The Path to Paperless: Save Money

So you are thinking of going paperless and you need a few convincing reasons why. Well, what if we told you that you save money by making the transition from paper-filled to paper-free? That should peak some interest! Let’s see how this plays out in the real world and decide if it is a viable option for your business.

One of the nation’s most storied universities decided that it was time to reduce the amount of paper on its campus. In 2011 alone, Yale University consumed 211,033 reams of paper. An impressive number made more so if you consider that is enough paper, if laid end to end, to stretch almost all the way around the earth. Yale officials knew something had to change.

Yale University sought to become a model for conscious consumption and save some trees in the process. They believed they could not only have a positive impact on the environment, but also the school’s bottom line.

Using digital alternatives in place of traditional paper resources, the savings experienced at the school were substantial. The University’s Student Employment office found they would be able to save up to $100,000 a year by replacing paper timesheets with electronic versions.

Numbers like the one listed above should help to allay any concerns about how successful transitioning from paper to paperless can be. Busting out the bottom line is just one of the many reasons to make the switch. While not every business has the same volume of paper used each year as Yale University, this saying is nonetheless very true: a penny saved is a penny earned.