[dropcap]I[/dropcap]s your business still using an outdated fax machine to send files? Fax machines have hardly experienced any upgrades since they first debuted in the 1970s, and now is the perfect time to bring your office communications fully into the 21st century with efax.
It’s easier than ever to do so thanks to online fax systems. If you’ve never heard of the concept, check out these fax resources for a quick orientation. Otherwise, here are four excellent reasons why your business needs to start using online fax also known as efax.
Online Fax Is Environmentally Friendly
An online fax system allows you to make truly paperless communications. Whereas a document has to be printed out before it can be fed into a fax machine, online faxing allows you to send documents just like you send emails. The file will be delivered to the recipient’s fax machine, and they need to fax something back to you, it will land in your email inbox. You get to decide what truly needs to be printed, if anything.
You can also forgo purchasing additional items, such as ink and the fax machine itself, which further reduces your environmental footprint.
If your business is eco-conscious, subscribing to an online fax system is a no-brainer.
Have a Truly Mobile Office With eFax
Do you like working from home, at coffee shops or perhaps even on the beach? Then the last thing you want to do is have to nip back to the office to retrieve a document from a filing cabinet and fax it to a business partner.
Your sales team also needs to be able to work from virtually any location on the planet in order to chase up leads and finalize business transactions. They, too, should be able to retrieve documents within seconds and fax them without ever having to inquire as to the nearest fax machine.
Online fax gives you the freedom of a truly mobile office. There is no need to find a file in your office or to print one out and then hunt down a public fax machine at your disposal. Doing all of this takes cuts into the productivity of your workforce. Let your employees focus on things that require a truly personal touch, and let technology do its job.
Sending Faxes Online Is More Secure
When you fax large documents, you run the risk of misplacing a page or two when preparing and sending the fax. If the nature of your business means you handle highly sensitive or confidential documents, you definitely don’t want to run the risk of misplacing a sheet. Having your own dedicated fax machine is one thing, but what if it breaks and you need use another machine? Or what happens if your business’s fax machine is used by multiple departments and secure information ends up in the wrong hands?
Online faxing makes it impossible to lose pages in such a manner, never mind entire documents. Erase an entire set of “what ifs” from the equation with secure, encrypted email-to-fax systems.
Online Fax Saves Time
Last but certainly not least, sending your faxes via email saves time, energy and, yes, even money!
Think about the faxing process for a minute: first you have to look through a filing cabinet to retrieve the document you need. Or, you need to look through your computer files and print out the document, which could take some time depending on the length of the document and the speed of the printer. Next, you need to send the document through the fax machine. Remember, a fax machine has to scan every single page in order to send the facsimile to the recipient. This is not a problem for a single-page form, but it will take a lot of time. Although you don’t need to stand around and watch every page go in, you ought to stay close in case of a problem, such as a paper jam.
Once the file has been faxed, it must be returned to the filing cabinet or shredded.
Now, think about how long it takes to send an email. The two processes share one potential step: finding the file on the computer. If you have an organized, intuitive filing system, you’ll get there in just a few clicks. And if you can’t find it right away, you can use the search function to pull it up. You won’t even have to get out of your chair to find the file. After a few more clicks, the file is sent. Done and dusted!
When your workforce isn’t too busy worrying about using outdated technology, they can focus on what really matters: providing an excellent product or service to your business’s customers. Get rid of your fax machine once and for all and step proudly into the 21st century with an online fax service. It’s there when you need it and doesn’t even take up any extra space in the office.
Guest writer Cathy Habas would like to thank eFax Australia for giving inputs in the article.
