Businesses are always looking for ways to improve productivity and, at the same time cut costs and meet business goals. Over the years, businesses have eradicated the tedious task of accomplishing and filing paper forms and migrating towards fully automating their work processes. The end goal of these companies is to make business processes faster without compromising work output.
Automation is the key to making these goals happen. Although the traditional pen and paper are still needed for day-to-day tasks in the office, such as note-taking and affixing signatures, automation can quickly replace vital functions that would have otherwise required extensive paperwork. Less time spent accomplishing paperwork means more time for employees to invest in doing more meaningful work.
How can automation help you and your company? Here are five things that automation can do for you:
1. Lessen Paper Consumption
Not only are physical paper trails time-consuming, but the amount of paper waste occupying landfills are alarming. When you eliminate the need for paper right at the source, you are not only streamlining your business processes, but you are also doing your part to lessen your carbon footprint. If you can’t go genuinely paperless, at the very least, automation will help you consume less paper in the process.
When records are digitized and automated on a system versus the traditional paper file, less time is spent on looking for valuable data. This automation ensures data is appropriately stored and can be retrieved at any time at the touch of a button without having to spend precious time looking for paper records.
This automated process eradicates the risk of potentially misplacing or, even worse, throwing out essential paper documents. Going paperless is also a way to conserve physical storage space. You can transform storage units that have previously housed paper documents into more productive, value-adding work areas.
2. Better Visibility
Automation of business processes gives users a bird’s-eye view of tasks that need to be accomplished daily, weekly, or quarterly. Throughout the workforce, different departments can make use of automation to determine and achieve KPIs. Automation is also essential to be integrated into the accounts receivable department to streamline invoicing and payments. AP automation will allow its user to access invoices in real-time. Through an automated accounts payable system, payments can be made promptly. An invoice can be created at the touch of a button and then sent almost instantly to a customer. Users will also see which invoices still need to be paid on a single screen instead of going through mounds of paperwork. Better visibility means better productivity and better cash flow for the company.
3. Lessen Errors
The traditional way of doing everyday office work is prone to human error. Papers can get lost, signatures can get mixed up, and documents can be sent to the wrong recipient. There are too many things that can be attributed to human error, which could have been avoided if only all business processes were automated. For instance, if you want to reach out to someone via email, you can use email verification tools to make sure you have not used a wrong or unsafe email address. With automation, there is a lesser margin of human error involved in the whole process from start to finish. Automation software will prompt the user if some errors or gaps need to be filled, eliminating the need to go back and forth just because you missed a step. In accounts receivable, an automated system will also mean that invoices will not be lost and collections are made in a timely manner. Complete visibility of all invoices will also mean that no invoice will be left out for collection. Lesser errors will mean faster transactions and more efficient work processes.
4. Cut Costs
Going fully automated in your business processes can eventually cut costs for your company by eliminating the need to invest in miscellaneous supplies. With an automated system in place, businesses can reduce expenses for paper and other office supplies. They have shown that companies spend an average of $1,800 on each employee annually for office supplies. By cutting costs of office supplies, your company can have more funds available towards capital expenditures, even towards a potential raise on your employees’ paycheck. In addition, an automated system will also cut costs on labor as tasks can be delegated to the existing workforce which eliminates the need to hire more staff to get the job done.
5. Boost Efficiency
Automation will help in increasing productivity and efficiency in the workplace by eliminating the need for lengthy and repetitive processes. Tasks that used to take hours to complete from draft to approval now only take minutes, without the need for face-to-face interaction. In light of the recent Covid pandemic, this is a big advantage for those working in an automated office environment. Through automation, business processes are streamlined, and key personnel can improve communication both internally and externally. An efficient work process results in better work outcomes and overall better staff satisfaction.
