by Jonathan Lincoln, VP of Business Development, etfile
 

Is your office still dealing with paper records? Does it take too much time to find archived documents? Are you running out of space to store paper? If you answered YES to any of the above, this article is a must read.

Even though you may have a “paperless” office you may still find yourself handling a lot of paper documents, only to find that the process put in place to file and subsequently search for documents is very inefficient.

Transitioning to paperless repair orders, parts orders, sales deal packets, invoices, accounting and more can boost your efficiency and reduce expenses in many ways. Gartner reports that using an electronic document management system will save on document handling by 20%-40%, save on physical and digital space by 30%-50%, and save on time to create and modify documents by 50%-90%.

Poor document management processes affect the whole organization including sales managers, account representatives, service managers, parts managers, office managers, controllers, IT managers and more. Many times the location you filed the document, whether in paper or electronic, is no longer where it can be found. However, with electronic document management the document can be found in multiple ways, greatly reducing the risk of losing it.

Naming conventions are another issue that causes more chaos than good. With the proper system in place, documents can be scanned or filed electronically, filed and tagged with a uniform process and tracked so that any mistakes along the way can be found. This allows for an efficient file and search process in any office.

Why go paperless?

• Reduce Expenses: Save up to $10,000 a year in office supplies by reducing copying, duplication, distribution, fax, and storage costs of paper.

• Reduce Labor Costs: Save an average of $101 a week per worker by making documents digitally accessible.

• Increase Security: 1 in 20 documents end up lost. Secure documents against natural disasters, unauthorized access and the threat of being lost or misplaced.

What to look for in document management:

• Utilize Auto/Mate integration for streamlined scanning through the Open/Mate API.

• Streamline scanning of all your documents via template recognition and barcoding.

• Manage paperless repair orders, parts orders, sales deal packets, invoices, accounting and more.

• Streamlined electronic filing of warranty photos, PDF’s, Excel spreadsheets, etc.

• Documents analytics for advanced security and tracking.

Learn more…

etfile will be presenting at the 2016 Auto/Mate User Summit on the topic of transitioning to a paperless dealership. etfile is an Auto/Mate Partner and leading provider of electronic document imaging, filing and retrieval systems offering superior price and performance and comprehensive service and support. With etfile’s integration with Auto/Mate, filing and managing your documents is a breeze.

Visit www.etfile.com/Automotive to see how we can help you make the transition and how many others have done the same.