Having records on the computer makes them more accessible to both the employer and employee. For timesheets and payroll, it saves hours of time of figuring paychecks, taxes and other contributions. In the department where I work, insurance information is going online shortly. That means that any changes will be able to be made just once for everyone to be updated--the employee, HR and the insurance companies. Currently, the information is located in files, which is okay. But there is a lagtime between when the employee sends in a change and when it is entered into the respective systems.