A Paperless Office

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A paperless office is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced. It is argued that "going paperless" can save money, boost productivity, save space, make electronic documentation and information sharing easier and minimize environmental damage. The concept can be extended to communications outside the office. With recent laws that require businesses to exercise due diligence in managing and storing documents with personally identifiable information, paperless office systems are now more critical. In reducing the amount of paper used, processes and systems are employed to further that objective and convert all forms of documentation to digital To "go paperless" one uses systems that work entirely online and without the need to print on paper. Common examples are financial systems that replaced general ledgers, databases replacing index cards and rolodexes, email replacing type-written letters and faxes, the internet replacing reference books (e.g. phone books, vendor catalogs, encyclopedias, etc.).[3] Another way to eliminate paper is to automate paper-based processes that rely on forms, applications and surveys to capture and share data. This method is referred to as 'Enterprise Forms Automation' and is typically accomplished by using existing print-perfect documents in electronic format to allow for pre-filling of existing data, capturing data manually entered online by end-users, providing secure methods to submit form data to processing systems and digitally signing the electronic documents without printing. The technologies that . rights One of the main issues that have kept companies from adopting paperwork automation is capturing digital signatures in a cost-effective and compliant manner. The E-Sign Act of 2000 in the United States provided that a document cannot be rejected on the basis of an electronic signature and
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