Go Paperless, Go Green! Switch to Electronic Billing

“How can the average US business save almost a tenth of a tree each year...? By switching to electronic billing!! Electronic billing, statements, and payments save the average business 6.6 pounds of paper, avoids producing 171 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, and saves .079 of a tree annually,” reports the Pay It Green Alliance.

The hurdles to e-billing are dropping away as more businesses and consumers switch over and are able to see the time-saving benefits involved. The environmental arguments for e-billing are simple: less paper waste and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

There is so much we can do to save energy and reduce waste and everyone in the workplace can get involved. Companies like EBCS can help by enabling businesses to reduce the amount of paper used in the financial process. Huge quantities of resources are consumed by businesses each day to create and deliver paper financial documents such as invoices. This can easily be eliminated by replacing a slow, inaccurate manual process with a faster, more efficient electronic service.

Online bill paying offers convenience and also saves on cost. “Electronic bill presentment and payment via the Internet is one of the fastest-growing areas in business,” says Nick Rini, a columnist for Telephony, a trade magazine for communications service providers. “With more than 63 billion checks written annually where 80 percent is some sort of bill payment--either business-to-business or consumer-to business--substantial cash-management benefits and customer-service opportunities exist for those who use interactive billing and payment.”

One advantage of paperless billing, says Rini, is that companies can get paid faster than when they must print, fold, stuff, meter, sort and mail paper bills. Rini estimates that, in the U.S. alone, companies could save $200 million collectively each day if they switched to paperless billing. “The obvious cost savings come from decreasing, and eventually eliminating, printing and mailing expenses,” says Rini, adding that companies usually pay between 75 cents and $2.00 for each document generated and mailed. Meanwhile, the same companies end up paying another $1.25 for each paper check payment they must process, which could almost all be eliminated through online bill payment.

Large companies like PG&E have reported that using electronic billing to process payments has had an enormously positive effect in terms of helping the environment. Last year, PG&E sent 20.5 million eBills to their customers, and reported on saving approximately 27.7 tons of paper, 540,000 gallons of water, 47,000 pounds of solid waste, and 138,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.

Forward-thinking companies are leading the way with electronic billing by cutting costs, saving time, and helping to save the environment.

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of converting to automated electronic billing, click on our logo below to check out the News tab on our web site, and take a few minutes to read NACHA's White Paper, about why small businesses have been slow to adopt this more cost-effective platform for collecting revenue: