Paperless Office: The Complete Guide to Going Digital in 2026

Why Go Paperless?

The average office uses 10,000 sheets of paper per employee per year. For a company of 20, that's 200,000 sheets, or about 24 trees. But the problem isn't just environmental.

Paper documents:

• Take up physical space that costs money (rent, shelving, storage)
• Are not searchable: you have to find them manually
• Can be damaged (water, fire, humidity)
• Are hard to share with remote teams
• Slow down processes: print, sign, send, file

Step 1: Audit Your Existing Documents

Before you start digitizing, you need to know what you have. Create an inventory:

• What types of documents exist (contracts, invoices, reports...)?
• How many are there in total?
• What are the legal retention periods?
• Which are active and which are for archive?

This helps you prioritize: start with documents used most frequently.

Step 2: Choose the Right DMS

A Document Management System is the heart of a paperless office. When choosing, pay attention to:

• OCR capabilities: can it recognize text from scanned documents?
• Search: does it support full-text content search?
• Security: encryption, access control, backup?
• Scalability: does it grow with your company?
• Integrations: does it work with your existing tools?

Step 3: Digitize Existing Documentation

Scanning is the most labor-intensive part of the process, but once it's done: it's done forever. Tips:

• Use a scanner with an automatic document feeder (ADF) for bulk scanning
• Scan in PDF/A format: the standard for long-term preservation
• Use OCR to make documents searchable
• Name files consistently (date_type_description)
• Organize into a clear folder structure

For large volumes, consider professional scanning services.

Step 4: Establish Digital Workflows

A paperless office isn't just about scanning old documents: it's about changing how you work:

• Electronic signatures instead of print-sign-scan
• Digital forms instead of paper forms
• Email/DMS for approvals instead of physical signing
• Electronic invoices through e-invoicing systems
• Cloud storage instead of physical archives

Step 5: Train Your Team

Technology is useless if people don't use it. Training should be:

• Short and practical: focus on daily tasks
• Repeated: not just once at the beginning
• Supported by management: if the boss still prints, nobody will change

Savings from Going Paperless

Category	Annual Savings (20-person company)
Paper and toner	~€2,000
Physical storage space	~€3,000
Time spent searching for documents	~500+ hours
Shipping/delivery of documents	~€1,000

Conclusion

Going paperless is a process, not a one-time event. But every step brings measurable savings in time, money, and space.

Start with Arhivix: set up a digital document management system in less than a day and start saving from the very first minute.