Here's What to Ask Before You Automate

Inaccuracy is the enemy of efficiency. When information is inaccurate in your business, it causes slow-downs, low morale, headaches, and lost opportunities. You can't make good business decisions when you don't have good data in front of you—and your information is your most powerful asset.

There are technologies available today that can help ensure that workflows stay accurate and efficient, but too few companies take advantage of them. These solutions all have one thing in common that makes them the most effective: automation. Here's why automation is the friend of accurate business data.

Improve Your Efficiency with Automation

The old saying goes, "To err is human." We all know this well since a day rarely goes by that we all don't make some small mistake. These little mistakes can add up to significant issues when we're dealing with data and business processes. Automation removes the human element, substantially reducing the chance of error.

Managed print services are one way that companies have chosen to automate a big data center in their office—the print environment. Managed print makes it easy to identify outdated, manual processes that are ripe for automation, including invoicing, timesheets, forms, and more. Human resources, finance departments, and management often rely heavily on paper-based processes that center around your office print environment, and digital automation can make these workflows more accurate.

Questions to ask before you automate a workflow:

• What kinds of documents are we processing in this workflow (invoices, forms, timesheets, spreadsheets)?
• What kind of document storage are we using? What kind would be ideal?
• How many documents are we processing weekly? Monthly?
• What format are we using (PDF, email, paper)? What format would be ideal? Why?
• What's our current workflow? (If possible, make a diagram).
• What level of automation are we looking for?
• Do we have special requirements such as regulatory compliance or company policies to consider?

These questions will get you started as you consider how to automate your workflows. For more information about how managed print services can improve your business, contact us today.