But even if you don’t do payroll in-house, keeping your accounting software up to date with new releases as they become available is still important. When your accounting software comes out with new releases, it is generally for the purpose of either improving one or more of its functions or fixing a problem that users have reported. In other words, the updates will generally add to the efficiency or functionality of your current software. Anything that will save your staff time should be welcomed.

One of the mistakes that accounting software users make when installing updates is not taking the time to read the release notes that accompany the updates. This is an important step that should not be overlooked. If you do the install without reading the release notes, you may not be fully aware of the changes that have been made to your software. If you’re not aware of what changes have been made, it isn’t likely that you’ll take full advantage of them. If there are multiple users accessing the accounting software for data entry or reporting, you will want to make sure that everyone is aware of any changes that come through on a software update and how those changes might affect their interaction with the software.

Keeping your software updated will keep your accounting procedures running smoothly. The investment in annual license fees is generally well worth the efficiency that you gain as a result.

The junk mail – usually marked “to current occupant” – doesn’t even get opened. It goes into the shredder. The newsletters, fliers, newspapers, and magazines get sorted into a “likely to read” and “unlikely to read” piles for the coffee table or the recycling bin respectively. And then there’s the other mail: Bills, reminders, letters from Mom. It goes into a “must open” pile. It’s the stuff you have to read and act on. Unfortunately, even that pile can be a big stack. And once you’ve acted on it, you sometimes still need to keep it around. Bills and tax forms, for example, are things that you probably don’t want to through out. You act on them but, after that, you might need them for tax purposes or reference, so they go into a file folder. Those file folders can swell over the year. By the end of the year, you’ve got a filing cabinet drawer devoted to papers you hope you never need again but can’t throw away. Problem is, these papers need to be kept around for various bookkeeping, tax-related, or review purposes… perhaps for a few years!

You end up with stacks of paper. STACKS. Not only is it messy and inconvenient, but a small forest was eradicated to convert it into paper. Not good. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax isn’t very happy about that. And neither should you be.

Enter mail scanning services.

The greenest way to handle your mail, allowing all that mail of yours to be reviewed and processed electronically and returned to the earth from whence it came. (Oh, and besides making sure that we leave some kind of earth for our children, there are other benefits too). Mail scanning is a service offered by a company you can hire who will receive your mail on your behalf and make a digital image of it. You can view it securely, online, you can act on it, you can store it, and you free up all that space in your office. And it’s eco-friendly.

Your mail can still be processed, of course, but now it can be processed anywhere you happen to be, as long as you have access to email. And, you can store, retrieve, sort, and act on your mail conveniently and still have room for a fake potted plant where your ugly gray filing cabinet once stood.

Your bookkeeper will love you, too, because they can receive your bills, invoices, tax forms, and all that “bookkeepy” kind of stuff online without adding ANOTHER box of paper to their fire hazard of an office.

It’s a good service and, as long as companies send out paper mail, it’s a way to help manage what comes into our homes and offices. (And for growing businesses who are trying to manage the expense and time of a mail clerk or admin assistant, this is one way to bring those costs down).

They work like this:

First: You rent a mailing address from the company and have your mail sent there (instead of to your home or business address).

Second: What happens next separates mail scanning services into two different categories. One category of company will just open and scan everything that comes in as it comes in. The other category of company will scan the outside of your mail and you will instruct them as to what to do with each piece. The former is faster, the latter is more private. Check with the companies you are thinking about and ask them which service they provide.

Third: The actions that happen next depend on the company. With almost all of your mail, you can read and act on any mail yourself that you want (such as a bill). Or, if you get a check, you can have them send it to you or (in some cases) deposit it for you. Packages and parcels can be sent to you. And the physical mail that has been scanned? It can be filed, sent to you, or shredded, your choice.

I went out and searched for reputable mail scanning services that you can hire to help you clean up your inbox and filing cabinet and save you time and money. There were 4 that I thought were high quality, high value services and I’ve briefly reviewed them here, but be aware that some of this information might change and is only offered here as an overview. There might also be other companies out there that you prefer, but I chose ones that offered the clearest and most accessible information online.

• Earth Class Mail (http://www.earthclassmail.com/). Service levels are based on the number of pieces of mail received with 2 plans – at $19.95 and $39.95.
• Mailbox Forwarding (http://www.mailboxforwarding.com/features.php). Services are offered at $9.95, $19.95, and $39.95.
• Virtual Post (http://www.virtualpostmail.com/). They have lower promotional prices but they have 5 tiers priced between $9.99 and 59.99.
• Paperless Mail (http://www.paperlessmail.com/). Services start at $9.95 for individuals and $129.95 for businesses.

Mail scanning services are an under-utilized way to save time and money and office space and the environment. I think as companies become more virtual, we will see more of these services offered in time.