Paperless Environments
Eliminating ‘Roadblocks’ in Document Imaging, Content Management and Work

Gone are the days when the ‘old’ superintendent claimed, “I don’t need any of that technology to get my job done. All I need is my hammer.” With the broad availability of Wi-Fi and internet connectivity in the field, technology has spread from weekly cost reports being distributed by the accounting department, to up-to-the-minute input of job progress, employee time, and equipment usage. “CIOs have to take on the challenge of not just making sure that the backup of the accounting system database is completed, but also tackle the daunting task of ‘pushing’ the data out from the central office to the field, where it is needed, and gather the information back from the field, in real-time, to feed the ‘information monster’ that the ERP systems have become,” affirms Seth Dawson, CEO and President, Paperless Environments. By providing several document portal products and mobile apps that allow construction field personnel to have instant access to their “back office” documents, Paperless Environments is making the tasks of CIOs as well as the superintendents easier and is bringing-in greater co-ordination in their roles in the industry.

Headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA, Paperless Environments provides its clients with the “easiest” workflows for their enterprise documents, so that their employees don’t have to spend expensive time trying to “figure out” how to route documents to get the answers they need in a timely manner. The company also makes it simpler to see the location of the document in the routing process, so that action can be taken if the document has reached a “roadblock”. APFlow (Accounts Payable workflow system), one of the core offerings of the firm, not only allows clients to enter, code, route, and approve their invoices in the least amount of time, but also helps customers to maximize the discounts that they can take, pay their vendors and subcontractors on time, in the end getting the best service and pricing from their happy vendors.

Paperless Environments has over 300 construction clients—from very large, publicly traded companies like Primoris Services Corporation to local construction firms such as TC Construction and Block Construction—located throughout the U.S. AUI Contractors based in Fort Worth, TX, has been a client of Paperless Environments since 2005. Initially using the system to route accounts payable invoices for approval, Paperless Environments eventually grew to hold all documentation of the client from project management, to safety, human resources and payroll. AUI has made Paperless Environments training a standard part of their new hire on-boarding process. Paperless has even made the move with AUI when they changed from one accounting system to a larger ERP system, all without skipping a beat.

Paperless provides its clients with the ‘easiest’ workflows for their enterprise documents

With each new customer engagement, Paperless has added new user controlled options to “tweak” the system to the way each user wanted it to work. “Even now, after 10 years in the business, we are still adding new features and options to our workflow modules to satisfy new needs that our customers have,” claims Dawson. The company is even working with credit card processing companies to find ways for customers to electronically import not only transaction data from card purchases, but also images of receipts that are uploaded as photos taken on the credit card holder’s Smartphone, into AP routing system with minimal input.

“Moving ahead, we aim to be in constant contact with our customers and make sure that we are never short of providing them with new ideas,” asserts Dawson. “We also plan to attend and exhibit at the major construction industry conferences and are partnering with the best of breed ERP software manufacturers such as Sage and Viewpoint,” he concludes.