When starting a startup, there are a lot of things you need to figure out. From your business plan and vision to the different sources of funding you are going to use. With that in mind, you will need all the advantages you can get in order to be as efficient as possible. One significant advantage that will definitely help you out is to stop using paper entirely for any business processes and fully digitalized your startup. So, to help you out, we are going to take a look at how to prepare your startup to go paperless.
Understand the benefits of not using paper
The first step towards preparing to go paperless is to have a thorough understanding of the benefits this can bring to your startup and clearly communicate it to your employees as well.
First off, a lot of businesses nowadays move towards not using paper as it clears a lot of the clutter caused by having documents, drafts etc. everywhere around the office. Modern technologies, most notably cloud storage, can allow you to have all of the important things you would usually keep on paper in a secure and easily accessible location. This will not only reduce the clutter around your office, but it will also allow you to spend less time looking for specific documents you need as all of them can be easily located on your drive with a quick search.
Secondly, another great thing about going paperless is that it has a positive impact on the environment. The production of paper is highly dependent on the trees which are cut in order to make it. This not only contributes to climate change by itself, but it also destroys the natural habitats of many animals living in deforested areas. So, by going paperless, you are also saving the environment.
Start scanning your paperwork
Once you’ve clearly talked through and established the benefits of not using paper, it’s time to start taking the necessary step towards going paperless. To do this, you should aim to scan all of your important paperwork and save it in electronic form. It’s highly recommended to use company cloud storage as a place to store them, making it easier to use later on. Of course, the specifics of this process will ultimately depend on your companies needs and possibilities.
Utilise tools that will help you transition and stay paperless
While drawing up and signing contracts or similar document without using paper may seem weird, you’ll get used to it quickly. And one of the great things about the modern world is that nearly everything can be done through the power of the internet. Electronic signatures can be used to replace real ink signatures, and you can easily access many different online business document templates which will significantly improve the efficiency and productivity of your business. You’ll be surprised as to how much time you’ll save, that would have otherwise be spent in meetings and getting everything signed.
Talk to your clients as well
Once you have all of your paperwork in digital form, you should also inform your clients about the changes you’ve made and why you’ve made them. All though reluctant at first, most of them will welcome this as it will also save them time and saving the environment is something everyone can get behind. However, you should also make sure they understand that switching to fully digital is completely safe and help guide them during the whole process.
Going paperless is definitely the future of the business world. And, while it may take some time for this to truly start being the reality we live in, accepting this change and using it as an advantage for your startup will help you pave the way for your future success.