Here in North America, tax time has just ended. For bookkeepers and accountants, it is finally time to come up for breath.
Given that the next tax time is a year away, it might sound strange, but now is the perfect time to start thinking about your paperless workflow when it comes to taxes. Might as well get started on the right foot and lay the foundation for the future now.
Over on the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants’ site, Kimberly Hogan from the ScanSnap team at Fujitsu and Ed Jennings from Copanion have written a great article: Avoid the Ripple Effect: Proper Setup for Implementing a Paperless Tax Workflow.
It is a good overview of things that you should keep in mind when setting up your workflow.
Proper planning is the key to avoiding any ripples and watching your dominos tumble. When implementing a completely paperless tax workflow, there are many factors to consider, including scanning practices, automated tax document technologies, integrated tax software, and an electronic filing system. Thinking through all these items will save you hours down the road.
While the article is geared towards accounting professionals, the concepts are applicable to anyone that wants to start a paperless project in their business or practice. I love the concept of a “ripple effect” too. Kimberly and Ed can consider that phrase officially stolen.
Do you have anything in your going paperless project acting like a domino, causing other parts of the process to fall down?
(Photo by richardefreeman)