Going paperless sounds simple, stop printing things. But anyone who has tried it organizationally knows the reality is more nuanced. Paper isn’t just a physical habit; it’s woven into processes: approval signatures, fax-based workflows, filing cabinets as the system of record, and staff who’ve worked a certain way for years.
The good news is that a structured approach makes it entirely achievable, even for organizations with deeply ingrained paper-based processes. This step-by-step guide will walk you through exactly how to transition to a paperless office, what to prioritize, and how to sustain it long-term.
Why Going Paperless Matters More Than Ever
Beyond the environmental case, the business case for eliminating paper is compelling:
- The average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper per year (EPA)
- Organizations spend $20 to file a document, $120 to find a misfiled document, and $220 to reproduce a lost document (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
- Paper-based processes are inherently slower, every approval that requires a physical signature adds days
- Remote and hybrid work makes paper-based workflows functionally broken, files can’t travel home
Going paperless isn’t about technology for its own sake. It’s about removing friction from the way your organization works.
Step 1: Audit Your Current Paper Processes
Before you digitize anything, understand what you’re dealing with. Conduct a paper audit across your organization:
- Where does paper enter the business? (mail, fax, printed forms, supplier invoices)
- Where does paper move? (physical routing for approval, filing, mailing)
- Where does paper get stored? (filing cabinets, boxes, off-site storage)
- What processes require a physical signature or wet stamp?
Map these flows visually. You’ll likely discover that 80% of your paper volume comes from a small number of processes, invoices, contracts, HR forms, and customer-facing paperwork are the usual culprits. Start there.
Step 2: Choose the Right Document Management Platform
Going paperless requires a destination, a centralized, searchable document management system where digital documents live, are organized, and can be retrieved instantly. Without this, you’ll digitize documents and simply scatter them across different digital locations instead of paper ones.
When evaluating platforms, look for:
- Intelligent capture capabilities to handle incoming paper and digital documents
- Metadata and tagging for searchability
- Automated workflow routing for approvals
- eSignature integration to eliminate wet signatures
- ERP and line-of-business system integrations
- Role-based access controls and audit logging
- Mobile accessibility for remote and field teams
See how Paperwise Symphony covers all of these requirements in a single platform.
Step 3: Digitize Your Backlog
Your existing paper archives don’t all need to be digitized immediately. Prioritize based on:
- Active documents: anything referenced regularly should be digitized first
- Compliance-critical records: documents with legal retention requirements
- Customer-facing records: contracts, agreements, service records
- Financial records: invoices, POs, payment confirmations
For high-volume digitization, consider a document scanning service for the initial backlog, then use Intelligent Capture to handle ongoing incoming documents automatically. Paperwise’s scanning and capture features can classify and index scanned documents automatically, eliminating manual tagging.
Step 4: Redesign Paper-Based Workflows
Digitizing a paper-based process without redesigning it is a missed opportunity. If your accounts payable team prints invoices to physically route them for signature, don’t just scan them after, redesign the process so invoices never need to be printed at all.
Key process transformations:
- Replace physical approval routing with automated digital workflows
- Replace wet signatures with legally compliant eSignatures
- Replace paper forms with digital forms that feed directly into your DMS
- Replace fax with secure digital document receipt
Paperwise’s Forms by Symphony and eSignature tool are designed specifically for this kind of process transformation.
Step 5: Train Your Team and Change the Culture
Technology alone won’t make your office paperless. The most common reason paperless initiatives fail isn’t the software, it’s adoption. People default to familiar habits, especially under pressure.
Build adoption into your rollout plan:
- Involve key users in configuration and testing before launch
- Provide role-specific training, not generic walkthroughs
- Identify and empower internal champions in each department
- Remove the option to revert, once a process is digital, keep it digital
- Celebrate early wins and share metrics on time saved
Step 6: Establish Document Retention Policies
Going paperless creates an opportunity to build proper retention policies. deciding how long each document type should be kept, who can access it, and when it should be archived or deleted. This is especially important for regulated industries like healthcare, insurance, and financial services.
Your document management system should enforce these policies automatically: flagging documents for review at the end of their retention period, restricting access based on role, and maintaining audit logs of all access and modifications.
Step 7: Measure, Refine, and Expand
Going paperless is not a one-time project, it’s an ongoing process of improvement. After your initial rollout:
- Measure paper reduction: track print volumes and document processing times
- Identify remaining paper touchpoints and address them systematically
- Expand the scope: once AP is paperless, tackle HR, contracts, or operations
- Gather user feedback and adjust workflows based on real usage patterns
Start Your Paperless Journey with Paperwise
Paperwise has helped organizations across manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, transportation, and utilities eliminate paper from their most document-intensive processes. Whether you’re starting with invoice processing, contracts, or HR documents, Paperwise Symphony gives you the platform to go paperless at your own pace, and sustain it.
Schedule a demo to see how simple a paperless transition can be.
