Paperless or Simply Paper-Free

We’ve all heard the call for “paperless” systems and processes.  Some companies even claim to be paperless.  Worse, vendors claim to offer you “paperless solutions.”  The fact is, none of it is true, nor do we want it to be.

Yes, you’re reading this correctly.  Paperless is not the end goal of a well-designed document management and workflow solution.  In fact, there are still many benefits to paper documents; especially for aging workers.  Face it, sometimes, it’s just plain easier to work with a physical piece of paper than it is to bring it up on your computer, iPad, iPhone, or whatever other gadget that made recent headlines.  I, for one, prefer writing notes on paper over typing them into an electronic notepad – especially when I’m talking with someone.  The problem I have (this is where I’m sure you can relate) is finding the notes I took during a conversation six months ago with a client, because I didn’t have my trusty notebook with me at the time.  Sound familiar?  Maybe you’re the sticky note kind of person.  Good luck finding those notes.

In my opinion – “the real goal of a document imaging/workflow solution is to end, or at least greatly reduce, the latency times that the dependency on a physical piece of paper creates – thousands of times per day for a thousand different reasons.”

If you were Samantha (you know, from Bewitched – loved her!), you could simply twitch your nose and instantly reproduce a copy of the water bill from last November, or fold your arms and nod your head to instantly move a copy of all the bills to be paid to Darren, so he can decide what really needs to be paid and when.  Once he approves it, the check is automatically sent and the paper is automatically filed “somewhere” in space – but always available with the twitch of a nose.  That would be awesome! 

Well folks, that’s exactly what document imaging and workflow is to an organization.  Is that paperless?  Not really.  Is it paper-free?  You betcha.

Look at what we saved with this one simple example:

• Didn’t have to go to the filing cabinet to look for the water bill from last November (if it’s even there).
• If it’s in the archives, we didn’t have to send out for it and wait days for it to come back.
• Didn’t have to put the document back in the filing cabinet (or return it to some vault), so it’s available for the auditor when he comes in.
• Samantha didn’t have to make copies of everything she sent to Darren for approval (to cover her butt).
• She didn’t have to walk, or mail, the documents to him, then log it to make sure the boss knows where everything is.
• Darren didn’t have to have his secretary make copies of everything he approved (to cover his butt), or have her keep a log of everything he just approved.
• Darren’s secretary didn’t have to update the accounting system.
• Darren’s secretary didn’t have to walk, or mail, the documents back to accounting to be filed.
• When the auditor shows up (they always do), Samantha can easily fold her arms and twitch her nose to instantly pull up every document related to each transaction and the log that goes with it.

This is just one example of just one type of transaction that happens every single day in many organizations.  Imagine how much time could be saved, yet many organizational managers walk by this every day thinking that this is just the way it is.  “Everyone is working so hard, so we must be doing something right.”

Now, imagine if we were able to provide this “twitching” and “nodding” capability to instantly retrieve documents and route documents for approval (even to multiple people at the same time – GASP!!!) using the computers your company has invested millions of dollars to purchase. 

As an example, what if we are able to only save 5 minutes per transaction to process an invoice?  If you’re organization processes just 1,000 invoices per month, you could gain at least 20 hours per week of lost time.  This doesn’t even count what you would save on copy costs, printing costs, filing costs, or the expense you incur every month to have someone take your boxes of paper, put them in a truck and drive them to be stored in a warehouse somewhere where you would pay additional fees for document retrieval and shipping back to you.

If you’re reading this, stop what you’re doing and look around.  Do you see file folders on people’s desks?  Do you see rows of filing cabinets?  Do you see empty banker boxes waiting to be filled with files to be sent offsite?  Do you see pallets of paper waiting to be fed into your copy machines or printers?  If so, and your organization is looking for ways to reduce costs and improve process times – duh!

Moral – it’s not the paper that’s the problem, it’s how you’re dealing with it that’s costing you time and money.