Guest contributor Michael Antoniak says:

Some benefits of going paperless will be immediately apparent. It's a long-term project, however, as you decide how to implement such a strategy. Make sure to hit these six steps along the way.

You don't get rid of any legal obligations when you go paperless. In fact, working with digital documents and electronic signatures may come with new responsibilities to your clients and require more disclosures. Your state association can advise you on these and provide you with or point you to an authorized library of digital forms and contracts. Association representatives can also advise you on how much longer you need to hold on to your paper records and if digitized versions of those files will suffice.

1. Create a System of Systems

This is a new workflow you're creating. You may find everything you need in a turnkey solution, but it's more likely that you're going to mix some software and services. Components must seamlessly integrate so the same documents are available to everyone involved, however and whenever they access them.

2. Security

Security should always be a top consideration when evaluating software and cloud services. Once you go paperless, you're entrusting your documents — and the sensitive client information they contain — to that product and provider. You want assurance that your records are encrypted and protected against unauthorized access, as well as stored on multiple servers in different locations. For peace of mind, you may also want a digital archive in your office, with files automatically backed up to a hard drive on a regular schedule.

3. Evaluate Several Options

Providers of nearly all components of the paperless workflow allow potential users an opportunity to try before buying. Explore features and how easily you can adapt them to your work routine. If a solution isn't intuitive, and if it will take a lot of explaining to associates or clients, there are better choices.

4. Don't Force Change

The transition to a paperless office can be disruptive, even threatening, to those who resist it. You have to accommodate clients and resort to printouts on paper when they refuse digital documents and e-signatures. With peers, demonstrate the advantages of digital forms and contracts by actively using and promoting them. They'll eventually recognize the benefits, too.

5. Allow Time

Everyone who will work or collaborate on your office system has to get comfortable with new ways of handling forms, contracts, and records. Some solutions you start with may not be the ones you ultimately choose. Whatever obstacles you encounter, don't look back. Tomorrow's real estate office will be paperless, and you can get there today.

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