You might have begun the journey towards a paperless office. However, it's still likely that you have a large volume of paper documents that need to be stored safely. These can include old books and documents that cannot yet be destroyed and current documents such as contracts and legal documents that need to be preserved in paper.



You have three broad options to store these paper documents - in-house, self-storage, and professional document storage agencies. Let us look at these options in a little more detail.

In-House Document Storage

You can store the documents at your office, using paper folders and filing cabinets. This option has the advantage that you can access the documents whenever you want without the need to transport them from an outside facility. You might also consider that this is the only option for certain highly confidential documents.

However, large volumes of documents can make this option an expensive one. In addition to the equipment like filing cabinets, you need floor space (which can be quite expensive) to accommodate the equipment, and manpower to manage the documents (sorting, filing, retrieving, and so on).

In-house document storage might also not prove all that great if you need to retrieve a particular document urgently from the storage facility, and the person who knows where it is stored happens to be away (at say the odd hour you need the document).

Documents at a Self-Storage Facility

Instead of using expensive office space, you can choose to store the documents at a less expensive self-storage facility. The documents will still be under your lock and key, accessible at most times. You can also restrict access to the facility only to authorized persons.

This option has certain risks, however. Not all self-storage facilities permit access at all hours, and if you happen to need a document at an odd hour, you might not be able to access the facility. Then there's the danger that self-storage facilities are easily accessible to people, and there's only your padlock between your documents and an intruder.

Yet another problem might be the indiscriminate storage of all kinds of goods in self-storage facilities. If the facility adjacent to yours stores flammable materials, your documents may also be at risk from these.

Professional Document Storage

There are professional agencies that focus on providing document storage facilities. The major advantage of using such an agency is that you can entrust your documents to experts in document storage.

The expertise might extend beyond the physical storage of documents. The agencies might provide document management services that enable you to access particular documents quickly, and arrange to have document expiration dates tracked and necessary actions taken.

Because these agencies are dedicated to document-related work, it's possible that they can arrange incidental functions such as the transportation of documents to and from your office and access to documents at odd hours.

You can hand over much of the headache related to document management to specialists. It's an option worth serious consideration.