Got any idea how much your company spends per year to manage paper?

 

If you don't, you can't make an informed decision as to how to stop the bleed. If you store and shuffle a lot of paper in your business, your business is bleeding money.
Storage of documents has a high cost associated with it. You're paying roughly $236–$314 per filing cabinet solely for the real estate it consumes. Current estimates show that 50–70% of space in an office is still dedicated to filing and storage of documentation! The crazy stat is studies show that over 45% of the files in those cabinets are duplicated information, and 80% is never accessed again.

Stop The Bleeding With Electronic Document Management

With Electronic Document Management, there are 4 major areas of savings that can be measured plus many other secondary areas of savings. Studies have demonstrated that companies that file with paper spend $20 in labor to file a document, $120 in labor to find a misfiled document, and $220 in labor to reproduce a lost document.

Automated 'Cost OF Paper' Calculators

A few automated systems are available online to calculate your paper cost and the environmental cost of using paper. You need to know right now how much your company is wasting filing paper. You can quickly figure your Cost OF Paper here:

 

Filing paper is just one of the 'costs of doing business', right?

 

Business owners and office managers that have run offices for some time know that filing paper is a very mundane, repetitive task and is just a cost of doing business, right? Wrong. Filing paper is archaic this day and age. That 'cost of doing business' is dragging your profits down. Let's break this all down and see what each element of paper filing could be costing you.

In essential elements, paper filing costs involve labor, supplies, and storage.

Let's look at employee labor. The average hourly wage for filing staff: $10
Employee benefit/burden: 25%. That pencils out to $12.50 per hr.

Say you have 1500 new files added each month: Time required to prepare and file each: 1 minute per. Total: $315.00 TO FILE.

To retrieve stored files let's say you have 5 people who retrieve 5 documents per day, taking 3 minutes each, for 20 work days a month. Total: $315.00 TO RETRIEVE FILES.

Employees will misfile documents from time to time. What's the hidden cost of that? Let's say you have 10 misfiled/mislabeled documents that take 20 minutes each to find. Total: $42.00.

Costs for supplies per 1500 files STORED per month =$600.00. (This is paper, hanging files and manila folders, bankers boxes, etc.)

The monthly cost of storing your files can add up fast. Say you have 39 filing cabinets:(8 sq. ft. per) times $1.50 for office space lease (per sq. ft.): Total $468.00 We are not even considering 'off-site' storage which many businesses have due to overflow and archiving. That total could conceivably double!

For a small business we have calculated the costs so far for filing the old fashioned way at nearly $1400.00!

A bold statement: With Electronic Document Management (EDM), I could knock about $1000 off of that cost!

How so? Electronic Document Management (EDM) cuts many of those costs associated with paper filing way down, or completely out. And get this; up until recently, most Electronic Document Management (EDM) had to be done on a local area network. Now, with widely available, inexpensive broadband, there are many new advancements in EDM. There are many products available now via the web as 'Software As A Service' (SAAS). You lease only what you need. No software to buy and install!

To easily achieve the paperless office...

One needs only to choose the product that fits your needs. If you need very affordable, cost-effective, secure, easy-to-use EDM, there's only one we know of that fits into that category. Go here to find out more.

 

How To Easily Achieve The Paperless Office Through Electronic Document Management

 

Business owners and office managers desire the efficiency of a paperless office. The benefits are many, and the positive impact business-wide is enormous. Many well-intentioned professionals fall into the trap of this line of thinking, "I'll try to save some money and do it myself." Before you do that, first consider this:

Why invent a wheel that has already been invented?

As we discussed before, don't try this. There are just too many considerations with a paperless office to try and 'do it yourself.' When you consider data security, compliance with federal and state laws governing customer information, the advanced knowledge of information technology that is needed, etc., your head will quickly be spinning. Beyond that, there is the time factor with 'DIY.' You'd need a degree in computer science and a year to build a system that would do everything you needed it to do.

Don't work HARDER, work SMARTER.

Up until recently, most Electronic Document Management (EDM) had to be done on a local area network. With widely available, inexpensive broadband, there are many new advancements in EDM. There are many products available now via the web as 'Software As A Service' (SAAS). You lease only what you need. No software to buy and install! (You can quickly figure your ROI here:) Your quest is almost over.

To easily achieve the paperless office...

One needs only to choose the product that fits your needs. If you need very affordable, cost-effective, secure, easy-to-use EDM, there's only one we know of that fits into that category. Go here to find out more.

 

How is the paperless office more cost effective?

 

A: With Electronic Document Management, there are 4 major areas of savings that can be measured plus many other secondary areas of savings. In the intrest of brevity, we will discuss the 4 major areas. Studies have demonstrated that companies that file with paper spend $20 in labor to file a document, $120 in labor to find a misfiled document, and $220 in labor to reproduce a lost document.

1)In the Paperless Office your time spent filing is reduced by 50-75% compared to paper filing. You just put the documents in a high speed scanner and save the electronic documents.

2) In the Paperless Office your retrieval time of files, which is followed by refiling, is cut by 90+%. Usually higher paid people need to retrieve files. In paper-based systems. Workers waste approximately 20% to 40% of their time searching for documents.

3) In the Paperless Office common Office Supply costs for file cabinets, folders, paper, clips, etc., are reduced greatly.

4) In the Paperless Office storage space to save old files goes away. In many businesses and industries, the space used to save files is very expensive (Medical, Legal, Accounting firms, etc.) and typically not access friendly to those employees that need to get to them.

If you would like to see a system that addresses all these issues, please go here.

 

Do You Make These Mistakes With Your Paper Document Management?

 

Q: Do you transmit customer data over plain text email?

A:When was the last time you attached customer information to an email and sent it off to somebody who requested it? This is a huge mistake nowadays.

Q: Do you have stacks of customer files sitting on desks?

A: Stacks of customer files on desks (or under, around, or in desks) makes for an unsecured situation. Imagine a virtual 'desk' that you could access via secured log in. That would help you breathe a little easier.

Q: Are your company file cabinets accessible by almost anyone?

A: What's the 'worst case' scenario for your company files? Someone walks away with a bundle of customer files under their arms? They steal your customers identities? You need to be compliant NOW with federal and state regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the GLB Act, HIPAA and any other regulations that cover your business!

Q: Do you archive data in an unsecured building 'off-site'?

A:Same scenario as above, but someone breaks a window and walks off with a bundle of customer files. Do those files contain 'trigger data' that you are required to protect?

Q: Do you have any idea what 'trigger data' is?

A: We hope you do, but it's no problem if you don't. Scan123 can help you to understand how to handle your data safely, and get you going on you Electronic Document Management today. Follow this link to www.Scan123.com now.

 

The top 5 questions you need answered when going to Electronic Document Management

 

Q: I'm handy with stuff. Can I do this effectively by myself?

A: No. There's just too many considerations such as data security, compliance with federal and state laws governing customer information, etc. You'd need a degree in computer science and a year to build a system that would do everything you needed it to do. Don't re-invent the wheel.


Q: Are there systems out there now that are easy to implement and use on a daily basis?

A: Yes, but there are some very cumbersome, expensive systems too. Be sure to ask what the brain damage and expense is to get started and use it.


Q: How much does it cost to go paperless?

A: A Paperless Office should cost considerably less than traditional paper filing, storing and retrieval. Costs would include the scanners, necessary software and training for complete electronic document management for any type of business. Use this calculator to see what you are spending now, not being 'paperless'. The payback (ROI to go paperless) should be in 1 to 3 months to break even (if you implement the right system).


Q: Do you own your data if you use an outside company?

A: In most cases, yes, but with some companies that provide these services, you may have to pay a hefty price for your data if you leave them. Be sure to ask this question up front as you look for a provider of this service.


Q: What happens to my data when I leave a company that provided my Electronic Document Management system?

A: In many cases you will be offered a total 'back up' for a price. Find out what that price is up front. Then in the same breath, ask them if you will be able to access and read your data. Some companies provide you your data in non-proprietary formats such as .pdf, some don't.

 

Knowing the answers to these questions are critical to your decision to go paperless. If you would like to see a system that answers all these questions favorably, please go here.