Traditional paper-based storage methods such as filing are slowly becoming obsolete for various reasons. If you work in an industry which is paperwork-heavy, you’ll require an efficient system which allows you to easily access and store hundreds and thousands of important documents. Filing cabinets and paper-based methods of storage are not the answer, here is why.

What are the disadvantages of paper-based filing systems?

• Storage

Paper requires a huge amount of storage space, this is especially true if your company operates in a paperwork-heavy industry such as real estate, realtors deal with substantial amounts of documents such as rental agreements, invoices and property management forms. For them, paper-based filing systems are inefficient and ineffective in numerous ways.

Your business will continue to gather files and documents, this problem won’t simply go away, it needs more productive methods, therefore plenty of businesses are turning to document scanning companies to help them digitise their files.

Another issue with physical filing systems arises when employees need to access information, if documents aren’t kept together due to storage issues, it may take a member of staff hours to locate a specific document, which is highly unproductive for your business.

• Fire Damage

Paper is one of the most flammable materials in the world, and if a fire breaks out on your premises you could end up losing vital information. To avoid having your on-site data wiped out, it is important to search for other methods of data storage such as document scanning. Even if your premises are completely destroyed by an unexpected event, you’ll still have all your company data stored safely online. Uploading documents onto a network is invaluable and could save your organisation a huge amount of stress.

• Inept Transport Services

One of the main problems with paper-based storage is transport, you have the option of using postal services or couriers but none of them match electronic transactions. All of these methods of transport are slow and inefficient, transferring documents online takes a few minutes and it won’t cost your company anything. You can also send substantial amounts of information which would have cost a lot of money to send using a courier or postal service. You can easily attach a sizeable file to an email and send the document online or through any type of file sharing system.

• Cost

The biggest drawback to paper-based filing systems are the cost, you’ll constantly have to spend large amounts of money on stationary, and not just one specific size, sometimes you’ll require a variety of dimensions and all of this costs money. In addition, you’ll require more printers, ink and other office supplies. If your company experiences rapid expansion your paper-based filing system will become grossly inadequate, if you stick with this method it will cost your business a substantial amount of money for such an inefficient system.

The most effective way of storing information is to use document scanning services, paperless systems are far more efficient than paper-based methods. They increase productivity, staff accessibility, and ensure your files are safe and secure in cyberspace.