ok. my office numbers are forwarded to my mobile, my fax line is virtual, all my voicemail processed via email. i control when, who -and how people can reach me.
now it's time to digitize my physical mailbox, and eliminate paper. i don't want to deal with the minutiae of billing, or filing paperwork. i want to get rid of junk mail (don't we all?), not deal with separating the wheat from the chaff there. i really want my mailbox to become the equivalent of an instant scanner!
why?
i still have filing to do from last year. it just piles up, it's no good. i'm not disorganized i swear, well, maybe a little. i'm way more organized that most people i know! plus, i need to keep records for my business (7 years!) and that takes up room. when i need to retrieve something, i have to dig through folders. if i'm traveling i can't read my mail or look anything up (not previously scanned). plus there's a certain liability of having record in one place, with no backups.
mostly, i don't want physical mail unless it's a keepsake, postcard, package, love letter, netflix movie, who knows. average, plain old documents just create a mess, demanding time and space. i need a robot, assistant or surrogate, a clone to process my mail!
so, i'm trying two services in an effort to digitize my traditional mail. each service starts at ~$12 entry level, currently about $1 per day for both. i still need to see what will work best, what my needs are. i get enough but not a *ton* of mail, so it shouldn't cost more than the basic plans accommodate.
ok - first off, the bills. there's bill presentment. lots of billers offer electronic bill presentment. the problem is i don't need a bunch of email prompting me to log into a dozen different sites where i have to (proactively) fetch the bill. having to check a dozen sites (credit cards, bank, utilities, insurance, pay-stubs, et al.) is like having to check a dozen mailboxes. no!
i want the mail to come to me just like before, in one place. for bills, i want simple pay this one-click button, even auto-pay based on some rules (say, pay my cable bill if it's less then $20, alert me when it's more).
so, i signed up with paytrust (previously paymybills.com). they handle billing, but not much else. bit of hassle setting up accounts since they prefer electronic billing, i need to set up a web account for nearly every biller on the roster. grrr, i already have hundreds of online accounts to keep track of, what's another dozen here?! i can still forward my bills to a dedicated box number at their operations site. seems a little trying to work with their payment system that way, but it does work. all this *should* be a one-time pain in the ass to get rolling. getting my mailbox completely virtual is taking some hours to set up, but i'm getting there. then there are fine points like a credit card billing address. (i may leave one card with my actual address just for the merchants that insist on matching shipping to billing).
the beautiful thing is that i have *one* site to deal with (for nearly all my bills). i'm in charge of the payments: how much to pay, when to pay, period. plus, i can set up rules to handle the payments (like the cable bill), and get all my bill images on a CD at the end of the year. they'll flag me when a bill doesn't arrive. this is what i want.
i *was* hoping they would scan the rest of my mail, file that away for me. for my bank statements and notices (not much different than a bill), that would be awesome. i'm fine with paying more, as i use more services. however, paytrust is really bill presentment centric. a few items might work like the statements or notices but they're not prepared to really fuss with much else. they are not a mail service.
however -- i recently discovered remote control mail, a relatively new company out of the silicon forest. and they are all about that. while they don't handle billing (not yet), they'll turn my mailbox into a scanner, allowing me to choose what to scan, what to forward, what to shred, or recycle. they use a hybrid of people and robots to streamline their mailroom process. like paytrust there's a fee schedule based on various options, how much mail you get. rates seem reasonable, at least i don't mind paying a premium where others might balk. hey, if dealing with your mail and paying your bills ain't a hassle, more power to ya. i don't need the clutter, i'd rather have the time, but i can't afford office staff to deal with it for me! plus, being able to review incoming mail from overseas seems like a nice perk too.
this is not unlike paying for a post office box or mailboxes-etc, with a lot more capability built-in. spending money on this for a small business is really common, and i'm fine with the cost.
there's a little paperwork to set up the account, and authorizations forms here too. the upshot is remote control mail can even accept registered mail sent to me! so i can minimize how many trips i really have to take to the post office. this is brilliant. they are also working on check deposits, meaning less trips to the bank, sweet!. i'll pay for packages re-sent (from them to me), but i don't need to send all my deliveries there. when i move i won't need to change my address, and when i'm overseas i can have them hold or forward the physical mail i want to keep. awesome.
right now, i'm going through the process of changing all my addresses.. bank, airline miles, merchant statements, office mail, health care, storage, car rental, fedex, really - it all adds up.
yes, i'll still get junk mail at home, need to check for magazines there, package deliveries and netflix movies (suppose i could send those to the office). but i'm excited everything else will be 100% virtual, bills won't get lost in the shuffle. i'll check my mailbox a lot less. i'm already stoked. my office assistand is a robot !
i think this is the future of mail --welcome all ye robots, serve me well, do my bidding.