The Festive season has passed for another year, but it is, undoubtedly, a time of year when the amount of stuff we waste increases. I found an article published in House Beautiful that suggested that 300,000 tonnes of card packaging was used at Christmas. According to the item, that's enough to cover Big Ben almost 260,000 times! Read the article here.
The first weeks of the New Year is traditionally the time that I review my business priorities for the coming 12 months. There's been so much recorded in the media over recent weeks and months about the damage that is being inflicted upon the planet, so sustainability is going to feature quite heavily in InLet's objectives. Progress is already being made, but I'd like to build on that even more. Over the last 12 months, I have made much better use of the electronic systems and processes available to my business. The result of this is that InLet now operates on a virtually paper-free basis. This means that our customers will also benefit from our quest for sustainability as we help them to implement the same types of systems in their businesses too.
So, how can we help you to reduce your business's carbon footprint? Using our service means that you benefit from our commitment to the environment automatically, but even if your business isn't yet ready for extra help and support, here are our top 3 apps for a quicker, more efficient and much more environmentally friendly business:
TSHEETS
This is my new favourite app! Whether you have to keep track of the hours worked by a full team of people, or simply to record your own hours worked for your clients or projects, this is a fantastic way to reduce the headache of paper timesheets. Hours are recorded in real-time making it a quicker, more accurate and more efficient system. The risk of important payroll paperwork getting missed or lost in the system disappears altogether. As the app synchs with the accounting package, Xero, you can produce electronic invoices directly from the data without the need to generate paper invoices to be sent in the post.
Big green ticks for: stationery reduction; synchronisation with Xero to raise electronic invoices and reduce postage
DROPBOX
Files can be safely and securely shared between clients, individuals and teams. The need for a traditional office filing cabinet cluttering up a corner of the room disappears. Access to everything you, your clients and your team needs is possible from anywhere. Issues with duplication and version control can be completely eradicated.
Big green ticks for: stationery reduction; more efficient use of office space and physical resources
ASANA
Asana is a great way to keep track of process flows and projects. It offers a centralised place for updates to be shared and for communication about specific tasks. Linking to other apps means that files can be easily found and referenced without the need for lots of paper copies of documents. Because communication can be undertaken within the app, there is no need for teams to be constantly working side by side. This can reduce the amount of travelling needed for meetings.
Big green ticks for: reducing the amount of travel needed for staff or clients between sites; reducing the number of documents copied across teams
When your business starts to need additional resources, it's always worth considering engaging virtual office support like ours. It means that you don't need to increase the amount of space within your business, or the amount of consumable resources you buy, to get the help you need.
So, on the list of things to achieve at the InLet office in 2019 are: switching lights off every time we leave the office; preserving iPhone battery life to reduce the amount of charging needed; more use of Skype for meetings to reduce car travel. I'd love to hear you sustainability pledges, so please comment and share your ideas with us.
Thanks for reading, and we wish you a green and prosperous 2019!
Michelle
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