As a leader, you’ll quickly find your ink cartridge running dry. From permission slips to event flyers to health forms, the papers come fast and furious.

Add in the confusion for children whose parents often did not communicate, and you’ve got a paperwork nightmare.

Some years ago, our troop began using email for all correspondence with our parents, including permission forms. We made sure the “other parent” was included on the list to avoid forgotten communications among separated or divorced parents. It cut down so much of the “I lost my form” and “I never got that form” conversations.

While I will complete permission forms digitally and email them to parents, I no longer print them for the meetings. Instead I offer blank forms with a “master copy” that parents who forget their printed forms can complete. Any unused forms then go back in the stack for a future event.