Canotec has been banging the drum on this for years – and now banking giant JP Morgan has shown that paperless document management in the office can be achieved.

A report in February 2010 from the American company stated that more than 24 million paper documents, from payslips to bills, have been eliminated by 25,000 of its clients through the promotion of digital processes.

The report, the feature of an article by BusinessGreen.com, stated that, on average, filing and maintaining 500,000 pieces of paper costs £162,000 in workflow management, another £75,000 to research lost files and around £98,000 in storage and disposal costs.

Cutting annual paper use by 500,000 sheets can save a company £336,000 a year – more than 65p saved per sheet conserved, according to JP Morgan.

David Newman, a director at Canotec, pictured right with sheets of wayward paper, said: “Digital processing is increasingly becoming the norm with our own clients, who make substantial savings from reduced paper and related consumables, such as ink, toner and cartridges. On top of all that, there’s the carbon-friendly energy savings as well.

“We’ve been banging the drum for years on how software can be utilised to digitalise and streamline documentation, so it’s good to read about an influential player such as JP Morgan promoting the paperless office.

“Their message reinforces our view that document workflow is an area overlooked by many companies to the detriment of their finances.”