Limit the mess and get more organized by using these tools to reduce your cleaning business paperwork.
Paperwork piling up? Is your desk somewhere beneath clipboards and pencils, faxes and financial statements? Are your filing cabinets bulging from drawers overstuffed with invoices and estimates? It might be time to reconsider your approach to your cleaning business paperwork.
I get it. There are some advantages to paperwork. It gives your work that human touch. And you can staple your business card to it and hand someone a physical copy of an estimate that they can look at any time they want.
There are drawbacks, as well. The cost of paper, ink, and printing can get astronomical, especially if you use color ink. You still have to store all that cleaning business paperwork somewhere. And if you need to look something up, you have to go back to the office and find the documents you need.
Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the paper you have lying around. And you don’t have to go entirely paperless, either. But you also don’t have to live with the worry that your mountain of paperwork is going to come crashing down.
Harness the value of Janitorial Manager to streamline your cleaning operation like never before. Learn more today with a discovery call and find out how to make your cleaning operation more efficient and cost effective!
10 Tools and tips that will help you get your cleaning business paperwork under control
1. Janitorial Manager. Janitorial Manager offers you so many ways to reduce your cleaning business paperwork. The cloud-based software allows you to access your “paperwork” from anywhere, so you’re never stuck making clients wait for a proposal or hoping your team took the most up-to-date cleaning checklist to a new job site. Janitorial Manager includes bidding calculators, inventory checklists, scheduling functions, timekeeping, and so much more to make your job easier and with substantially less paper to keep track of.
2. Docusign. While electronic signatures used to be legally questionable, times have changed. Software like Docusign allows you to digitize much of your paperwork, including employment forms and many of your business transactions.
3. Electronic banking. Banks are required to send you regular updates regarding your account. In most cases, though, you can opt for electronic updates, significantly reducing the amount of physical mail that you have to file or shred. You can also largely eliminate the hassle of checks, since so many of your business partners are likely trying to reduce their paperwork, as well.
4. Google Drive. If you need a spreadsheet or a presentation, Google Drive has you covered. And since it’s Google, you can work on your projects from anywhere, and share them with anyone you would like to.
5. Wave. Payroll can leave you with piles of cleaning business paperwork. Software like Wave moves everything online and makes it easy for you to process payroll. In some states, they will even automatically file your state and federal payroll taxes for you! How convenient is that!?
6. Gusto. Gusto is another payroll software provider. And while similar to Wave, there are some differences, so it’s worth exploring both providers to see which one might work better for your situation.
7. Adobe Scan. You can’t just toss all your old paperwork. Some of it is still useful. One way to get rid of it is to scan the information and upload it to your online filing. Adobe Scan is a straightfoward tool for turning your paper documents into PDFs. Best of all, it’s free!
Even going electronic as much as possible, you may still have hard copies of different forms. That doesn’t mean your cleaning business paperwork has to get out of hand, though. These tips will help you cut down on all that paper!
8. Invest in a shredder. Spend the money and get a high-quality paper shredder for your business. This will leave you with little excuse to hold onto all those old estimates, bank statements, and other papers with personal or business information on them.
9. Set up a recycling bin for junk mail. Junk mail has a way of piling up. But you don’t need new credit card offers, notices that you may have won $1,000,000, or offers from home improvement companies. These can go directly into the recycling bin. Get a small paper shredder to top the bin if you like.
10. Print as needed. Instead of printing forms or documents in bulk, print them as you need them. This will reduce waste and cut down on the amount of paper you need to store. And you can save money!
You don’t have to go paperless, but you also don’t have to let your cleaning business paperwork overwhelm you and take control of your office. Try some of these tools or tips and let the stress of office papers go to the recycling bin.
If you’re ready to increase the professionalism of your cleaning operation through better organization, easy access to important data, unparalleled tracking, and more, schedule a call with JM today!