Practical Tips for Making Your Transition to a Paperless Office Actually Work

A paperless office? What a fantastic notion! But it’s one thing to agree that something’s a good idea and quite another to implement it in your own workplace. Here are a few practical tips for making your transition to a paperless office actually work.

Okay, so why are we considering the paperless office thing again? Because paperless offices are advantageous to your business:

  • They free up valuable square footage
  • Their automated systems save your staff from busy work
  • They’re more environmentally friendly
  • Improve communication, both internally and with your clients
  • And more!

But it’s one thing to say you’re going to do it, it’s quite another to actually make the transition.

We’re not going to tell you recommend which software to use; that will depend on a lot of outside factors. What we can share with you are a few strategic, but practical tips so you actually have a shot at making it happen:

  • Pick a firm (but realistic) transition date. Not having a concrete time goal to work towards can lead to endless procrastination.
  • Pick your team. Who’s going to do the research? Who’s going to make the plan? Who’s in charge of implementing it? Who’s going to be stuck scanning a bunch of old receipts from storage? It’s not a glamourous job… but somebody’s got to do it. Sorry, Kevin.
  • Get your employees buy in. Just announcing the chance at your next all staff meeting and scampering back to your office, expecting everyone to just roll with it is…unrealistic. Include key employees in the process at the beginning, but make sure you let everyone express their opinion (yes, even Kevin). Even if you don’t implement every single idea from the suggestion box, at least everyone got a head’s up that it’s happening.
  • Do a test run! Select a small sample/segment of your business and test drive your new process before implementing it company-wide.
  • Have a plan for existing paper. Is launching it into the sun an option? No, then… do <this> instead.

Moving to a paperless office isn’t a quick one-and-done. But the benefits usually outweigh the temporary pain of the transition.

Want to learn more about transitioning to a paperless office? Check out our other articles in this series:

The Benefits of Transitioning to a Paperless Office

How to Estimate the Cost of Transitioning to a Paperless Office

Psst… You know what can really help transitioning to a paperless office? Having an immaculate bookkeeping system! At Black Tulip, we live to make accurate entries, track down errors and heroically organize your files. And we’re really, really good at tidying up all your shoeboxes of information into any format you need. Contact us for more information.