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e-Newsletters: The Top 3 Ways to be Lean and Green in 2009

Issue Date: 01.25.09

Make this the year you save tons of money and resources in your office.

Through 2008, your bottom line has been threatened by the overall economy and perhaps even your own increasing overhead expenses.

If there was ever a time for your office to cut back on expenses and waste, this is it. So why not take the plunge and start saving money immediately for 2009 and beyond?

To help you, we're presenting the top 3 most popular recommendations on how your office can go green AND save some significant costs.

1. Go digital with your documents

How did we all end up with more paper than ever, even though we use computers? Well, most offices are still printing out records, filing them in folders, and storing those folders in cabinets that fill up entire rooms that translate to expensive office-space leases.

It's quite easy to stop this cycle and get rid of most paper documents in your office. The following tips come from planetgreen.discovery.com:

"The greenest and cheapest paper is no paper at all, so keep things digital and dematerialized whenever possible. The more you do online, the less you need paper."

Keep files on computers instead of in file cabinets (this also makes it easier to make offsite backup copies or take them with you when you move to a new office).
Review documents onscreen rather than printing them out.
Send emails instead of paper letters.

The three main benefits of a shift to digital documents are:

When your records are digitized, they can also be stored, archived and accessed online in a secure, password-protected system.
Your paper records can be scanned within a week or so and become instantly available for digital use by anyone you authorize… from anywhere in the world.
You could save thousands of overheard dollars per year.

2. Go digital with your dictation/transcription services

The environment would be very happy if you switched to phone-to-digital dictation/transcription and said goodbye to tape recorders, tapes, and shipping packages. Why? Because phone-to-digital dictation/transcription services use less energy and fewer wasteful materials.

Not only that, but it could help you slash your staffing and operational costs… as well as management hassles.

Here's how. With phone dictation, you set up an account with an outsourced transcription service that charges you. You simply call in your dictation and let the skilled transcriptionists provide secure online access to your accurate transcriptions within 24 hours – sometimes even sooner.

That's it. No staff benefits, sick day worries or other staffing issues to manage. And no tapes and paper storage!

Some offices that switched to phone-to-digital dictation/transcription services saved as much as 700% on each transcribed letter! Ask us how this was possible for them.

3. Go digital with office space

With digital documents and secure online access to office records, you and your staff can work quite productively and effectively thanks to electronic communications such as e-mail, Web conferences, free conference calling, instant messaging and other tools.

Telecommuting saves you time, money and the environment for these reasons and many others:

Less time and fewer resources wasted on commuting
No paper waste
Reduced office space and related operational costs
For these reasons, telecommuting works for 44 million Americans, according to Treehugger.com. Could it work for you too?

Ready to start 2009 with a bang by going green and saving money? Contact us at any time if you'd like to discuss specific solutions for your office.

Our 2008 Holiday Hours

Happy Holidays! The staff at Brown & Meyers wishes you a peaceful holiday season and a very prosperous 2009. Our office will be closed on the following dates:

12/24 Christmas Eve (closed at 12 noon)
12/25 Christmas Day
12/26 Friday
12/31 New Year's Eve (closed at 12 noon)
1/1 New Year's Day
1/2 Friday