmentally friendly practices at the workplace to reduce waste, increase productivity, save time, and support the ecosystems. Investing in paperless business software is one of the best ways to reduce paper waste and make your company sustainable.
Final Words
Going paperless can benefit your business in various ways. Paperless business software allows employees to improve document organization, secure data, recover data via backup, and make the business eco-friendly.
It streamlines your business operations, saves costs, and ensures compliance with data security. All businesses in the food & beverage industry, including restaurants and cafes, should focus on digital transformation and implement software systems/applications to streamline their operations.
KEXY is an all-inclusive software system/platform for retailers, distributors, and brands in the food and beverage industry, allowing businesses and their teams, including sales reps, to optimize processes, go paperless, and leverage a centralized platform to improve the bottom line.
Contact KEXY today for more information, or browse our official website to learn about the cutting-edge features of KEXY software for retailers, distributors, and brands. Until Next Time!
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