Time to go Paperless?

With the recent outbreak of Coronavirus, the government has encouraged people to work from home in a bid to limit the spread of the virus. Working from home isn’t a new concept for many, however for some it will be a completely new experience. It is likely that processes will need to be changed and updated, passing a piece of paper to your manager is impossible if you are both in different locations. So, what does this mean for your Accounts Payables process? Has this highlighted the need for a paperless process?

Since 2005, working from home and remote working arrangements have increased by 159%, and is likely continue to rise in the future. With more and more people working from home, the need for paperless processes is now more apparent than ever. This shows that there has been a shift in the way people work. The days of the rammed office and paper stacked high on desks are disappearing.

The beauty of becoming paperless?

You can access your documents anywhere, at anytime. This means that working from home is so much easier, as you don’t have to worry about access to important documents. There is also naturally less paper in your office, which means more space for plants, statues, or other things to throw at your colleagues. From another point of view, this could mean the need for a big office is now gone, therefore reducing business costs.

Optical character recognition (OCR) technology makes converting paper documents into digital, fully readable and editable documents easy. Simply scan them in using a scanner or smart phone, then you are free to edit them as you wish. OCR technology is close to 100% accurate too, with any uncertainties highlighted to you within the software. Another bonus, as the text is now fully editable and readable, you can easily search the database for specific words or numbers, saving you the time and hassle of manually rummaging through paperwork to run your reports.

So, what steps can you take and how would being paperless work? The first real step is to identify areas where a lot of paperwork is involved, especially where this paperwork needs processing in a timely manner. Using Accounts Payables and Zahara as an example; you can be emailed an invoice, upload this invoice into Zahara, send it through an automated approval process, then export it to your accounting software. Not a single piece of paper needs to be involved in the process, and all can be completed from the comfort of your sofa.