Home
>
Small Business
>
Creating a Paperless Office

Creating a Paperless Office

When working from home, it is usual to find that you have your office in an area that is not very big, such as a box room or even in the corner of the kitchen. When your business really takes off, you will begin to discover that your work area starts to get swamped by paperwork and that you are running out of storage space.

An excellent solution to this is to aim towards having a paperless office. Obviously, certain documents must be kept for legal and tax purposes, but take a look around you and ask yourself, "Just how much of this paper do I need to keep?"

The first task is to go through your paperwork and decide what is for the bin. Base your decision on whether you are ever going to need that document again. This is slightly different to documents you know you will never READ again, because most businesses are required by law to retain certain paperwork for official purposes, for example, certain receipts and leasing agreements.

Secondly, decide what you want to be able to access in future but don't require the information to be on paper. This is the main group of documents that are heading towards your scanner. Items in this category would include letters between you and your customers, brochures, price lists, business cards, etc.

Your third task is to seperate all official, legal, tax, etc documents you must keep. Basically, you should consider if these documents are possibly going to be required by a lawyer, tax inspector, customs officer or the police. If you are not sure then it is better to err on the side of caution and keep it.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

On the assumption that you already own a computer, what other equipment are you going to need?

Proper filing boxes for the "keeps". Office supply stores stock a wide variety of storage options. Label your boxes and files properly so that you can access information held in them easily. You could also consider asking your lawyer, accountant or bank to store the more important items for you. This is a good option for the very important documents, but you may be charged for the service.

A scanner. Scanners are relatively cheap and are much cheaper and smaller than a filing cabinet. Systematically work your way through your files and scan the items in the second category. REMEMBER TO BACKUP ALL YOUR SCANS! Most recent computers will have a CD-Writer. They are a cheap and quick way to make a permanent, digital record of your files. As with your filing boxes, clearly mark your CD with a guide to the information it contains.

A paper shredder. AFTER YOU HAVE MADE BACKUP COPIES of the redundant paperwork, shred all your unwanted paperwork to keep it away from prying eyes. You can use the shreddings on a compost heap, if you have one. They are excellent to mix in with grass cuttings!

Allan Cowley is a Life Coach working with clients throughout the world. He provides online coaching in self improvement, goal setting, time management and small business development. For a free online life assessment with no obligations, you can contact Allan on his website at:- http://www.uk-success-coach.com/contact-online-life-coach.html

professional home cleaners Deerfield ...

In The News:

VOLTA-AUTODOXER malware uses AI to analyze stolen data and rank victims by potential value, helping criminals target the most profitable accounts.

Daimler Truck's Oregon demos show how a Freightliner Cascadia's automatic emergency braking responds when dummy cars suddenly cross a moving truck's path.

Facebook ads promising to recover stolen funds are targeting scam victims again, and Meta confirmed removing flagged accounts after investigation.

Tesla Cybertruck production is winding down at Gigafactory Texas to make room for Cybercab robotaxi manufacturing, but key questions remain for owners.

Identity theft can hide in phone accounts, medical records and utility bills long before it shows on a credit report. Eight places to check now.

JR East's towering ZIZAI ZX-3 chainsaw robot tackles dangerous branch-cutting along Japan's Koumi Line while a trained operator controls it remotely.

A massive DHS data leak exposed records of over 41,000 employees, revealing links to undercover ICE operations, Palantir tools and AI platforms.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

UCLA's PhoneBot turns old Android phones into the brain of a two-legged humanoid robot that walks, follows people and stands up after falling.

A fake Amazon invoice charging $988.18 for an iPad lists the same customer support phone number three times to steer panicked victims into calling.

A handful of food delivery robots from Uber Eats and other platforms have gotten kicked and knocked over in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Data broker opt-out forms may not protect your family. People search sites can still expose your info through a spouse's or parent's profile.

Apple's first touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 with a PROLED XDR OLED display, but the non-touch M6 model costs $900 less at $1,999.

Black Friday deals are already drawing scammers who use fake delivery notices and gift card payment requests to steal your personal financial information.

Apple's iPhone Duo reportedly outlasted the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 by over three hours in battery tests, but its weight and repair costs raise concerns.

Florida Polytechnic University's Jetson ONE eVTOL police vehicle named Astro still awaits FAA authorization before officers can fly operational patrols.

OpenAI's new locked chats feature lets you protect ChatGPT conversations with a PIN, Face ID or Touch ID, but there are key privacy limitations.

A phishing email disguised as an Evite fooled a man even after he emailed his friend to verify it, revealing how compromised Gmail accounts aid scams.

Microsoft's AI diagnostic system identified 83% of complex medical cases in a study, more than doubling the 36% accuracy of generalist doctors.

Account takeover threats go beyond stolen passwords as criminals exploit session cookies, SIM swaps and MFA fatigue to bypass your login security.

SpaceX is reportedly pursuing access to 80,000 cell sites to turn Starlink into a major wireless carrier rivaling Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Tech advocacy groups warn that foreign nationals at AI companies like OpenAI and Google pose a national security threat amid a lack of federal oversight.

Singapore researchers built the world's first touchscreen woven into clothing, surviving 50 machine washes while displaying images and responding to touch.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A startup founder woke to $449 in unexpected OpenAI and Anthropic charges after stolen API keys were exploited during the "Black October" cyber wave.

Creating a Paperless Office

Small Business