Last Updated on March 15, 2024 by Treana Wunsch
If you own or operate a small business, you know the struggle of keeping track of all of your important small business documents. From contracts to tax paperwork, keeping all of it in one place can be a headache.
But what if you could store your small business documents digitally? There are plenty of software options available that make document management simple and easy. If you’re worried about security, don’t be – most digital document storage solutions offer features like password protection and encryption that help keep your information safe.
Think about all of the small business documents you have in your home or office. Now think about how many of those small business documents you’ve actually used in the past month. How many times have you needed to refer to a specific document but couldn’t find it because it was buried in a stack of paper?
The fact is, most people don’t need to keep paper documents anymore. With the advent of electronic document management systems, there’s no reason to continue storing and managing small business documents in their original paper format.
This article on techrepulic.com states that more than 50% of professionals spend more time searching for files than on work. That’s outrageous! If that isn’t enough for you to want to store your small business documents digitally, here are 13 more reasons.
13 reasons you should start storing your small business documents digitally:
It is easier to organize, access and share information
When you save your small business documents digitally, you can organize them by category and make them easy to access. If you have employees or even multiple departments, it’s easy to send any information they need. This saves countless hours of time, especially if there are multiple locations.
It is easier to update your accounting information
A cloud bookkeeping system will enable you to update your small business documents as easily as you can update your email. You do not have to manually enter the same information twice. Doing double work is one of my pet peeves. It should be one of yours too as it is one of the biggest time wasters. Wasting time is the same as wasting money.
It is easier to audit or review your financial statements
In the event of an audit, the governing body will request digital copies of your small business documents either via FTP site or email. If you already have everything saved digitally, you won’t be manually scanning and uploading every document in order to provide them as requested. I’ve gone through this with clients and it can take weeks to find the proper documentation if it’s not filed properly.
You can access your financial information from anywhere in the world
You do not have to worry about getting a new computer or buying extra software. You will be able to work with cloud accounting and file sharing solutions that were designed for your needs. Most of the time these platforms integrate together so you can share between them.
You won’t lose them
Nothing is 100% guaranteed but I can assure you that storing your small business documents digitally is a lot more secure than filing the hard copies. It’s incredibly easy to lose expense receipts, especially the small ones you get at restaurants and gas stations.
If you get into the habit of uploading your small business documents as you receive them, the task isn’t as daunting. Alternatively, keep them in an envelope and chose a specific day each week or month to upload them.
They won’t burn in a fire
In a perfect world, we would all be organized and diligent about backing up our small business documents. But the truth is, most of us are not. So what happens when you lose all of your important small business documents in a fire?
For starters, you lose all of your data. This means that you have to start from scratch, rebuilding everything that was lost in the fire. Not only is this time-consuming and frustrating, but it can also be costly. You may have to hire new employees to help rebuild what was lost, and you may lose customers who were depending on your old data.
Hopefully, this never happens to you or your business but it can happen. Also, paper is flammable so it only makes sense that the less paper you have around, the less chance of fire there is.
They won’t be ruined in a flood
When a flood hits, losing critical small business documents can be costly. Weeks or months of work can go down the drain, and rebuilding that information can be a daunting task.
This is also much more common than a fire. I’ve actually had a client that this happened to and it was a challenge come tax time.
Saves you money
Buying paper, ink, envelopes and stamps are expensive. Not to mention you’ll need copies for yourself and your customer. The time it takes to file copies of documents manually costs money as well.
Think about it, you save the small business document once to your digital system and it’s there whenever you need it and can be shared over and over again.
Saves you and your customers time
How many times have you been waiting at a store and they run out of ink or paper on their printer? If they forgot to stock up, you won’t even get the receipt. This is a waste of time and completely avoidable. If they offer, always choose to have the receipt emailed.
Don’t get caught in this situation at your business. It’s stressful and looks unprofessional to your customers.
Marketing opportunity
If you opt to send invoices and receipts to your customers via email, you can let them know about promotions and follow up with them via email. Email marketing is the most robust form of marketing available these days. Don’t worry, they can always opt out if they want. If you want to learn more about digital marketing for small businesses go to my blog.
Fewer data entry errors
When you are uploading your small business documents into an accounting system, the system will read the information and you just need to accept each transaction. I’ve even seen an OCR program read something I couldn’t. It’s really quite amazing.
You’ll get some space back
This one is incredibly important but often overlooked. How much paper storage do you have around your home or office? Imagine if you could get that real estate back. Some businesses could even downsize their space and save on rent! Some businesses might even be paying for extra off-site storage. That can add up fast.
Plus your office will be a place you and your customers enjoy being in. Less paper means less clutter. Your physical environment impacts your productivity even if you don’t realize it.
Having stacks and files of paper collects a lot of dust and just having the clutter around causes anxiety. Read my article about decluttering if you need some inspiration.
It’s better for the planet
Do you want to reduce the carbon footprint of your business? This is a great place to start. Show your customers you care about the earth and you’ll feel good about yourself in the process. Check out these mind-blowing paper consumption stats from formstack.com.
How to go digital in your small business
Speak to your suppliers
Speak to all your suppliers, financial institutes, government agencies, insurance agencies, utility companies and other service providers to see if they will send your bills and receipts via email. This eliminates the paper altogether which is ideal. Most will have this option available. Don’t forget to cancel the physically mailed versions. Some organizations will send you an email but continue to mail the hard copy unless asked to stop.
Choose emailed receipts
Always choose the emailed receipt option if available when purchasing business items. They are harder to lose and always available with a few clicks. They can also be easily uploaded to your accounting software.
Don’t print invoices
Don’t print invoices you receive via email and file them physically, save them digitally instead. When you are filing your invoices digitally, there is no need to print them. It’s a waste of power, paper and ink.
Email customer documents
Email customer invoices and receipts rather than printing and mailing. As mentioned above, you will save on power, paper and ink. Also, your customers won’t lose their receipts as often saving you time retrieving them.
Sign up for the Google Workspace 14-day free trial
Comment below if you’d like a discount code. Google Workspace is a cloud-based productivity suite that helps teams communicate, collaborate and get things done from anywhere and on any device. It’s simple to set up, use and manage, so your business can focus on what really matters.
Access from any location or device. Check emails, store files, share files, edit documents, hold video meetings and more, whether you’re at work, at home or on the move. You can pick up where you left off from any computer tablet or phone.
Sign up for a Quickbooks Online subscription
You’ll save 30-50% of your bookkeeping time just by using this tool. There is a monthly fee but it will pay for itself several times over. Some benefits include:
Automatically track your mileage
Take photos of paper receipts with the app
Access from anywhere and on any device
Send invoices from anywhere
Store bills and receipts digitally right with the corresponding bookkeeping transaction
Instructions for sending bills and receipts digitally to QBO
If you want instructions on how to save your bookkeeping documents to Quickbooks Online, click the button below.
Implement a digital document management strategy
I would recommend getting a digital document management system set up first then once you are up and running with the new system, schedule some time to scan your old paperwork. In the end, you will have less to scan and upload as you started to use the digital system sooner. Otherwise, you’ll be playing catchup and it will take much longer.
Once everything is scanned and uploaded, you can shred the hard copies if you wish. You may want to wait for a predetermined period of time before shredding to account for anything that may have been missed. Also, sometimes it’s required to keep original documents such as legal documents. Double-check before shredding those.
Conclusion
Efficiency in your small business document management saves time and money. This is the first place a small business should look if they want to cut costs. Money is saved on supplies, space and fewer human errors; not to mention your valuable time.
Your data is more secure when you go paperless because you won’t lose your small business paperwork to mishandling, fire, flood or getting eaten by your dog. Your data can be shared easily with co-workers, partners, accountants, bookkeepers and other key team members or government and compliance agencies.
Reviewing reports takes minutes so if you want to check your financial position daily, you can. This alone is worth the effort as you’ll never wonder if your business is making money or losing money. Not to mention you have an added marketing opportunity and you’re helping the planet at the same time!
If you still insist on keeping paper records after reading this, check out my infographic on how to file your bookkeeping records.
Thanks for reading. If you found this helpful, please share or buy me a coffee!
