Fire your Accountant & Hire a Partner

Are you ready for the Paperless Age?

Posted on 22 December 2011

Mark Kennedy

So you want to go paperless? Good luck…

OK I guess some help would be appreciated.  Going paperless or green is not a simple and easy task for businesses. This is due to the rigorous requirement by government to maintain records, usually given in paper form, so they can tax your success. 

Please don’t take me wrong about taxing success, I do have a few socialistic ideologies kicking around in my head.  For example I believe that if I want to live in a safe country, it costs money. If I want to live in a country with paved roads, taxes and government are necessary elements.  But this article is not about taxation or social ideology. It’s about going paperless!

My number one tip for going paperless, “Stop using paper”!  Seriously, stop it. If your business can use computing power use it, if not use paper.  Unless you are manufacturing a product that uses paper, you probably don’t need to use so much of it.

Perhaps we should talk about the barriers you may face to going paperless first. 

buy one soon.

1. I don’t know how.
2. It’s to expensive.
3. All other reasons are just different expressions of  number 1 or 1, no matter how you phrase it.

If we compile a list of all the uses we currently have for paper, we can better discuss the potential for stopping.  The problem with a list of uses of paper is that it is unique to your business. Every business is different and the way they function is a product of the processes and people that are part of that business.

Perhaps if we compiled a list of reasons why we use paper.

1. Easy to transport and store.
2. Versatile, it can be shared or transmitted via fax/mail/scan and email.
3. Easy to mark up or add to with a pen/pencil etc.
4. Habit, I have always used paper.
5. What if my computer crashes?
6. What if I get audited?
7. Isn’t it a requirement of the law?
8. It’s cheaper than computers.
9. I need to be a computer expert to get rid of paper.

Let’s look at each issue separately and see if they are real concerns or just “because that’s the way we do it”. Wait that might require more than a short article. OK, check back and see how this story evolves. You might just gain some freedom.  Let’s go paperless!!!!

On your team,

Mark