Companies Move to Electronic Billing in Droves

When a technology starts to gain popularity, many individuals seem to start adopting it all at once. For instance, BlackBerry smartphones have been around for a number of years, but it’s only within the last two or three years that cellphones that can access the Internet and allow the user to download apps have truly caught on.

It’s been that way thus far with document management software. Though these types of tools have been available for some time, many corporations are only now starting to use the technology to their advantage. By scanning important documents, financial forms and all of a company’s other papers, leaders can create a sleek, modern and safe place to work.

Plus, the cost and time savings aren’t anything to scoff at either. Consider how much money would be saved if you didn’t have to buy big, expensive printers, ink every so often to replenish them, paper reams and the filing cabinets to store them in. Add on the expense that comes with hiring someone to fix the machine when it eventually has a paper jam or another large issue and you get an idea of how costly paper products can be.

Lately, it seems to be utilities providers that are making the big move to paperless systems. Companies like these go through untold amounts of paper each month. Think about how many files they have for just one client – every month, they have to print out bills, which are inevitably a few pages long, but they also have records relating back to prior months, communications between workers and clients and so on. Multiply that by the amount of people who use a given provider, and the amount of paper seems as large as a mountain.

Other businesses can learn a lot about embracing electronic workflow as it relates to financial transactions from utilities providers. It might just be the motivation a corporation needs to push their own invoices online.

West Virginia gas company goes paperless

According to the Charleston Daily Mail, Mountaineer Gas Company, based out of West Virginia, recently decided to offer its clients paperless billing. The news source said that the business is working with a third-party company to allow consumers to manage their accounts on their cellphones, as well as interact with the individuals in a digital environment.

The reason company leaders figured this would be a good idea is because it can make customers more flexible, Customer Services Manager Gary Barnard told the newspaper. He explained that easier interaction was a main driver in the push to go paperless.

This is something that could be enjoyed by a number of businesses, including those outside the service sector. For instance, if communications were made clearer and invoices shared faster between two corporate partners, they would stay on the same page, processes would be streamlined and everyone would win.

Another perk the company was able to enjoy was the fact that moving clients’ files online was quick and easy. The important thing for leaders to remember is that they have to have a system of doing this so that no files are either forgotten or duplicated.

Washington water providers see financial perks

One of the biggest perks that accompanied going paperless for the Woodinville Water District in Washington was the fact that going digital was so much cheaper than sticking with the traditional records keeping strategies they’d used for years, The Northlake News reported.

Local Finances Manager Jack Broyles told the news source that there are a number of advantages that the organization has been able to enjoy, but two in particular emerge above the rest.

“It’s cheaper in the long run that doing paper,” Broyles explained. “It’s more green.”

He also noted that consumers have been amenable to the system so far – about 7.5 percent of all clients have signed up in the last six months.