There seems to be a distinct divide between the offices choosing to use paper filing systems and digital filing systems, and each camp will sing the virtues of their chosen method while scoffing at those who prefer to use the other system. If you are about to set up a business or are trying to decide which could work best for you, check out our quick summary of each type of filing and document storage to see which could work best for you.Ball Gown Prom Dresses
Paper storage involves using physical filing systems in the office, generally on lots of shelving units or in a filing cabinet. The main benefit of these is that computer systems may freeze or fail or files can corrupt, which makes it impossible for you to access data. With a physical filing system, however, you know there is always a copy of data available so that you can run things efficiently, and at the very least it can be useful to have paper copies of important documents as a backup.
On the downside, it is much easier to lose a paper copy of a document than a digital version, and if you lose this copy, it is highly unlikely you’ll have a backup elsewhere. It could also be argued that this is a waste of paper and resources, and a big storage system can take up valuable office space. As office rents creep up every year, space is precious, and if it’s taken up by files it could be wasteful.
Digital storage is handy because infinite copies of the same document can be accessed at once, and these are easy to send and share with others. A document management system allows you to keep all documents in one place, and a third party can even come in and scan all your important paper documents so that everything can be found as a digital version to help you prevent against loss of the paper version.
On the downside, digital storage systems are vulnerable to hacking and viruses such as spyware, especially if the system is known to contain confidential information such as contact or payment details which are useful for spammers and fraudsters. Office security means it is harder to break in and take this information from physical copies, but digital systems can be accessed more readily by outsiders with the right know-how, so make sure everyone in the office knows about spam and viruses, and install good encryption and anti-virus software to keep the wrong people away.
Charles Copthorne is a business productivity consultant who advises companies on improving efficiency and streamlining their operationsPlus Size Prom Dresses