Are you struggling to manage all your financial records?
Do you have paperwork cluttered on your desk?
Are you always filing these documents?
Do you sometimes lose paper documents?
Keeping all the hard paper copies of; purchase orders, delivery dockets, invoices, statements, receipts, etcetera, is a big task. It is exhausting and expensive to maintain. Our solution is ‘paperless accounting’. As you use the internet to send and receive documents, such as ‘invoice to a customer’. You move to paperless accounting. What a great way to implement sustainable office practices!
Lets look at the effort and cost involved in posting an invoice to a client. You need:
- Printer
- Electricity
- Paper
- Ink
- Postage Stamp
- More paper for an envelope.
- Transportation involving fossil fuels to reach the recipient.
- Man hours
- Money to buy all the above.
We understand, moving to a paperless office can be daunting, right? To achieve growth in your business, the first step is to establish stable financial records – but paperless. Many companies have already moved to paperless office procedures.
Ask yourself:
- Can paperless accounting be more beneficial for my business?
- Is paperless accounting more practical to use than the manual accounting process I currently have?
- Do I care enough about our ‘heavily polluted environment’ to work through the changes to paperless accounting?
Key Benefits of Paperless Accounting
Paperless transactions will help your business in many ways, such as:
- You can be more efficient saving you money on labour.
Since most of the transactions are digital, paper documents will decrease. At the same time, you don’t need to sort a bunch of physical folders. Thus, allowing you to use this saved time.
- Paperless accounting reduces your storage.
When you go paperless, the years of financial transactions stored in fireproof safes for taxation purposes will reduce. You limit the need for binding of documents, hole punchers, staples, photocopying. Decreasing hours spent manually sorting in alphabetical and numerical order. It lessens storage cabinets of filed documents, stationery, and other tools.
- Increases productivity.
Looking for a record among the pile of papers on your desk is time-consuming. Plus, you can easily misplace paper when not properly filed. But with software knowledge and the help of the search function, it is easier to find a document.
- Waste reduction.
You can switch all essential paperwork to digital documents. As a result, you don’t have to print duplicates and obtain the storage. Most importantly, you help the environment when you have less waste.
- Neat and organised office appearance.
No piles of documents, no cluttered papers – your office will stay organised and clean. You will impress your visitors and clients with your paperless working environment.
- Cut supply expenses.
Making the move to a paperless office means, you don’t need to buy a lot of printing supplies. You can cut your costs for papers and ink, paperclips, staples, folders, hole punchers. Thus, saving you from more spending.
Why is Paperless Accounting Important?
Accounting is a job that requires a substantial amount of source documents. Invoices, receipts, delivery dockets, bank statements are just some of the source documents that your accounts workers need. Manually processing papers to create financial reports is tedious. Gathering all these source documents, organising them in folders, is not as simple as it is with paperless accounting. Correct, consistent and timely filing is key to smooth business processes.
When you go paperless, you can automate your processes such as bills payable, invoices to customers, and bank reconciliations. You can use document and data capture software like DEXT and Hubdoc to manage these documents paperless.
How Do I Move To Paperless Accounting?
When going paperless, keep in mind first what practices are needed for your business by looking at your office policies and procedures. The following steps will help you transcend to paperless accounting practices:
Firstly, select the best accounting software that fits your business.
When looking for the most suitable accounting software, there are some aspects that you should consider:
- It integrates with other software the business requires.
- Has active and excellent technical support
- It replaces or improves your existing business process.
- The cost that fits into your budget.
- The benefits you will receive.
- Customers feedback
- Review office policies and procedures to ensure selection of the most appropriate software.
- If need be look for addon software to the accounting software selected.
You might need to find other essential tools for your paperless transition as well. Free apps may be available online. But a monthly subscription might offer more solutions to your business needs.
Secondly, overcome the resistance to change for business growth
Changing to a new accounting setup can be daunting. The fear of internet security could put you off. It is reasonable to feel that way. But don’t let that fear stop business growth. To ease your doubts and worry, learn new ways and methods to help you gain confidence.
You can use two-factor authentication internet security, and work through each process slowly. Don’t rush everything, but always keep your business on track with your goals. Begin with proper communication with your employees, suppliers, and clients. Educate them with your new processes. You will quickly see the rewards of paperless accounting.
Lastly, repeat the processes.
With this change, repeating the process will help you see the area of your business that needs more attention. You will determine the weakness and strengths of your business that will help you achieve your goals.
To have better insights, it will be useful for you to ask your team’s concerns or suggestions.
What does my Business Need to Move to Paperless Accounting?
Of course, switching to a paperless office needs more than just a software program. You need proper equipment, devices, and tools as well. In summary, this involves the following:
- Computer
- Mobile phone with activated sim – used for digital images to reduce hard copy storage and for the security of 2 step authentication.
- High internet security.
- Electricity, preferably solar.
- Internet connection, wireless mobile in most areas are great on 4G network.
- Paperless accounting software
- While not essential: The number one piece of equipment we recommend to go paperless is a 24-inch screen monitor. This monitor allows you to split the screen to easily see your document on one side and the accounting program on the other. It is as if you have the full A4 sized paper on your desk.
- Accounts Payable and Receivable Policies and Procedures must be in place to prevent your business from being scammed.
A way to electronically send invoices between accounting software systems is E-invoicing. E-invoicing removes the step of processing paper and emails from your sales invoicing and bills to pay.
We advise all new bank accounts have a policy and procedure before paying the money into the account. Because it is burdensome to try and get money back when scammed, and in many cases impossible.
For example. A scammer hacked a trade creditor’s email, photoshopped their bill, and sent a new payment details to their customer. The customer paid $65,000 into the scammer’s account. The business lost the money and still had to pay the creditor’s invoice. Would your small business survive if you lost $65,000? Most small businesses would not.
The advantages of Xero Accounting for a Paperless Office
Many accountants, BAS agents and bookkeepers highly recommend Xero software for paperless accounting in small business, us included. Xero software seamlessly assists small businesses with paperless accounting. Xero automates bills to pay and sales invoices to send and receive within the accounting software. Xero allows you to view the original copy of the bill or invoice while processing the document. At the same time, it keeps copies of all paperwork filed with the transactions. Providing you with timely financial reports. For more on Xero accounting software checkout our xero software page here.
The Bottom Line
Converting to paperless accounting can be challenging but rewarding. Document management will be easier to handle and automated where possible. Customers receive your invoices quicker. They will be less likely to lose them and more likely to pay on time.
Plus, it also frees up your desk’s space. All you need on the desk is your laptop and your mobile phone. You won’t run out of staples, paper, and ink again. In addition, you no longer need storage cabinets. Your office bin has never been cleaner.
Paperless accounting reduces emissions of carbons providing sustainable offices practices for your small business. It benefits not only your business but also mother nature.
My Great Bookkeeper ensures a smooth bookkeeping approach for our clients going paperless. We specialise in cloud-based programs, BAS and IAS-GST services.
If you want to outsource your bookkeeping and optimise your business growth, look no further. We are open 7 days to provide you real-time bookkeeping service. Let us help you make your business great. Contact Us.
