Frequently asked questions and answers about the paperless office
What is the paperless office?
A paperless office eliminates paper-based processes as much as possible. Instead, workflows and accounting are moved to the digital realm. Invoices, Jobs or work instructions are not printed out in folders or files, but are stored exclusively in a digital database.
What are the advantages of the paperless office?
The paperless office not only saves companies the cost of paper. Digital businesses work more efficiently, faster and more reliably. In addition, the paperless office simplifies collaboration between customers and the company and, incidentally, protects the environment.
How does a paperless office work?
In a paperless office, almost all processes run digitally. All the necessary documents are stored in a standardized system. This means that important invoices, Jobs or timesheets can be accessed from anywhere.
The paperless office does away with paper-based documents. Instead, they are digitised and stored globally. New Jobs, offers or invoices are created, sent and stored digitally right from the start. This makes them easy to find at any time - no matter where or when. Filing, archiving, Jobs, invoices: All workflows that can run digitally are moved there. And even if this seems time-consuming at first, the paperless office ultimately simplifies all work processes.
Probably the biggest advantage of the paperless office: Work processes run much faster with better quality. Employees thus gain time for the really important tasks, such as answering customer inquiries. In short, the paperless office makes your company more efficient and productive!1
Other advantages:
- Save costs for printing and shipping
- Delegate tasks
- Flexible workplace - no matter when and where
- Find documents easily
- Sustainable and environmentally friendly
Only a few steps are needed to make the switch to a paperless office a success - but they must be carried out carefully and correctly. Then nothing will stand in the way of the paperless office.
1. Organise digital documents
The first step is to Organise and store all the documents that already exist digitally. It makes sense, for example, to have main folders for:
- Invoices
- Jobs
- Offers
- Tax
- Clientele
- Suppliers
- Employees
- Products
- Documentation
This is followed by the respective subfolders, for example for the individual employees or products. A network drive or cloud storage is advisable as a storage location. In addition, a backup should be made once a day. Employees only ever have access to the folders they need for their work.
2. transmit documents digitally only
In the next step, your company transmits all documents digitally only. Invoices, Jobs, offers - everything is transmitted to your customers by mail or via other channels. In the case of invoices, care must be taken to ensure that they cannot be subsequently changed in a legally secure manner, for example by using a PDF format.
3. digitise old documents
The last and probably most time-consuming step: scanning all the necessary old documents and saving them in digital form. This requires not only the right hardware, but also the meaningful naming and classification of the documents. This is the only way to ensure that each file can be found again later.
The right folder structure is important for the success of the digital office. And this starts with the name of the stored documents. Basically, it makes sense to name files according to the scheme "year-month-day-description". So:
- 2022-12-06-Invoice Meier Construction
- 2019-05-12-Job Huber
Whether months are always written with two digits or which separators you use is basically irrelevant. But it should be consistent.
Especially for trade businesses that have many different customers, the so-called project structure is worthwhile in addition to the main folders mentioned above. Here, individual folders with respective subfolders are stored for each project.
The actual folder structure should be such that:
- Each document can be stored in exactly one folder
- Documents are filed from the general to the specific:
Invoices - Tiles - Customer Müller
The Meisterwerk app Organises your documents by Job and in one place!
Some legal framework conditions are crucial when it comes to the success of the paperless office. Particularly when it comes to digital contracts, disputes or data protection, trade businesses need to observe a few basic rules.
Digital contracts
German civil and commercial law only requires written or even notarized certification for a very small number of transactions - especially between companies. The vast majority of contracts can therefore also be concluded digitally. However, it is important to use digital Signatures, for example, to confirm which contract has been concluded with which party.
Disputes
If a legal dispute arises with the contractual partner, the Code of Civil Procedure regulates the weighting of evidence. A distinction is made between physical originals, i.e. paper documents, scans of such documents and original electronic documents. In other words, documents that have been created digitally.
It is possible that scanned documents have a different weight in the process than the originals. The decisive factor, however, is the course of the process in the individual case. Basically, the higher the quality of the scanned documents and the more reliable and secure the scanning process, the better the chances for the respective company.
Privacy
Data protection requirements vary depending on the area of the company. The General Data Protection Regulation applies to personal data. The legal requirements for commissioned data processing are derived from Section 11 BDSG. For business within the EU, the same regulations apply - outside the EU, the respective country regulations must be reviewed.4
Many industries already work largely paperless. However, Tradesmen and women are often still skeptical. Yet digitization and the skilled trades go wonderfully well together - and forward-looking companies have a clear competitive advantage. In particular, the areas of customer acquisition and consulting, offers and invoices, as well as Jobing and warehousing can be simplified by the digital office.
In addition to the hardware, for example a scanner that has a cut-sheet feeder and can process many types of documents, the software is also crucial. This is where the Meisterwerk app comes into play.
This is what the Meisterwerk app can do
With the Meisterwerk app, you can replace paper! Information on Jobs and appointments is stored digitally instead of being printed out as an Job slip or folder. Forms can be signed on the smartphone or tablet directly with the customer. Even timesheets are no longer needed, as these are also available digitally!
This is more sustainable, because less paper is used. But above all, it's more reliable! Never again will slips of paper be lost or delivered late to the office.
The information in this article does not constitute legal advice. Despite careful research, we cannot guarantee completeness, accuracy and timeliness, especially for legal information. If you need legal help, please contact a lawyer.
