Increase office efficiency with technology

The current economic circumstances are taking their toll on all businesses.  We’re all scrutinizing our profitability and making tough choices.  It’s hard to keep a positive attitude, but slower times offer us opportunities as well.

There are always things that we don’t address when business is booming.  When there’s lots of cash in the coffers, big changes in processes and procedures don’t make a lot of sense.  Now is a perfect time to consider increasing your productivity and efficiency so that you will be ready when the market turns.

Delegate the task of writing job descriptions to everyone in your staff, including yourself.  Have each person itemize all the duties they perform and carefully review them.  Look for ways to increase productivity by injecting new technology and processes.

There are many tools available now to even the smallest business that were too expensive for consideration only a few years ago.  Here are some ideas to get you started.

Electronic Faxing & VoIP

Fax machines and traditional phone lines are expensive.  There are online fax options that allow you to send and receive faxes via email for under $10 per month.  VoIP phone systems are very affordable, too.  These products also facilitate telecommuting, which may allow you to cut back on employee costs.

Toss the Cabinets

The process of filing is antiquated and costly.  Rarely does anyone analyze the costs involved.  Start adding up the supplies (folders, hanging folders, labels), the time to make folders and filing the papers and you’ll be surprised how quickly it adds up.  Now factor in the “fetch” process and don’t forget the often misfiled item search or the hunt for a file on someone’s desk.  This process costs you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year.

All it takes to replace this system is a scanner and space on a shared drive.  Organize your file structure the same as you would in a cabinet and people will have no difficulty in finding what they need in seconds, not minutes.  If you have an enormous amount of paperwork, there is affordable document management software available.

Build an Intranet

In any organization, communication is vital to success.  Take a close look at your current process, both paper and verbal.  Employee handbooks and announcements are easily transferred to a company website in digital format.  Incorporate a blog for management to keep everyone well informed on a daily basis.  The website can be in-house on a local server or you can put it up on the Internet with secure access.

Speed up Receivables

Did you ever consider the costs of printing and mailing invoices?  Using current product costs for paper, envelopes, ink and postage the price is about 56 cents each.  That doesn’t include the time to print, stuff and mail them.  Your customer’s costs include opening, sorting and processing.

When money is tight, receivables start aging.  Emailing your invoices will get them in the hands of your customers quicker and perhaps closer to the top of the stack to pay.  If you want to increase your chances for payment even more, consider accepting credit cards.

You can get a merchant account from your bank, but there are often hidden costs and variable charges.  Small businesses may benefit from a PayPal merchant account.  They offer a product called Virtual Terminal that allows you to process credit cards through the PayPal site with complete security.  Their collection fees are not variable from card to card as many typical merchant accounts are.  The increase in cash flow by accepting credit cards often easily justifies the cost.

Take the time while the market is slow to institute important changes in your business processes and structure.  When the market turns around, you’ll be more profitable than you ever were before.