Is going paperless really that easy?

August 3, 2016

The Mancor Inc. Speers road office in Oakville has gone paperless. This effort was led by controller MJ Renton, who initially held concerns about the prospect. “Doesn’t it just take too long to scan documents and attach files to packing slip and vendor invoice records?”

After considering their options, Speers decided that ultimately the benefits outweighed the cons. The luxury of having every necessary document available at the click of a button rather than wasting time searching through clunky filing cabinets was worth the initial effort.

MJ made a plan to go paperless and implemented it. She created a dedicated email address to receive vendor invoices, then contacted vendors to ensure that invoices are only directed to the new address. Speers acquired a scanner that allows multi-page feed for accounting (vendor invoices) and receiving (packing slips).

“I worried that collecting and scanning documents would be difficult and time-consuming, but this process has actually made my job easier in the long run.”

Several months after the transition, MJ has discovered even more benefits. She now saves time during every cheque run. Having digital back-ups stored and accessible in OnRamp means copies no longer have to be physically pulled. The approval process for submitted vouchers has also become more efficient since all back-ups are linked in OnRamp and can be reviewed by multiple people. Linked back-ups also allow for increased visibility, which makes audits run much more smoothly since history is easily verified.

Has your plant considered going paperless? According to a recent British survey, small to medium-sized businesses in the UK waste the equivalent of $70 million per day looking for documents. In fact, the cost of using paper is actually 10-30 times the cost of actually purchasing the paper! Besides our reliance on toilet paper and cash, there is no longer a reason to resist the paperless revolution.