How to use Gmail for Paperless Workflow Management

If you are serious about creating a business that can be run from anywhere in the world, the paper will not cut it. You must have access to all of its administrative bumf history but lugging lever files and archival boxes will seriously increase their baggage fees. A good step on the way to liberate your life completely digitize paper is at least the administrative part - documents such as accounts receivable, accounts, bank documents, tax notice, etc., which tend to come in paper format but they are also increasingly delivered electronically. Whatever system you use, it should be part of a workflow where documents and communications, whether on paper or digital, flow through the same Inbox process, processing, archiving and action.

Tool for the job is Gmail, which has the following advantages:


    It's free!
It has powerful organizational components, such as labels.
    Essentially, it is an electronic mail system, which means the information is that is very easy.
    E-mail is ubiquitous and compatible with many applications (such as e-mail desktop applications).

Your system configuration

Here is a step by step guide to implement and run Gmail as the center of your office paperless and administrative workflow.

1. Set up a Gmail account dedicated to your workflow paperless

If you already have a Google account, you'll need to set up another to have a dedicated Gmail account. You do not want to mix your regular e-mail with your management system. Choose an address as "mycompanyadmin@gmail.com ', but not as important at this stage.

2. Create a transfer email address you own

For example, if you own the domain yourcompany.com, configure an address like "inbox@yourcompany.com" should just refer to the Gmail address that you configured. This gives you the advantage to get used to an email address that includes your own domain name; Also, you should always choose to use another supplier instead of Gmail, you just change the fate of redirection and continue to use the same email address for your management system.

3. Obtain administrative email flowing into your INBOX

You've probably signed up to 101 different Internet services, some of you can afford, and most of them send you e-mails monthly administrative nature, including statements, invoices, official notices, etc. enter all these accounts and change the e-mail address they use to communicate with you to your new mailbox address. From now on, all administrative worrying that flow into your inbox separate from your regular e-mail every day.

4. Get your paper flowing in your INBOX

The rest of the administrative burden you receive is probably on paper, some of which may arrive in the mail, the rest you can collect in person (such as receipts). Your analysis will need it to get into your new Gmail inbox administration. Obtain a document scanner, put all the paper in PDF format and send them to your inbox.

Because paper can be harder to find numerically the material that originated as email, I prefer to use a simple indexing system for all documents sent to your inbox - me and my post-grader next calendar use :

    Paperwork is classified into different types: invoices, checks, general correspondence, receipts.
    The nature of each batch is simply stated in the "subject" of e-mail invoices, checks, general revenue.
    For example, for a batch of invoices from different suppliers, the body of the message that appears simply as:

Supplier

Supplier B

C supplier

Nothing beyond the attached PDF is in the mail.

This means of indexing table that the file can be easily searched using Google tools to find any item you may be looking, for example, Invoice A ', will return a list of e-mails supplier invoices containing A. The advantage of using Gmail's search feature is extremely powerful and using advanced syntax you can always identify your needed items.

5. Designate a time to process the inbox

Now that all your admin - paper and digital - is landing in your inbox and keep out of your way, you should be able to get your company's management. Designate a weekly slot to process your inbox and follow this procedure:

    Open each item and take the appropriate measures, namely, invoices, recording expenses and payments, share notifications and answer all letters.
    Once processed, press "File", which takes the mail from the mailbox and places it in a folder called "All messages."
    Repeat until your inbox is clear.

6. Use your email archives to find all the documents you need to reference

Now his administration is archived in Gmail instead of folders and files, you can access whenever and wherever you are.