With the age of technology upon us, business owners are trying to keep up by getting the latest and greatest tools to give them the edge over competition. The downfall to this is limiting the shelf life of pretty much everything you have. Computers, for example, change so much in two years that they become obsolete. That being said, below are 8 old school office supplies that you can afford to replace:
- Fax Machine
We still keep these around “just in case,” but who really uses them? Also, you never know who is going to pick up the sheet of paper, and if the recipient is actually going to get it. If you are still requiring customers to fax, consider replacing this process with a scanner and email. An added benefit is keeping an electronic copy… just in case.
- Paper weights
Paper, who uses that? You won’t see many of these around anymore – most offices are equipped with air conditioning so unexpected wind gusts are no longer a risk. If you have a fun or quirky paper weight though, by all means display it as decoration!
- Wite Out
Since many businesses are becoming paperless, their Wite Out supply is dwindling. Who needs liquid paper when you can just retype something?
- Rolodex
If you still have one of these, consider switching to a contact management software to handle your contacts. This will save time searching for someone’s information, and allow for more efficient follow ups.
- Desk Calendar
Again with the paperless trend – most companies opt for an online calendar to handle their daily appointments. This also allows for telemarketers or service reps to easily view availability to schedule appointments or meetings.
- Calculator
No, I’m not saying we don’t use math anymore. People are just using their phones or tablets to handle it.
- Stamps
Now with word processing programs and printers, employees no longer need to spend hours stamping and filling out envelopes.
- Filing cabinet
Ok, most of us still have these. However, if you are finding yourself digging around for information all the time, it would make a lot of sense to digitize everything for simple searching and management.
