The buzz words of ‘paperless office’ may be ringing in your ears but let us set our expectations a bit lower. Aiming to simply reduce paper helps the environment AND reduces administrative costs. Unfortunately for management companies, reducing paper also reduces billable pass-thru costs to HOAs FOR that paper.
So here are the top ten ways to reduce your paper consumption WITHOUT sacrificing the associated pass-thru profits.
| # | Ways to reduce paper: | Without sacrificing pass-thru profits: |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Encourage vendors to send electronic invoices instead of paper invoices | Set up an email address to receive electronic invoices from vendors. Vendors usually love emailing invoices as it is cheaper for them too! |
| 9 | Send email blasts for basic general communication topics instead of paper letters | While you may not be able to make money on each email, boards LOVE this service. A certain number of email blasts could be included in your management agreement, with a fee for more. |
| 8 | Instead of printing board packets for board meetings or postal mailing them to board members, email a PDF instead | These packets can be HUGE and time-consuming to prepare. Skipping both the printing work and the paper profit would be a wash. Yes, assembling the PDF also takes time, but then you do not have to mail or carry all that paper! |
| 7 | Send courtesy notices via email instead of paper mail | If your management agreement includes fees for violation/collection courtesy notices, these emails are still notices. Or your management fee can include a certain number of emailed courtesy notices, with an added fee when the volume is higher. |
| 6 | Send vendor payments electronically instead of by paper check | Not only will vendors be excited to receive an electronic payment, but you will save money on postage, printing, and check stock. If you are charging HOAs for vendor checks, your management agreement can also include small convenience fees for electronic payment methods. |
| 5 | Print letters on the backs of statements instead of a separate paper or mailing | Most third-party printers can print a letter on the backside of statements, dropping an added piece of paper. This printing has an associated expense that can be passed-thru. |
| 4 | Reduce paper filing cabinets in your office in favor of electronic file storage | If you are printing documents to keep them ‘on hand’ for the required length of time, then you have a fantastic opportunity to reduce your expenses by implementing an electronic file repository like Dropbox. |
| 3 | Online voting instead of paper-based voting | Voting online using specialized software instead of by paper absentee ballot is an excellent choice and the cost of this service can be passed on to your HOAs. These services tend to be more expensive than paper options, BUT they may also garner more votes towards quorum due to the convenience factor. |
| 2 | Email resale demand/disclosure and lender questionnaires instead of printing/mailing | If you are printing and mailing resale disclosure info, this is a huge opportunity to save paper by emailing them instead. There is a web-based software that eases this end-to-end process electronically. |
| 1 | Encourage and incentivize eStatement adoption in your communities | Electronic statements are still billable AND they can have HIGHER profit margins as there are no paper costs. It is a win/win/win if your admin costs are low for eStatements. Plus, it reduces returned mail! |